The Story Behind the Rice ATM in Vietnam

Our planet is currently facing the most terrible crisis of all time - COVID-19. Affecting over three million lives worldwide, this deadly virus is rocking the economy, causing millions to go bankrupt and taking an especially hard toll on the homeless. However, although the harsh effects of nature seem irrevocable, humanity has been able to take a stand. Governments all over the world have put in many efforts to help their citizens. However, we must not forget to mention the actions that normal people themselves take to raise one another up. In Vietnam, one of the most noticeable acts is the Rice ATM - the life-saver of many during the miserable time of this pandemic.

Vietnam reported its first two coronavirus cases on January 23rd, two men from Wuhan, China, but it did not put the country under serious lockdown until May 31st, the peak of Vietnam’s second wave. Many people lost their jobs, and their lives were changed forever. Fortunately, however, there is always a light at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel. A businessman,Hoang Tuan Anh, couldn’t bear to see his community being miserable day after day, so he designed a machine called the Rice ATM on April 6th. At this unique “ATM”, which was set up in front of his office in Ho Chi Minh City, those in need of rice are provided with 1.5 kg of rice twice a day while still complying with social distancing measures. Big buckets of rice sit behind the ATM machines, which are poured into the bag of each individual. After seeing the benefits of the first rice ATM, hundreds of other businesses across the country have established their own ATM; in fact, now, you can see them almost everywhere you go. Are the effects of this practice all beneficial, however?

Well, things hardly happen the way we want them to. It has been reported that many well-off families took advantage of the situation and have attempted to get as much rice for themselves as possible. To be more specific, they organized a group, where members went to the rice ATM in 10-minute intervals and collected their allocated rice portions. After having collected 1.5 kg of rice, however, they changed clothes and went to the venue again to take another 1.5 kg in order not to be detected by the staff there. Those people did the same thing almost every day, leaving those who were really in need empty-handed and unable to bring any dinner to their families.

Though people have created methods to combat this problem, with a common solution being the installation of face ID detectors to recognize those who have come and those who have not, not every business is able to afford such modern technology. As a result, the staff at the ATM began to lose faith in the people, becoming easily suspicious and “judging a book by its cover”. There’ve been times when comers have dressed so nicely that suspicions of the comers imitating the poor to take advantage of the ATM have aroused, where security was told to chase the comers away. Though this may be justifiable, however, this attitude has paid off rather badly.

Once, a girl who was dressed rather fashionably went to collect rice yet was refused and asked to go away. Recorded and posted online by a YouTuber, this woman was shamed for being a selfish coward and for ‘stealing’ the rice from those in need simply for dressing nicely. She received thousands of angry calls each day; even her family was disturbed. Even worse, she had an extreme panic attack after seeing her own face on the national newspaper. Luckily, some kind people discovered that she was actually very poor and that she just wanted to dress well when going outside. When this story was revealed, the people who’d insulted her flipped their mindset 180 degrees and supported her. Since then, she was able to receive tons of supplies every day. Plus, as a result, the netizens turned back and began to shame the staff at the Rice ATM and the YouTuber, which escalated so badly that they had to lock all their social media accounts and escape to their normal life. Who should be responsible for this? No one. Such things due to the developing distrust in society, which, sadly, is unavoidable. However, this only highlights the importance of empathy and of bridging the gaps between various communities and social classes, especially during today’s trying times.

We, as the citizens of the Earth, should always value the kind actions and hard work of scientists and politicians, but also normal people who all work endlessly to provide us with a better life - a life without starvation and poverty. We must pull the community together, unite, and fight the tiny, ugly virus that tries to pull us apart. This is what Hoang Tuan Anh set out to do. And, together, we can do it too.