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Viewing cable 08HOCHIMINHCITY750, CATHOLIC HIV/AIDS CENTERS STUCK IN LEGAL LIMBO

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08HOCHIMINHCITY750 2008-08-20 08:34 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
VZCZCXRO4528
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0750/01 2330834
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200834Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4798
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3226
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 5026
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000750 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV PREL CASC VM
SUBJECT: CATHOLIC HIV/AIDS CENTERS STUCK IN LEGAL LIMBO 
 
REF: A) HCMC 503  REF B) 07 HCMC 1222  REF C) 07 HCMC 665 AND PREVIOUS  REF D) 
HANOI 862 REF E)2007 HANOI 2118 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000750  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: On August 4, Father Toai of Mai Tam AIDS 
Orphanage and Drop-in Center discussed with ConOffs the tenuous 
position of Catholic charities providing care to people living 
with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).  While the HCMC Archdiocese's Pastoral 
Care Committee for PLWHA has been able to extend its coverage 
significantly, many of its operations are hindered because they 
lack legal status as non-governmental entities, leaving them 
vulnerable to interference from local authorities and limiting 
their clients access to Vietnam's government-supported social 
services network.  While Father Toai believes that USG 
endorsement through President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
(PEPFAR) support has allowed for some progress, the Catholic 
Church's legal limbo limits their ability to expand assistance 
to people living with HIV/AIDS further (ref A). End Summary. 
 
PERMIT PROBLEMS FOR PASTORAL CARE 
--------------------------------- 
2. (SBU) Father Toai established Mai Tam Drop-In Center in 2004 
as part of the Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese's Pastoral Care 
Committee for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), a 
Catholic-run initiative that provides medical care and 
counseling, improves PLWHA quality of life, raises HIV/AIDS 
awareness, and combats societal discrimination for some of the 
most marginalized members of Vietnamese society.  Mai Tam 
Drop-In Center assists HIV positive women and children with 
food, shelter, and medical care, as well as vocational training 
for mothers to resume an independent working life. 
 
3. (SBU) Since he first applied for a license in September 2005, 
Father Toai has consistently encountered difficulties from 
various GVN agencies during the permit approval process for Mai 
Tam (ref C).  Though HCMC leaders at the highest levels have 
expressed support for the Church's HIV/AIDS work, authorities 
have yet to grant the permits to allow Father Toai to operate 
Mai Tam as a legal charity. Father Toai believes the main reason 
authorities are baulking is because of the Center's religious 
affiliations, as there are a large number of non-faith-based 
charities providing assistance to PLWHA already.  In contrast, 
Catholic-run health clinics in Vietnam are licensed as private 
clinics, and these clinics are taxed even though they provide 
free services.  Mai Tam recently relocated to a second facility, 
and Father Toai decided to go ahead and to register again as a 
private clinic rather than wait for his bid for legal charity 
status to come through. 
 
4. (SBU) Father Toai also reported little progress in the two 
and a half year process of acquiring permits to establish an 
expanded center in HCMC's Can Gio District.  Last December, 
Cardinal Man told the Ambassador the Church had to re-apply for 
land permits after the Can Gio authorities who signed off on the 
site were sacked for corrupt land dealings (ref B). Father Toai 
has now received the new land permits, and must file additional 
paperwork to obtain zoning permits from district authorities. 
Father Toai did express his appreciation for PEPFAR support, 
noting that the endorsement from the USG has helped move the 
approval process for Can Gio forward, but lamented over the 
limits placed on his work due to the legal limbo Catholic 
charities currently face. 
 
LOCAL-LEVEL HARASSMENT 
---------------------- 
5. (SBU) Due to their lack of legal status, Father Toai said, he 
cannot obtain birth records for the Center's children, limiting 
their access to public services like education and health care. 
Father Toai reported that local authorities also routinely 
harass staff and residents at Mai Tam Center, which he believes 
stems from the authorities' fear of "the political influence of 
religious organizations." Father Toai said police have 
threatened to close the center on numerous occasions, citing a 
lack of adequate space/facilities, certified staff, and fire 
safety concerns -- claims that Father Toai says are unfounded 
because he keeps the center scrupulously up to code. 
 
ADOPTIONS FRAUGHT WITH PROBLEMS 
------------------------------- 
6. (SBU) Father Toai said he has received inquiries from 
families willing to adopt some of the non-HIV orphans at the 
Center, but because the children are not in a state-run 
orphanage, they are not officially eligible for adoption. 
Father Toai said that he was told to "abandon the babies in 
front of a GVN-run orphanage" if he wanted Mai Tam's orphans to 
be eligible for adoption.  Father Toai's comments echo what we 
have heard from others in the Church and in the community about 
the unregulated nature of the adoption system in Vietnam (ref D). 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
7. (SBU) Though HCMC leaders, including a Vice-Chairman of the 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000750  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
People's Committee, have told us they support the Church's 
efforts to assist people living with HIV/AIDS, this has yet to 
be translated into action in terms of granting full legal status 
for Catholic-run charitable organizations.  While the Church 
continues to make informal inroads into charitable/social work, 
reams of red tape and local-level harassment plague their 
efforts.  Despite these concerns, the Church continues to press 
forward and remains optimistic about expanding its pastoral care 
program for people living with HIV/AIDS and other social work 
initiatives.  End comment. 
 
8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX