PORTRAITS OF STRENGTH: Ethnic Women in North Vietnam
The award-winning photo essay “PORTRAITS OF STRENGTH” seeks to document the lives of ethnic minorities living in the mountains and valleys of North Vietnam, near the border with China. I was particularly interested in portraying the lifestyles, hard conditions and strength of ethnic women. (Full story after the photos)
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- A woman of the Nguyen ethnic minority living in a remote village in the mountains of North Vietnam. She has many responsibilities, including tending to her family’s livestock and collecting firewood on steep slopes. Beautiful view but very hard living conditions.
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- Woman with children looking after the harvest near a village at the border with China.
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- Old and young women taking care of everyday things in a small village down a remote valley on the border with China.
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- Ethnic women from nearby villages at a small local market in the main town.
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- Women working to make sticky rice… they grind the rice into a pulp, which is then turned into a paste, which can be stored and later used in many different ways.
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- Living conditions are extremely hard in the mountains in the North of Vietnam, especially during the very cold winters. These families do not have electricity or running water but they still manage with some help from local people.
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- Young woman preparing a meal inside her home.
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- Young woman preparing a meal inside her home in a tiny village in the mountains of north Vietnam.
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- Ethnic woman showing her child the new modern ways.
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- This old woman was getting the land ready to plant some kind of seeds.
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- In the same village from the previous image… while some women were busy preparing the sticky rice others took care of and looked after the children.
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- Women planting small trees during the night. If done during the day the small plants will be burned by the sun.
While in Hanoi for another project, I had the opportunity to go visit some ethnic communities… what I saw were small groups of people living in very poor and extremely hard conditions, in forgotten villages, left to themselves without even the basic amenities. When I asked about what had been done for them I was told that the government and the official institutions, in Vietnam’s recent “rush to capitalism/consumerism”, have no time to worry about these few individuals, so, most of the time, they turn a blind eye and simply carry on with their business, with development and innovation.
I believe our perception of these minorities is not correct. It is based, mainly, on the images/stories we get from the Sapa tourist area… the real situation is quite different. The conditions of the ethnic groups living away from the tourist path are much tougher and much more difficult. I was told that these minorities receive help from the government. From what I have seen it is not always so… Most of the help goes to the Sapa area for further development (it is already a very rich area compared to the rest of the country) while the other groups are, frequently, left by themselves to cope with very harsh conditions…
WINNER OF THE FOLLOWING AWARDS & PRIZES
