On a rainy afternoon a few days ago, Paul and I went into a cafe. I was seeking out wireless connection so that I could upload images and he settled with a magazine at a table nearby. After unsuccessful attempts to get on the internet, I came over to where he was and he showed me this article. It is from "The Guide" which is a Vietnamese Magazine. I found it an important piece and would like to share it with you.
"Life as it is"
Nguyen Ngoc Tu wrote a story about an old man in Ca Mau Province who became angry with tour operators and travel companies because they wanted him to stay in his weather-beaten old thatched cottage at the southernmost tip of the country so they could bring tourists to take photographs of him.
In other words, the tourism sector tried to keep him in as humble a way of life as long as possible. The old man was angry because he wanted to be able to enjoy the same benefits of civilisation as everyone else.
Life keeps moving foward and modernisation is surely changing everything, including traditional cultural values. But the changes are not just one way. They are full of parodoxes. As change is natural and beyond our power to resist, there is no way to prevent it even if we wanted to. On the other hand, change can create new and special things.
I have a French friend, Boris Lojkine, who is both a professor of philosophy and a talented producer of documentaries. Recently, he came to Vietnam to make a film about ethnic minorities in Central Vietnam. I went with him on a survey in the highlands of Quang Nam Province.
He was very disappointed because the picture in his mind of the special cultural features of minority people have changed. Stilt houses have become bungalows; thatched roofs have become metal; forests and mountains have been destroyed and the land is barren and terribly hot; the young men roar their motorbikes along the rough mountain paths like maniacs (without wearing helmets).
I spent a night sitting and talking with him. And finally, we realised one thing: the changes are entirely natural, and such is life-life that struggles with change every day, trying to find a way to move foward while still trying, with great difficulty, to preserve itself as it is but at the same time trying to avoid being left too far behind.
It seems that man is nostalgic by nature. But beauty exists in the constant movement of life. I mention this story because I was wondering whether we really want to introduce tourists ot a tourism "product" in the Mekong Delta that is a false copy of a natural feature that is disappearing naturally. It is just something intended to decieve tourists.
I wonder whether we should take international tourists to see and understand how hard it is for a culture to experience natural changes, and how brave people in the Mekong Delta are in their struggle to remain what they really are-typical of the area, but also at to be as modern people in other places.
Of course, their are are successes and failures everywhere. Both are significant, and I believe that it is important to take tourists to see and understand reality. I believe the people of the Mekong Delta, who are naturally simple and quiet, know how to find their own way to move forward on the road of modernisation.
There will be a new and unique type of culture in the Mekong Delta. It will be no less special than it was in the past. Tourism, as always, is about culture and cultural exchange.
It should find out about change and the formation of a new culture in this area. It is necessary to find a new way. And in my opinion, this should be the direction of culture in its most profound sense as well as its more contemporary features.
-Ngyuen Ngoc
I think the message of this article is a very imporant one. Being here as a foreign photographer, I find myself constantly thinking about what is being portrayed by the images that are made. Clearly, it is vital to be an honest witness-not assuming to understand what is being observed, nor to over-glorify a certain way because it is novel to what we are conditioned to see or experience. I must admit, that when I first arrived to Ho Chi Minh, I was eager to get out of the city as soon as possible. Not only because I don't consider myself a big-city kind of girl, but because I was eager to see the "real Vietnam." I wanted to see the "simple" (poor) farmers, rice paddies and open spaces. But in truth, the "real Vietnam" is all of it-from the motor-bike chaos and lit up billboards of HCM to the dirt roads and thatched structures along the beach in Phu Hai where we delivered food. This country is quickly devolping, and it is clear that people want change. Just as the use of the word "primitive" can be problematic, so is the use of the word "traditional." To assume that people are living in certain circumstances because of "tradtion" is unfair. Many of the families we spoke with in Phu Hai live there because they have nowhere else to go. The land is sand. Nothing grows. They live along the water in structures that need to be rebuilt several times each year as they cannot withstand the winds and flooding of the rainy season's typhoons. School cannot be afforded until families have enough to eat, but education is vital for changes in the community. Litter is everywhere and as we walked in Phu Hai, we passed a huge landfill nestled in the dunes of the beach. This is not tradtional. People did not choose to live here based on thier cultural practices, they are living here because they have no other option.
I am reading a book right now called "The Real Environmental Crisis," by Jack M. Hollander. It is timely to read this now. Hollander's central argument for the book is that "essential prerequisites for a sustainable environmental future are a global transition from poverty to affluence, coupled with a transition to freedom and democracy..."
To be an "environmentalist" can be viewed at as a luxury that can be afforded since basic necessities are taken care of...
"People living in poverty perceive the environment very differently from the affluent. To the world's poor-several billion people- the principle environmental problems are local, not global. They are not the stuff of media headlines or complicated scientific theories. They are mundane, pervasive and painfully obvious:
-Hunger-chronic undernourishment of a billion children and adults caused not only by scarcity of food resources but by poverty, war, and government tyranny and incompetence.
-Contaminated water supplies-a major cause of chronic disease and mortality in the third world.
-Diseases-rampant in the poorest countries. Most could be readily eradicated by modern medicine, while others, including the AIDS epidemic in Africa, could be mitigated by effective public health programs and drug treatments available to the affluent.
-Scarcity-insufficient local supplies o fuelwood and other resources, owing not to intrinsic scarcity but to generations of overexploitation and underreplenishment as part of the constant struggle for survival.
-Lack of education and social inequality, especially of women-lack of education resulting in high birthrates and increasing the difficulty for families to escape fromt he dungeons of poverty."
Hollander suggests that by breaking the poverty cycle, the self-perpetuating cylce of environmental degredation will break as well. He says there is a human obligation that must be recognized by people everywhere to lift the poor out of poverty-to to catapault every person into a level of affluence that is focused on consumerism and excess, but to realize that all people are entitled basic human rights in terms of access to adequate housing, enough food and water, and education.
I am probably preaching to the choir. But I found the article and the message of the book to both be good reminders that change is a constant and given that it is inevitable, why don't we work to make mindfull, compassionate change.
I hope that the work we are doing here can have some lasting impact, even if for only one family, one child.
love, eva
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Merry Christmas!
Hello lovers!
It is Christmas morning in Viet Nam. Hue city, which is usually silent by 10 pm, was bustling last night. Our hotel threw a christmas party- outfitted with some special treats for all of the foreigners...white bread, french fries, mayonnaise, oranges, what looked like beef and potato "stir-fry" and warm Hooda beer...it truly was a special night. The "boss" paraded around making sure everyone had a beer in hand at all times. After the "refreshments," a few of us headed to DMZ bar where all the staff donned Santa hats. The doorway was lit like a christmas tree and Santa himself stood with a pooch and a beard that looked more like Fu Man Chu than good ol' Saint Nick. A lot of foreigners are spending their holiday here, and even now at the Mandarin Cafe, there is a huge table of people sharing a christmas meal.
Tonight we are having dinner with our friend T-Bone and his family. His mom is preparing a Vietnamese food, T-Bone is making a Hue specialty and Liz, Emily, Paul and I have the task of bringing an American dish, so this afternoon we will head to the market to see what we can come up with.
We arrived back in Hue two days ago and decided to save a dollar per night by switching to a different hotel about a block away from where we were the last time. For four dollars per night we are inhabiting a small, windowless, cement room right off the lobby with a bathroom in which everything leaks...it definately makes this christmas memorable. We are in the process of looking for a room in an apartment...there are two possiblities in the works, so hopefully we can move within the next week...
We begin our work at Duc Son right after the new year, so the next few days will be spent doing research for the project and looking into possible grants to apply for, as well as finding a place to live...The goal for the work in Duc Son is to start a sponser a child program, so I want to look into effective ways to go about it. If anyone has any tips or insight regarding Sponser programs or grants, I would love to hear from you. Since Duc Son is run by nuns, Liz and I are looking into grants geared towards women.
Paul bought a bicycle yesterday. Teal. It is a real gem. Everyone looks at us as we ride by, me sitting on the back (there are small metal "shelf" that sits over the back wheel. All the bikes have them, and more often than not, there are two people per bike- with interesting variations for peddling and steering.)
The weather has been glorious- hot and sunny, but today I think we are back to typical Hue...overcast and cool. It rained all night and looks like it is trying for more.
I will leave you for now. All of our love. We miss you and hope you have a lovely holiday!
Please write and let us know how you are. Also, send me your mailing address...I have some things I would like to send out.
Talk soon,
love, eva
It is Christmas morning in Viet Nam. Hue city, which is usually silent by 10 pm, was bustling last night. Our hotel threw a christmas party- outfitted with some special treats for all of the foreigners...white bread, french fries, mayonnaise, oranges, what looked like beef and potato "stir-fry" and warm Hooda beer...it truly was a special night. The "boss" paraded around making sure everyone had a beer in hand at all times. After the "refreshments," a few of us headed to DMZ bar where all the staff donned Santa hats. The doorway was lit like a christmas tree and Santa himself stood with a pooch and a beard that looked more like Fu Man Chu than good ol' Saint Nick. A lot of foreigners are spending their holiday here, and even now at the Mandarin Cafe, there is a huge table of people sharing a christmas meal.
Tonight we are having dinner with our friend T-Bone and his family. His mom is preparing a Vietnamese food, T-Bone is making a Hue specialty and Liz, Emily, Paul and I have the task of bringing an American dish, so this afternoon we will head to the market to see what we can come up with.
We arrived back in Hue two days ago and decided to save a dollar per night by switching to a different hotel about a block away from where we were the last time. For four dollars per night we are inhabiting a small, windowless, cement room right off the lobby with a bathroom in which everything leaks...it definately makes this christmas memorable. We are in the process of looking for a room in an apartment...there are two possiblities in the works, so hopefully we can move within the next week...
We begin our work at Duc Son right after the new year, so the next few days will be spent doing research for the project and looking into possible grants to apply for, as well as finding a place to live...The goal for the work in Duc Son is to start a sponser a child program, so I want to look into effective ways to go about it. If anyone has any tips or insight regarding Sponser programs or grants, I would love to hear from you. Since Duc Son is run by nuns, Liz and I are looking into grants geared towards women.
Paul bought a bicycle yesterday. Teal. It is a real gem. Everyone looks at us as we ride by, me sitting on the back (there are small metal "shelf" that sits over the back wheel. All the bikes have them, and more often than not, there are two people per bike- with interesting variations for peddling and steering.)
The weather has been glorious- hot and sunny, but today I think we are back to typical Hue...overcast and cool. It rained all night and looks like it is trying for more.
I will leave you for now. All of our love. We miss you and hope you have a lovely holiday!
Please write and let us know how you are. Also, send me your mailing address...I have some things I would like to send out.
Talk soon,
love, eva
Hue You Guys!
Although the cloud cover is much heavier, the "Hue" of our trip has certainly brightened as we settle into Hue (hway).
As we broke through the low blanket of clouds, the geometry of the rice paddies was a welcome change from the unending sprawl of HCMC. The air is wet and cool---streets are silent compared with the cacophony of horns and bark of street-side jabber in Saigon.
The tones of the language seem so primal to our ears. Sounds in one sentence can include "co/" [to be] pronounced "cawh" like a bird call with ascending tone, and "khong" [no/negation], pronounced hckumm (and make your mouth move like a big fish eating a smaller fish, you can extend the jaw forward with the sound if desired). Good.
Meeting with Liz and Tom and getting up to date on the actual state of TATC (ThinkAboutTheChildren) on the ground here was a bit discouraging at first. Some things had not turned out as planned and some had been completely canceled after initial "approval". All of our activities here must be pre-approved by the government which is a blanket term for the many institutions encompassed therein. Negotiations must be made at various levels from the provincial eventually down to the city council. Whenever we go outside the city as a group we are accompanied by representatives of the Foreign Affairs committee. As Tom said today, initially we look down at these policies and procedures as a part of a backwards and broken system only inhibiting our intentions to help, when actually we are only beginning to see that they have their own way to go about these things and are relatively well intentioned themselves.
We have spent the last few days delivering food to various 'villages'. Mostly families who live on the 'beach', land right on the water---the WORST place to be if you want to grow food or avoid the floods, which come from 6 to 10 times a year. Visiting their homes has definitely been eye-opening for everyone, but TATC is narrowing its focus to Duc Son orphanage, and Mrs. Don's orphanage in HCMC (where the paintings are from).
We have been playing with the kids and Duc Son every day this week. The nuns there have been so kind and welcoming to us, it is really a special place and the kids have been boiling over with joy while we're there. I never imagined an orphanage to be such a happy place. We have made arrangements to be able to spend more time there in the next few months taking photographs and talking with each nun and child. Hopefully we can set up a program where children can be sponsered. Duc Son needs a new building that is on higher ground. They have the land, but the building will cost around $100,000 US. If we can create a sponser program, that will enable them to fund the new orphanage as well as create an income flow to support their needs. Minh Tu is the head nun and is selfless. It is clear that the children's well-being is her first priority. She never speaks of herself, only of the children. She and the other nuns are exceptional women who are devoting their lives to the 200 children at Duc Son. We feel deeply connected to their work and want to help them however we can. We have been bringing food with us each time, yesterday we brought vegetables from the market. They were especially excited when they saw the large bag of mushrooms...maybe we can help them learn how to grow their own. One of the nuns can speak English and is very willing to help translate---she studies at the university in the morning in the city. She has been at Duc Son for 16 years and is very appreciative of our interest to help and receptive to the idea of this project.
Liz's friend, whose english name has become T-Bone, has been incredibly helpful. SO helpful we REALLY don't know what we'd do without him. He's not only a masters student working on his thesis and teaching class, he makes time to guide us with translation/negotiation/consultation (insert ....tion of your choice). He is in the environmental studies department and intoduced us to the English club (that he started) in his department. Having them come out with us has added a whole new dimension to our experience.
Kids in the club range from Tuan, who is doing research on wastewater treatment at a local landfill (and loves trash almost as much as we do) to Pho who Paul spoke with at length on a dragon boat ride to a pagoda outside the city. He is the only son of a poor family and feels tremendous pressure to find a good job (which as I understand is difficult). He told me about the destruction of the "beautiful places" in his country and the concentration of outside money to the tourist track, with the rural poor being completely neglected. After a pause he turns to me and says, "Tell me about your country."
Then I felt tremendous pressure to give hime some sort of truthful picture of a country that he only knows through the movies and gossip. I told him about suburbs and subdivisions and he thought it uninteresting not to build your own house, and asked me what I grew in my garden. I definitely felt from him a tinge of pessimisim or disdain for the typical passer-through---but I told him about what we are doing at the orphanage and I told him about my grandmother, in her lifetime living without electricty or plumbing to all of the conveniences and ammeninites of a modern house. We seemed to come to an understanding that we have more in common than he thought, that our worlds were not so seperate, but it was probably mostly my imagination----drifting from downtown Hue with its shops, tourist agencies, and hotels ... . .past puttering covered wooden longboats where some fishing families live and work (also onboard could be cooking fire, pecking chicken, and/or young babe) . . . . .. a young boy behind a water buffalo plowing a field shared with a group of boys about the same age playing soccer barefoot on the uneven dirt . .. . . metal rooved shacks with tarp or woven sides, crowded together hugging the water line where women do their laundry on the steps next to 'trees' that grow leaves on top but whose bottom half looks to be from the plastic bag blossom family.
Outside the city the rich and poor are even neighbors. Families who have government job salaries or relatives who send money from abroad living in 'luxurious' homes costing as much as 5-10 thousand US, while next door are families scraping by, in sheds, off of how the daily catch sells at market.
We leave soon for Hoi An...
we're exhausted...Off to eat the abundant noodle.
Byebye. Lovelove,
po & evo
more pictures have been added...take a look
As we broke through the low blanket of clouds, the geometry of the rice paddies was a welcome change from the unending sprawl of HCMC. The air is wet and cool---streets are silent compared with the cacophony of horns and bark of street-side jabber in Saigon.
The tones of the language seem so primal to our ears. Sounds in one sentence can include "co/" [to be] pronounced "cawh" like a bird call with ascending tone, and "khong" [no/negation], pronounced hckumm (and make your mouth move like a big fish eating a smaller fish, you can extend the jaw forward with the sound if desired). Good.
Meeting with Liz and Tom and getting up to date on the actual state of TATC (ThinkAboutTheChildren) on the ground here was a bit discouraging at first. Some things had not turned out as planned and some had been completely canceled after initial "approval". All of our activities here must be pre-approved by the government which is a blanket term for the many institutions encompassed therein. Negotiations must be made at various levels from the provincial eventually down to the city council. Whenever we go outside the city as a group we are accompanied by representatives of the Foreign Affairs committee. As Tom said today, initially we look down at these policies and procedures as a part of a backwards and broken system only inhibiting our intentions to help, when actually we are only beginning to see that they have their own way to go about these things and are relatively well intentioned themselves.
We have spent the last few days delivering food to various 'villages'. Mostly families who live on the 'beach', land right on the water---the WORST place to be if you want to grow food or avoid the floods, which come from 6 to 10 times a year. Visiting their homes has definitely been eye-opening for everyone, but TATC is narrowing its focus to Duc Son orphanage, and Mrs. Don's orphanage in HCMC (where the paintings are from).
We have been playing with the kids and Duc Son every day this week. The nuns there have been so kind and welcoming to us, it is really a special place and the kids have been boiling over with joy while we're there. I never imagined an orphanage to be such a happy place. We have made arrangements to be able to spend more time there in the next few months taking photographs and talking with each nun and child. Hopefully we can set up a program where children can be sponsered. Duc Son needs a new building that is on higher ground. They have the land, but the building will cost around $100,000 US. If we can create a sponser program, that will enable them to fund the new orphanage as well as create an income flow to support their needs. Minh Tu is the head nun and is selfless. It is clear that the children's well-being is her first priority. She never speaks of herself, only of the children. She and the other nuns are exceptional women who are devoting their lives to the 200 children at Duc Son. We feel deeply connected to their work and want to help them however we can. We have been bringing food with us each time, yesterday we brought vegetables from the market. They were especially excited when they saw the large bag of mushrooms...maybe we can help them learn how to grow their own. One of the nuns can speak English and is very willing to help translate---she studies at the university in the morning in the city. She has been at Duc Son for 16 years and is very appreciative of our interest to help and receptive to the idea of this project.
Liz's friend, whose english name has become T-Bone, has been incredibly helpful. SO helpful we REALLY don't know what we'd do without him. He's not only a masters student working on his thesis and teaching class, he makes time to guide us with translation/negotiation/consultation (insert ....tion of your choice). He is in the environmental studies department and intoduced us to the English club (that he started) in his department. Having them come out with us has added a whole new dimension to our experience.
Kids in the club range from Tuan, who is doing research on wastewater treatment at a local landfill (and loves trash almost as much as we do) to Pho who Paul spoke with at length on a dragon boat ride to a pagoda outside the city. He is the only son of a poor family and feels tremendous pressure to find a good job (which as I understand is difficult). He told me about the destruction of the "beautiful places" in his country and the concentration of outside money to the tourist track, with the rural poor being completely neglected. After a pause he turns to me and says, "Tell me about your country."
Then I felt tremendous pressure to give hime some sort of truthful picture of a country that he only knows through the movies and gossip. I told him about suburbs and subdivisions and he thought it uninteresting not to build your own house, and asked me what I grew in my garden. I definitely felt from him a tinge of pessimisim or disdain for the typical passer-through---but I told him about what we are doing at the orphanage and I told him about my grandmother, in her lifetime living without electricty or plumbing to all of the conveniences and ammeninites of a modern house. We seemed to come to an understanding that we have more in common than he thought, that our worlds were not so seperate, but it was probably mostly my imagination----drifting from downtown Hue with its shops, tourist agencies, and hotels ... . .past puttering covered wooden longboats where some fishing families live and work (also onboard could be cooking fire, pecking chicken, and/or young babe) . . . . .. a young boy behind a water buffalo plowing a field shared with a group of boys about the same age playing soccer barefoot on the uneven dirt . .. . . metal rooved shacks with tarp or woven sides, crowded together hugging the water line where women do their laundry on the steps next to 'trees' that grow leaves on top but whose bottom half looks to be from the plastic bag blossom family.
Outside the city the rich and poor are even neighbors. Families who have government job salaries or relatives who send money from abroad living in 'luxurious' homes costing as much as 5-10 thousand US, while next door are families scraping by, in sheds, off of how the daily catch sells at market.
We leave soon for Hoi An...
we're exhausted...Off to eat the abundant noodle.
Byebye. Lovelove,
po & evo
more pictures have been added...take a look
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
same same
Close your eyes.
The air is thick with humidity and the smells of petrol and street food. Most waste is burned, leaving behind a subtle scent of trash.
The sounds of motorbike engines are unescapeable in this great city of Ho Chi Minh. With about the same population as NYC (8 million), the city is a sprawling province and traffic is chaotic.
It is now four days since we arrived in this quickly developing metropolis. Jet lag has been nudging us awake with the sun, and the activity here keeps our days long and full.
Our first day here, Paul and I wandered to a nearby park. As we sat on a bench drinking young coconut milk out of the shell, a man walked by who Paul had noticed earlier as he was sitting reading a book called mindfullness. Paul got his attention and we began talking. Ralph is from Georgia, USA and has been traveling through Thailand and Viet Nam. He told us of some beautiful Pagodas and showed us a few of his favorite restaurants in the area. Recently there was a cholera outbreak in Hanoi, so it is advised to be careful with street-food. We parted ways and Paul and I continued on. We picked up a map and a lonely planet guide and went to find some of these pagodas. The Jade Pagoda honors Buddhist and Hindu Dieties. The air was thick with incense and the rooms crowded with icons of gods, goddesses and buddhas.
After being ripped off by rickshaw drivers and feeling generally exhausted, we found Zen, a vegetarian restaurant in the "backpacker's ghetto." There we met Rebecca, an Aussi on a solo trip around SE Asia while on break from "uni." She joined us while we ate and afterwards we went to another small park where it seemed everyone was playing with these toys, they consist of a small spring-like structure with a feather on the end. You play with them by kicking the spring with your toe and they FLY! People kick them back and forth...it is a mix of hacky-sac, and badminton with your feet. We bought one and played for a while and had a few laughs before meeting up with Liz who was flying in from Hue.
The next day, we met up with Dr. Murray and his wife, Cathy, and son, Chad. They had flown in from the states the night before. We made different hotel arrangements to stay in a cheaper place.
Then we went to Ms. Don's orphanage.
When we arrived, the children were out swimming. This orphanage cares for about 30 children and is the one where the paintings are from. We were able to see where they paint and meet their art teacher. There are four young boys who have been chosen by the art teacher to take painting class. The teacher choses pictures for the boys to paint. We filled a suitcase to the brim with more pieces to bring to the states and I made arrangements to come back to spend a few days photographing and interviewing the boys. Our friend here, Hai, will translate for us. He told us about some other children's programs here. There are other orphanages for the disabled, blind and for children with HIV. As of right now, the plan seems to be, travel with the group for the next week or so, we are going to Hue in two days. After the group of students and Dr. Murray return to the US, we will return to Hue and hopefully live in Doc Son, an orphanage run by Buddhist nuns. Depending on how long we stay there, I will be in contact with Hai and when we are ready we will come back to HCMC to work in Ms. Dons and visit the other orphanages. Think About the Children has very limited funds, so if we visit the orphanages with severe issues (HIV, severe disabilities, blindness etc.) I know that I cannot offer them support from TATC, however I am hopefull that perhaps if I am able to make powerful images I can send them to larger organizations who could potentially offer some help.
There is so much work that needs to be done here. There is so much poverty. The streets are full of beggars, peddlers, and trafficked children. Apparently many girls who have been trafficked "sell flowers" both literally and figuratively depending on their age. Blue Dragon, a children's foundation based in Hanoi is working on the complex issue of trafficking. It is a vicious cycle...Traffickers are slick con-men who come into poor villages offering jobs for disadvantaged youth. Thinking they are offering thier children a brighter future, families agree to sell their children to these men for about 200 USD, which is enticing as most of these families face financial debts-so it seems like a great deal to be able to give their children a future while receiving a financial boost. The children are taken and are swept into a world of abuse and exploitation. Some of these children are rescued and returned to their homes...but the problem remains as poor families keep having many children that they cannot support. It seems that birth-control and family planning needs to be established in these targeted areas.
There is a cafe near where we are staying called SOZO, which is greek meaning "to save." They sell cookies, coffee and juices and employ disenfranchised youth. They don't turn anyone away-if someone wants to work their, they will find them a place. It is run by an Aussi who we met. She is a lovely woman who is working hard. They use really good ingredients and are always open to new recepies. She told us they got their cheesecake recepe when a woman came in and said "I know a great cheesecake recipe" and they responded, "great! come in the back and show us!"
Yesterday, we took a bus to the Cao Dai temple, it is near the Cambodian border. On the way we stopped at 27-7 Handicapped Handicrafts. This is a place where war victims work to create art. Beautiful art. July 27 is disabled soldier's day, hence 27-7. Take a look at the photographs.
Paul mentioned the temple in his email. It was incredible. Cao Dai is a religion that is a fusion of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confusionsim, Islam and Christianity. There are prayers four times daily. We were able to see the one at noon. The men and women dress in different colored robes, white for Cao Dai, yellow for Buddhism, blue for Taoism and red for Catholisism. The prayer was beautiful. Paul had to come get me to bring to to the bus as I was completely enthralled and would have been left behind. Good thing I have him around to keep me in check! Check out those pictures as well.
HCMC is quite a place, but I am looking forward to getting out of the city soon.
Needless to say, things are going very well. I love SE Asia. There is so much about this place that is like Bali...a strange homecoming it is.
More soon.
LOVE LOVE LOVE
eva
The air is thick with humidity and the smells of petrol and street food. Most waste is burned, leaving behind a subtle scent of trash.
The sounds of motorbike engines are unescapeable in this great city of Ho Chi Minh. With about the same population as NYC (8 million), the city is a sprawling province and traffic is chaotic.
It is now four days since we arrived in this quickly developing metropolis. Jet lag has been nudging us awake with the sun, and the activity here keeps our days long and full.
Our first day here, Paul and I wandered to a nearby park. As we sat on a bench drinking young coconut milk out of the shell, a man walked by who Paul had noticed earlier as he was sitting reading a book called mindfullness. Paul got his attention and we began talking. Ralph is from Georgia, USA and has been traveling through Thailand and Viet Nam. He told us of some beautiful Pagodas and showed us a few of his favorite restaurants in the area. Recently there was a cholera outbreak in Hanoi, so it is advised to be careful with street-food. We parted ways and Paul and I continued on. We picked up a map and a lonely planet guide and went to find some of these pagodas. The Jade Pagoda honors Buddhist and Hindu Dieties. The air was thick with incense and the rooms crowded with icons of gods, goddesses and buddhas.
After being ripped off by rickshaw drivers and feeling generally exhausted, we found Zen, a vegetarian restaurant in the "backpacker's ghetto." There we met Rebecca, an Aussi on a solo trip around SE Asia while on break from "uni." She joined us while we ate and afterwards we went to another small park where it seemed everyone was playing with these toys, they consist of a small spring-like structure with a feather on the end. You play with them by kicking the spring with your toe and they FLY! People kick them back and forth...it is a mix of hacky-sac, and badminton with your feet. We bought one and played for a while and had a few laughs before meeting up with Liz who was flying in from Hue.
The next day, we met up with Dr. Murray and his wife, Cathy, and son, Chad. They had flown in from the states the night before. We made different hotel arrangements to stay in a cheaper place.
Then we went to Ms. Don's orphanage.
When we arrived, the children were out swimming. This orphanage cares for about 30 children and is the one where the paintings are from. We were able to see where they paint and meet their art teacher. There are four young boys who have been chosen by the art teacher to take painting class. The teacher choses pictures for the boys to paint. We filled a suitcase to the brim with more pieces to bring to the states and I made arrangements to come back to spend a few days photographing and interviewing the boys. Our friend here, Hai, will translate for us. He told us about some other children's programs here. There are other orphanages for the disabled, blind and for children with HIV. As of right now, the plan seems to be, travel with the group for the next week or so, we are going to Hue in two days. After the group of students and Dr. Murray return to the US, we will return to Hue and hopefully live in Doc Son, an orphanage run by Buddhist nuns. Depending on how long we stay there, I will be in contact with Hai and when we are ready we will come back to HCMC to work in Ms. Dons and visit the other orphanages. Think About the Children has very limited funds, so if we visit the orphanages with severe issues (HIV, severe disabilities, blindness etc.) I know that I cannot offer them support from TATC, however I am hopefull that perhaps if I am able to make powerful images I can send them to larger organizations who could potentially offer some help.
There is so much work that needs to be done here. There is so much poverty. The streets are full of beggars, peddlers, and trafficked children. Apparently many girls who have been trafficked "sell flowers" both literally and figuratively depending on their age. Blue Dragon, a children's foundation based in Hanoi is working on the complex issue of trafficking. It is a vicious cycle...Traffickers are slick con-men who come into poor villages offering jobs for disadvantaged youth. Thinking they are offering thier children a brighter future, families agree to sell their children to these men for about 200 USD, which is enticing as most of these families face financial debts-so it seems like a great deal to be able to give their children a future while receiving a financial boost. The children are taken and are swept into a world of abuse and exploitation. Some of these children are rescued and returned to their homes...but the problem remains as poor families keep having many children that they cannot support. It seems that birth-control and family planning needs to be established in these targeted areas.
There is a cafe near where we are staying called SOZO, which is greek meaning "to save." They sell cookies, coffee and juices and employ disenfranchised youth. They don't turn anyone away-if someone wants to work their, they will find them a place. It is run by an Aussi who we met. She is a lovely woman who is working hard. They use really good ingredients and are always open to new recepies. She told us they got their cheesecake recepe when a woman came in and said "I know a great cheesecake recipe" and they responded, "great! come in the back and show us!"
Yesterday, we took a bus to the Cao Dai temple, it is near the Cambodian border. On the way we stopped at 27-7 Handicapped Handicrafts. This is a place where war victims work to create art. Beautiful art. July 27 is disabled soldier's day, hence 27-7. Take a look at the photographs.
Paul mentioned the temple in his email. It was incredible. Cao Dai is a religion that is a fusion of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confusionsim, Islam and Christianity. There are prayers four times daily. We were able to see the one at noon. The men and women dress in different colored robes, white for Cao Dai, yellow for Buddhism, blue for Taoism and red for Catholisism. The prayer was beautiful. Paul had to come get me to bring to to the bus as I was completely enthralled and would have been left behind. Good thing I have him around to keep me in check! Check out those pictures as well.
HCMC is quite a place, but I am looking forward to getting out of the city soon.
Needless to say, things are going very well. I love SE Asia. There is so much about this place that is like Bali...a strange homecoming it is.
More soon.
LOVE LOVE LOVE
eva
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