============================================================== To reach ALL SJD members, please send to sjd@satjadham.net ... Do NOT include any other addresses when sending to the list... Include as LITTLE of the original messages as possible........ Message sent by: TuyY2K@aol.com *** Announcement: *** Please register for SatJaDham Fifth Annual conference at the website http://www.satjadham.org/sjd5sd/ ============================================================== Hello all, This is euay Pauline's article for those who may not have Microsoft Word to read the oringinal .doc file she sent. This one is in plain text. hak hpaang, Alisak ============================================ GOOD MORNING VIENTIANE By Pauline Phayvanh Phoumindr After an absence of 18 years, I returned to Laos to visit my relatives in 1993. It was my first visit since I left Laos. Naturally I expected the country to change but to my surprise I could still remember most the places. More surprisingly I was the one who had changed! I could easily be identified by the locals that I was not "one of them" despite the fact that I tried to look like them by wearing the same clothes and by trying to speak the same language. Laos has also adopted many new terminologies, which were totally unknown to me. When trying to find out why and how people knew I was not a local, the explanation I got from my cousin was "I talk too fast, I walk too fast and I was seen to be too assertive sometimes" (there is no exact equivalence of the term 'assertive' in Lao language, the use of this term is therefore rather conceptual than an accurate translation). "There is no such a thing as 'too assertive" , I somehow tried to correct my cousin. One thing I discovered about myself was that by living in a different country I had somehow adopted a different set of values, which I did not realise before. My "common sense" may not be shared by other people in Laos and their "common sense" sometimes surprised me. The same applies to "jokes". There were many times that I did not laugh at "Laotian jokes". By the same token, I still did not laugh at many "Australian jokes". I started to genuinely panic "Where do I really belong?". Due to limited time, I managed to visit only 4 provinces - Vientiane (the capital city) and three others in the South of Laos. Vientiane and Savannakhet have become more and more influenced by Thai clothes, music and language. While most people were excited about the construction of the "Mittaphab Bridge" or "Friendship Bridge" (or "Kangaroo Bridge" which is its unofficial name). I felt deeply concerned about the influence on Laos from the other side of the Mekong River through Vientiane. My quick unofficial research (pop vox) revealed that in general most people in Laos felt very positive towards the bridge. However, it is worth mentioning that, because of the open border through the bridge, there was a concern on the part of the Lao people about the issue of "AIDS" disease, the incidence, of which, at this stage, is very minimal in Laos compared to that in Thailand. People from Thailand also had a concern that the bridge may facilitate the spread of malaria into Thailand from Laos. Other views include the question of who would benefit most out of the bridge and what the social and cultural consequences would be, especially from the point of view of the less dominant country. Personally, I feel that, while positive outcomes are expected in economic terms for the region as well as for Australia, other significant issues such as environment, health, education, social and cultural consequences should not be overlooked. Many foreigners who used to work in Laos liked this country for its natural and unpolluted environment, its hospitality, its friendly and sincere people and its reputation for low crime rate. An Australian English teacher who worked in Laos a long time ago said to me: "Laos is the country I like best for its peacefulness and its simplicity which is closest to nature". He said that he still remembered walking along the bank of the Mekong River at nighttime. Therefore he was one of the first people to go back to Laos when the country re-opened to visitors some time ago. "Just to go back to walk along the Mekong River bank again", he told me. I did not appreciate before that simplicity could be one of the most precious things in one's life. And I have been too busy settling in a new country to compare "simplicity" and "complexity". Now that I went back and witnessed simplicity again, especially in the countryside, I was impressed and started to ask myself lots of questions about "Western" and "Oriental" life styles. The ideal would be a combination of both, if one can afford it. I found travelling to the countryside very difficult due to poor quality roads. However, many small villages now had access to electricity. I also noticed that schools, especially primary schools, mushroomed nearly everywhere, although the standard of the facilities and resources appeared to be far from adequate. During my stay in a small village, I looked at the pupils marching from school to home for lunch with mixed feelings. Apparently they wore very old and torn school outfits and hardly anybody had a proper school bag. But these children will not have drugs problems when they grow up, will they? There are two significant issues, which I would also like to mention - unemployment and childcare. I find that Western and Oriental worlds have different discourse on these two particular issues. In general, a typical, urban family in Laos consists of a husband/breadwinner who earns some sort of income; and the rest of the family (wife, children, in-laws, distant relatives, etc.) would be, in Western economic terms, "unemployed". What I would like to point out here is not whether this is good or bad, but the attitude of the society towards so called "unemployment" in Laos. On the one hand, there is no such thing as "social security benefits" equivalent to the systems in the West. However, there are no obvious stigma, such as "dole bludger*", attached to those who are not in the workforce, as there is no dole to "bludge*". The definition of "work" is also very different. Apparently, everybody works - whether they be working in an official capacity, raising children, childminding, backyard gardening, doing housework, working in ricefields, fishing, farming, etc. Being in the official workforce is a big plus in Laos, because it means secure (although minimal) income and status; but there is a no big minus for those who are not in paid employment. The childcare system in Laos is also made more flexible through mutual assistance. The responsibilities are shared among natural parents (or rather natural mothers) and any other surrogate parenting figures such as grandparents, siblings, relatives and even neighbours. As mentioned earlier, my intention is not to criticise which system is better, I simply find that there are alternatives to any system if we allow that to happen. As for women's movement, the "Lao Women's Union" or "LWU" is the only official women's organisation recognised by the Government. The LWU also has an official seat in the Government system. Back in Vientiane, I enjoyed (or did I?) many conveniences - air conditioned cars, luxurious and expensive restaurants and hotels and noisy nightclubs. People were crazy about learning English. Even in government ministries, senior public servants attended English classes after working hours. In one of the main streets in Vientiane, while selecting some hand made products in a shop, I heard some people talking with an all too familiar Australian accent. I said to myself "this is Vientiane, not Sydney, can't be them". I turned to look at them. There they were … wearing sloppy joes, shorts and thongs … "No mistake, they are Aussies! No mistake!". Well! at least I felt less homesick! ! & ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NB: Part of this article has appeared in the Lao Studies Society (Australia) newsletter No 2 (1993) and in the "Statewide" staff newsletter of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (State of New South Wales), No 11/94, Ed 388. Part of this article was also mentioned many times by Senior Officers of the Department of Immigration during Australian Citizenship ceremonies. v v v v A "dole-bludger" and to "bludge" are Australian colloquialisms. The meaning of the those words are provided below: · Dole-bludger: Someone drawing unemployment benefits even though work is available. (A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms by G.A. Wilkes, First published 1978 by Sydney University Press, Fontana Books 1980) · Bludge: A bloke who ceases work - temporarily - could be 'havin' a bit of bludge'. A bloke who is temporarily out of tobacco or cigarettes is permitted to 'bludge a smoke'. But a bloke who does as little work as possible - who 'poles his mates' - and who is eternally bludging smokes, is a 'bludger'. This is a terrible thing to be. Both words can give offence, and buy fights, so it's better not to use them. Leave them to the locals, who know when it's safe, and when it isn't. (Aussie English - An Explanation of the Australian Idom), by John O'Grady, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1985) v v v v Disclaimer: This article was written in 1993. Therefore some comments may no longer be accurate or relevant under the current situation in Laos. Most of the comments are based on my personal observation during that visit only and thus are empirical and not claimed to be based on any official research. Author Sydney, April 2000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _ ***************************************************************** Visit SatJaDham Homepage at: http://www.satjadham.org (or .net) *****************************************************************