HER NAME IS PHONETHIP,15 YEARS OLD, LAOTIAN. I NEVER KNEW LAOTIAN WAS A PERSON FROM LAOS, LAOS THE MOST BOMBED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, LAOS A COUNTRY IN ASIA; NEXT TO VIETNAM
SHE RISES BEFORE THE SUN, 5 AM DAILY. THERE IS STICKY RICE TO BE MADE. HER MOM NEEDS HER HELP, HER BROTHERS ALL AWAY AT SCHOOL, SHE THE YOUNGEST HELPS HER MOM. SHE WANTS TO GO TO ENGLAND. HER ENGLISH IS QUITE GOOD, MY LAOTIAN IS NOT EXISTENT, I AM HERE, SHE IS NOT THERE.
5 :00, TWO TIMES DAILY, IN THE MORNING MAKING STICKY RICE IN THE EVENING AT THE DOCK. SHE WAITS FOR THE FOREIGNERS, SHE USES HER ENGLISH TO CONVINCE THE ARRIVIES TO STAY AT HER MOM’S GUESTHOUSE. EVERYDAY SHE SEES THE WORLD PASS BY HER AND HER VILLLAGE, AGAINST THE CURRENT OF THE MEKONG RIVER. ALTHOUGH THE WORLD EASLILY HEADS UPSTREAM, DOWNSTEAM DOESN’T LEAD TO ENGLAND…WHERE THEY STARTED. HOW MUCH STICKY RICE (PRICE= 10,000 KIP) DOES IT TAKE TO BYPASS THE MEKONG TO ENGLAND? STICKY RICE IS NOT AS LUCRITIVE AS THE BURGERS AND BEER I SERVED WHICH BROUGHT ME HERE. BUT STICKY RICE IS WHAT PHONETHIP SELLS, ALONG THE MEKONG RIVER, IN LAOS, THE MOST BOMBED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD: NEXT TO VIETNAM.
I feel like I have been robbed of an education, an education that actually matters. I have been spoon fed information that ignores phonethip, that silences the majority of the world overpowered by the words of the minority. How can I know my beliefs, when I seem to know so little of the truth? The more I learn the dumber I feel, the more I question everything…
2 comments:
ever read the "real" american history book? dont remember who wrote it but it is more unfiltered version of history and it is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo different than what we all learned in 3rd grade.
it's funny how more knowledge can actually make you feel dumber, but i know exactly what feeling you write about. the first time i left the country, i felt so enlightened, but subsequent trips have just shown me how little i actually know. there is so much that i will never know. i can only hope to slowly make my way through the world, picking up bits and pieces that i can integrate into my life.
ian is thinking of The People's History of the US, a book that paco owns.
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