Arranged a motorcycle driver to take me to the dump site and pick me up 4 1/2 hours later. I left my 450 baht ($15.50 CAD) clean a/c room at 730am and photographed at the dump all morning, then was picked up at noon and taken back to the hotel.
The dump was something else, never ever experienced anything like this in my life. People, children should not have to live like this, its fucking sick, the dump is a terrible world to live in. When I was photographing a young girl digging around in the trash for bottles I was covered in flies, must have 20 or more on me at once, I was freaking out a bit but for the little girl of maybe 10 years old it was her life, she smiled at me and continued digging about. Later on I made a video of this young girl as she stuck out her tongue, when I showed it to her and she saw the tongue part she laughed for 1 minute straight, a beautiful sweet laugh. She liked it so much she asked me to show it to her friends and others near by then laughed again, it was a beautiful thing in a terrible place. I found out later her name was Doo-aye.
I gave a 2 1/2 kilo bag of rice to the first family I met today, I will do the same everyday. I might also try to make a donation to Fred Stockwell (a local man who helps people in the dump, his charity link is a few blog entries before this one), or I might just donate something to the Blue Sky school (the dump school) directly. I met a teacher at the Sky Blue school who spoke English and he said during the school season they have 160 students up to grade 5.
Today I spoke 3 languages, English, Thai and some Burmese. The people loved to hear me try Burmese and laughed at my pronunciation, I got them to try some English and they did their best. I made a few friends I think, lots of joking, lots of smiles, showed my little photo album 3 times. I was a bit apprehensive going in today but I think things will go well, I shot 13 rolls of Tri-x 35mm on this first day using the Leica's. Next trip I might bring a 3rd body so that I can switch between the 3 lens more easily, 21mm, 28mm and 35mm. I will probably come back and hand out photos in August. I need to be careful, the Thai police do not like farang (Westerners) visiting the people who live at the dump site, in the past the dump residents have had their homes destroyed and then been arrested as illegals by the authorities (even the children and the mothers with babies).
I will go to bed early today, I have a 730am motorcycle ride awaiting me tomorrow. Today I drank 2 bottles of water and put on sunscreen 3 times, but was still got dehydrated badly (brown colored urine). I ended up drinking 2 large bottles of water on my return to the hotel, I drank and drank until I started to hear swishing sounds in my stomach.
Today I had Burmese people talk and joke with me, offer me things to drink and places to sit, they recommended I stand in the shade and that I wear a hat. I also gained a bit of insight into the pain they are going through (when I spoke in English to a teacher from the school, he told me about his life). How can people be so kind, so good, so unresentfull even when living in such abject poverty? These people have endured untold horrors but they still can greet me with a smile and a kind word as they dig through garbage and are covered in flies. I can learn so much humility, goodness and compassion from the Burmese I met today, for me this was a life altering experience.
Some words from today, not sure if they are Burman-Karen or some other ethnic group.
Water - Yee
Hot - Moh
What is your name? - Neh-may baloo kohleh
Buddhist Monk - Pond-doh-gee
Young Monk - Go-yen
I will give my rice gift tomorrow to Dooy-ayes family, it's 450pm time to head home and go to bed!
The dump was something else, never ever experienced anything like this in my life. People, children should not have to live like this, its fucking sick, the dump is a terrible world to live in. When I was photographing a young girl digging around in the trash for bottles I was covered in flies, must have 20 or more on me at once, I was freaking out a bit but for the little girl of maybe 10 years old it was her life, she smiled at me and continued digging about. Later on I made a video of this young girl as she stuck out her tongue, when I showed it to her and she saw the tongue part she laughed for 1 minute straight, a beautiful sweet laugh. She liked it so much she asked me to show it to her friends and others near by then laughed again, it was a beautiful thing in a terrible place. I found out later her name was Doo-aye.
I gave a 2 1/2 kilo bag of rice to the first family I met today, I will do the same everyday. I might also try to make a donation to Fred Stockwell (a local man who helps people in the dump, his charity link is a few blog entries before this one), or I might just donate something to the Blue Sky school (the dump school) directly. I met a teacher at the Sky Blue school who spoke English and he said during the school season they have 160 students up to grade 5.
Today I spoke 3 languages, English, Thai and some Burmese. The people loved to hear me try Burmese and laughed at my pronunciation, I got them to try some English and they did their best. I made a few friends I think, lots of joking, lots of smiles, showed my little photo album 3 times. I was a bit apprehensive going in today but I think things will go well, I shot 13 rolls of Tri-x 35mm on this first day using the Leica's. Next trip I might bring a 3rd body so that I can switch between the 3 lens more easily, 21mm, 28mm and 35mm. I will probably come back and hand out photos in August. I need to be careful, the Thai police do not like farang (Westerners) visiting the people who live at the dump site, in the past the dump residents have had their homes destroyed and then been arrested as illegals by the authorities (even the children and the mothers with babies).
I will go to bed early today, I have a 730am motorcycle ride awaiting me tomorrow. Today I drank 2 bottles of water and put on sunscreen 3 times, but was still got dehydrated badly (brown colored urine). I ended up drinking 2 large bottles of water on my return to the hotel, I drank and drank until I started to hear swishing sounds in my stomach.
Today I had Burmese people talk and joke with me, offer me things to drink and places to sit, they recommended I stand in the shade and that I wear a hat. I also gained a bit of insight into the pain they are going through (when I spoke in English to a teacher from the school, he told me about his life). How can people be so kind, so good, so unresentfull even when living in such abject poverty? These people have endured untold horrors but they still can greet me with a smile and a kind word as they dig through garbage and are covered in flies. I can learn so much humility, goodness and compassion from the Burmese I met today, for me this was a life altering experience.
Some words from today, not sure if they are Burman-Karen or some other ethnic group.
Water - Yee
Hot - Moh
What is your name? - Neh-may baloo kohleh
Buddhist Monk - Pond-doh-gee
Young Monk - Go-yen
I will give my rice gift tomorrow to Dooy-ayes family, it's 450pm time to head home and go to bed!
