Khune Som Jiit.

Met a man today named Som Jiit, or Khune Som Jiit (Mr. Som Jiit), a remarkable person. I was walking along the tracks between the slum shacks and Som Jiit was fixing his motorbike. Som Jiit has extensive scaring and is missing his upper lip on the left side of his face, probably the result of a fire. I bent down and started talking to him after maybe 10 minutes I asked his permission to take a photograph. He pointed to his face and seemed embarrassed by his scars. I told him what I wanted to photograph was his heart, his goodness and that the scaring was unimportant that it did not hide his true good self (he had been kind to me and warned me of the dangers of Klong Toey). Later on Som Jiit invited me into his home and I made a few photos of his room and of his young daughter and girlfriend. Before I left I asked if he needed money to pay for his the doctor for his daughter who was sick. He told me no that it was ok and he did not need the money as he and his girlfriend both worked. Somjiit drove a motorcycle taxi and his gf worked selling food.

I only talked to him for maybe 40 minutes but Khune Som Jiit struck me as a good decent man, someone who worked hard and loved his family. He also talked to me of "POH JO" (Father Joe of the Mercy Centre), and asked if I knew him. I have not had the honor of meeting Father Joe yet but I did meet another honorable man of Klong Toey today, Khune Som Jiit.