Nov 18, 2021 • 9 min read
Debt
Vietnam lenders adopt loan shark tactics
Weak government regulation to manage debt amidst Covid-19 has left borrowers in the lurch as formal loan companies use strong-arm tactics
By Govi Snell - Nov 18, 2021
Govi Snell
Govi Snell is an editorial intern for Southeast Asia Globe based in Ho Chi Minh City. She is interested in stories related to arts, culture, the environment and endangered species.
Articles by Govi Snell
Oct 25, 2021 • 9 min read
Covid-19
Overworked and underpaid, Vietnam’s medical staff reflect on Covid-19
As Vietnam emerges from a fourth crushing Covid-19 wave, healthcare workers reveal how they have staffed overwhelmed hospitals during long hours with insufficient pay and resources under government threats to end their careers
By Govi Snell - Oct 25, 2021
Oct 04, 2021 • 10 min read
Culture
Drawing the disappearing: Vietnamese illustrators capture the country’s endangered species
Vietnam is among the top 16 most biodiverse countries in the world, but its native animals are increasingly threatened with extinction. Some of the nation’s talented illustrators have joined the fight to protect and raise awareness of the remaining at-risk creatures
By Govi Snell - Oct 04, 2021
Sep 22, 2021 • 11 min read
Covid-19
Trapped in poverty and hunger: Vietnam’s migrant workers face Covid-19’s latest crippling wave
Binh Duong has been hard hit by the virus. Many migrant workers find themselves struggling to survive in Vietnam’s latest outbreak of Covid-19
By Govi Snell - Sep 22, 2021
Aug 16, 2021 • 13 min read
Reproductive health
Liberal laws and fetus cemeteries: Vietnam’s conflicted abortion stance
Despite liberal laws and among the highest abortion rates in the world, stigma towards the practice is pervasive in Vietnam. Representing a hard-line faction of anti-abortion sentiment, groups across the country collect fetal remains from clinics for burial
By Govi Snell - Aug 16, 2021
Jul 02, 2021 • 11 min read
Immigration
Here’s what Vietnam’s visa crackdown tells us about the country
One of the world's poorest countries three decades ago – Vietnam has made a quick push to middle-income status. While the expertise of outsiders was necessary to this growing prosperity, a new clampdown on foreign workers showcases the country's evolution
By Govi Snell - Jul 02, 2021
May 27, 2021 • 10 min read
Sport
Meet Vietnam’s bobsledders, the country’s most unlikely sports team
Nguyễn Dân An has in recent years led a disparate collection of Vietnamese athletes for the country’s first bobsled team. Winning their first medals this year, the team has its sights set on the unlikely goal of becoming Vietnam's first representatives at the Winter Olympics
By Govi Snell - May 27, 2021
May 14, 2021 • 10 min read
Population decline
Offering cash gifts, why is Vietnam urging women to marry and bear children?
With a fast ageing population, the Vietnamese government is placing the country's economic future on women as it urges them to marry by 30 and bear two children by 35 – a move which women's rights activists have condemned as reinforcing outdated gender roles
By Govi Snell - May 14, 2021
May 07, 2021 • 15 min read
Covid-19
As virus cases explode, why has the Mekong region success story ended?
The Mekong region countries were until recently heralded as exceptional cases in controlling the spread of Covid-19. But recent weeks have seen cases explode across Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, leaving Vietnam on high alert and observers asking what's gone so wrong
By Alastair McCready, Wanpen Pajai and Govi Snell - May 07, 2021
Apr 19, 2021 • 12 min read
Gender equality
The life and legacy of Nguyễn Thị Định, Vietnam’s female war hero
Vietnamese war hero Nguyễn Thị Định was a trailblazer on and off the battlefield, with her efforts toppling world powers only matched by her efforts championing female empowerment. But today, a century since her birth, her legacy fades among the younger generation
By Govi Snell - Apr 19, 2021
Mar 17, 2021 • 13 min read
Conservation
Teeming with life, the destruction of Vietnam’s karsts hits biodiversity
Vietnam's karst forests are abundant in biodiversity. But with rapid habitat loss, it is feared that species are disappearing before they can be studied, while others like the critically endangered Delacour's langur in Kim Bang forest are at risk of extinction due to mining
By Govi Snell - Mar 17, 2021
Mar 02, 2021 • 10 min read
Infrastructure
In decline, what’s the future for Vietnam’s historic North-South railway?
Vietnam’s North-South railway has remained much the same since it was first built 85 years ago, with the iconic line highlighting the halting nature of Vietnamese infrastructure projects as plans to modernise have gone without progress for more than a decade
By Govi Snell - Mar 02, 2021
Feb 18, 2021 • 9 min read
Wildlife trade
The first Vietnamese in Antarctica: The path to conservation for Hong Hoang
At the age of 24, Hong Hoang became the first Vietnamese to visit Antarctica, in a trip that would set her on a path to establishing her own environmental NGO. Today, through CHANGE, she battles intimidation and apathy to promote wildlife conservation across Vietnam
By Govi Snell - Feb 18, 2021
Jan 26, 2021 • 10 min read
History
Brush strokes: Preserving Saigon’s heritage signage
There is much talk about the need to preserve Saigon's heritage architecture, but what about those more subtle flourishes of style that make the city? As heritage signage is pulled down, artists are working to preserve these disappearing relics of Vietnamese history
By Govi Snell - Jan 26, 2021
Dec 24, 2020 • 7 min read
Public health
What’s the danger with Vietnam’s motorcycle helmets?
Vietnam's love affair with the motorbike is a relatively recent one, having only blossomed in the mid-80s. As a result of successful public health campaigns, helmet use today sits at 90%, but researchers point to a significant hurdle to road safety that is yet to be overcome
By Govi Snell - Dec 24, 2020