Prostitutes' Next Generation, a photo from Siem Reab, West

Photographer's Note

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This picture reflects our "Lop Hoc Tinh Thuong" — Vietnamese terms for "The Love Class" in English.

On March 24, 2006, the NGƯỜI VIỆT newspaper in California has published online an article about our LOVE CLASS in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The article by reporter Trần Tiến Dũng has prompted some mails to us, asking to see the class in pictures.

I am not a certified teacher, but I cannot close my eyes at the lack of basic maternal language to Vietnamese children in town. I stood up to convert the humble and limited education I had to the next generation. I don’t get pay for the task, and Vietnamese children in this "red-light district" have suffered enough; they need to be shed a light; they are thirsty for being able to speak correctly their parental language. My class is free of charge. We kept the class running by my income as Angkor tour-guide, and by the benevolence of those whose hearts felt pain at the situation of these kids.

Most of my students’ mothers are prostitutes in this town. They speak Khmer, live in Cambodia but are not recognized as a person. The Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh does nothing to help Vietnamese in Cambodia, nor do Cambodian authorities. These human beings do not have a birth certificate or an ID card. They are subjected to be massacred any time as happened many times in the past. And they are subjected to poverty, illness, hunger and illiteracy. This status has been named as the floating misery.

For the complete report on our class in Vietnamese language, please refer to Người Việt Online or the following links:

* Part 1
* Part 2
* Part 3

I do hope that someone will donate the time to translate this article to help non-Viet friends understanding our situation. We appreciate your help.

Sincerely,

Bui Hoang Sang

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NgocSon, Flamboyant, happypoppeye, kevinos, Mondaychild, kajspice has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

NgocSon (282) 2007-04-15 12:21

I read your notes and viewed your photo with great concern. My best wishes for your effort toward the Vietnamese children in Siem Reap.
I will do whatever I can within my reach to assist the class. I will be in touch with you by email.
God Bless!

Ngoc-Son

[2] +

Flamboyant (0) 2007-04-16 4:49

Good topic and good notes.
My respect to your humanitarian work. Please keep it up.
God bless you and your class!

PVy,
Vietnam

[3] +

andylj (52) 2007-04-18 14:17

Good luck in your efforts with the help you are giving . Best wishes andy

[2] +

patelgm (117) 2007-04-19 3:57

Hi HoangSang Bui,
You're doing a great job dear.
Wish you all the best in your efforts.
Regards.
-Gautam.

kevinos (7517) 2007-05-07 1:51

Your note is very interesting from a social point of view. It is good that someone is trying to help these children. I must say I don't like the word 'prostitutes' applied to children; even though I accept that there is a real danger that many of them may follow their parents occupations. They are still too young to be tarnished by that ugly word. I am glad that you are providing local help. So many of these initiatives are just a mask for Christian proselytizing, by the missionizers, who are the plague of South East Asia and do great harm. I am struck by the similarity of the plight of these children to that of the Khmers who live in Vietnam, or whose land was ceded to Vietnam by the French colonialists and who now are treated in a similar way to that you describe here. As for the photograph, it is spoiled by lack of sharpness, particularly in the face of the young lady at the front. The sharpest focus seems to be on the junk at the back of the class, which can't have been you main interest. The composition does not seem to be ordered at all. A higher PoV would have been better and sharper, more selective focus. Good luck with your teaching work. Regards Kevin

ChristineLe (59) 2007-05-10 2:49

Your work is very respectable, and the info you shared with us today is helpful. I am going to contact you via email for your street address where I can send the kids some pencils and notebooks.
Best regards,

Christine

Mondaychild (378) 2007-06-09 10:06

Hi Hoang,

a very meritorious idea to give lessons for these kids. Are these classes additional to the regular schooling in Khmer language - or do they attend no school?
As they live in Cambodia it would be very necessary for them to know the language of this country. But it´s good that they don´t forget their own language. We also have classes for children of immigrants, they can attend them on a volonteer basis. They are taught in their own language (e.g. Serbian, Turkish, Albanian) - because many don´t know how to spell words in their mother tongue.

I like your photo in its soft and pastel colors, with the children who seem to enjoy their lesson. What I don´t like so much is the title - it seems to "label" the children as prostitutes, even though they should get the chance to work in a different professional field.

I would be really interested to know more about your work - and I wish you good luck!

wmarlowe (2) 2008-02-07 19:55 [Comment]

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