Vietnam: Responsibilities

She carried a toddler on her shoulder,

She strolled past, easy – without the weight of a boulder,

I approached her with a smile,

And saw that she was wearing a smile that goes for miles.

Sometimes Sapa seems to inhabited chiefly by little children, children kicking pebbles across bridges into flowing rivers below, children racing fig leaves down the channels of irrigation waterways, children clambering like invading armies all over the undulating countryside. But this girl is a tad special. She stands incongruously amongst the flurry of activity, exuding none of the of restless childish enthusiasm. Her face is lined and tired, a testament to the domestic responsibilities that have been bestowed upon her. Agriculture is, and will always be one of the strongholds of the Sapa economy and accounts for more than 90% of it. The parents spend the most part of the day in paddy fields, so it is not uncommon to see children (especially girls, think about it) – some as young as 5 – taking care of their younger siblings.

Children having fun on the slopes of Cadrona Ski Resort, New Zealand.

I compared the Vietnamese girl to the children back in Singapore and other developed countries (see above), and considered the vastly different developmental trajectories. These children are socialized to assume domestic roles from such an early age, while children in other places are still waddling in guilt-free hedonistic pursuits. As the Hmong tribe is relatively isolated from the city, they have hardly any of the luxuries that come together with the city life. Life is actually quite hard; a daily toil in the fields - a task made much more difficult when the amount of rainfall fluctuates...

I smiled at her as I left.
:)