Weaw

I met a girl today in Chiang Mai who I have known since 2003, her name is Weaw. I found out just before this trip that Weaw was HIV positive and had gone blind because of poor medical treatment at a govt hospital (lack of money prevented her from getting better medical care at a public hospital).

I remember her from back in 2003, a girl full of life, wearing short shorts and a tshirt walking quickly through Bangkok traffic guiding me with an ease Thai people seem to have in the street that a bigger fatter farang finds difficult to master. I remember stumbling and having a hard time keeping up with her. Today in Chiang mai I helped guide here through the streets, she had on long black pants with a tan shirt, dark sunglasses and one of those folding out blind person sticks that starts with a black handle and alternates between red and white.

To see the contrast of the girl from 2003 to the girl of 2010 was heartbreaking. She still was polite, and pretty but the loss of her eyesight made her so vulnerable. She has lost much of her independence, the girl from Bangkok that I knew is gone forever. On top of the blindness she has HIV, here bf of 6 years who is also HIV positive a farang man from England has stopped emailing her, stopped telephoning her. He has cut her out of his life, she told me she did not want to get back together with him but I think this was not true, I wish she could be with him again and be happy with someone she loves.

Heartbreaking day to see the girl I knew then and now. I think thou she will overcome her disability, she is brave, she is strong and she is smart. Today we went to a massage school for blind people, to see if she could join the school. The classes last 3 months and should allow her to earn an income on completion. Many times Thai people like to receive massages from the blind because it a way of making merit, blind people also often do a better job.

Tomorrow morning will go with Weaw to her family home so that she can visit her parents, the home is 4 hours 45 minutes away from Chiang Mai. First to Chiang Rai by VIP air conditioned bus then by ordinary fan bus for 2 hours to Weaw's family home. Weaw's family are farmers so I will have a chance to photograph and to meet a Thai farming family this trip.