Additional Coverage:
- Donald Trump’s measly payout to families as he digs up graves for golf course laid bare (irishstar.com)
The Trump Organization is expanding its golf empire once again, this time with a $1.5 billion resort project near Hanoi, Vietnam. However, this development is coming at a significant cost to local families, who are being forced to relocate the remains of their loved ones from a cemetery in the Chau Ninh commune of the Hung Yen province to make way for construction.
According to reports, some graves in the cemetery have already been cleared, marked with large Xs as families remove their ancestors’ remains. The community, primarily agricultural, faces the upheaval of about 4,000 households being displaced to accommodate the sprawling 2,446-acre resort. Compensation offered to locals is around $2,660, a figure many feel is inadequate.
“It’s painful,” said 72-year-old resident Hoang Do, expressing frustration over the compensation. Another local, 50-year-old Hoang Anh Xa, shared the emotional toll of having to move the graves of five family members, some dating back to 1967, before the country’s current establishment. Xa also voiced concerns about the broader impact on the community, lamenting the loss of agricultural livelihoods and calling for higher land prices.
When the project was first announced last year, farmers were reportedly offered as little as $12 for 10 square feet of land, with some offers including small payments and rice-amounts many found insufficient. Despite the local challenges, Eric Trump has touted the resort as “the envy of all of Asia and of the entire world,” highlighting plans for luxury hotels, championship golf courses, and upscale residences as part of the ambitious development.
As construction plans move forward, the story highlights the tensions between large-scale commercial development and the preservation of local communities and traditions in this rapidly changing region of Vietnam.