IPS | Our Mekong

'Our Mekong: A Vision amid Globalisation' is a media fellowship programme run by Inter Press Service Asia-Pacific with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation (Southeast Asia).

Map of Mekong Region [courtesy of visit-mekong.com]
Map of Mekong Subregion

A LOOK AT THE GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION THROUGH PICTURES

The Ho Chi Minh Trail — From War to Commerce
Photos by Chu Phuc Kinh Luan

[click on photos for larger view]

You can’t tell from these children’s smiles, but National Highway 9, which links the coastal provinces in central Vietnam (Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue and Danang) with Savannakhet of Laos and north-eastern Thailand, used to be the ‘Deadly Road’ during the war. The road, which runs through Xavi hamlet in Quang Tri, is now being upgraded.

Fourteen-year-old Nguyen Van Truong, the youngest son of farmers, has never seen war but lives with one of its most toxic legacies: Agent Orange.

Greener Pastures on the Other Side
Photos by Tran Thanh Sang

Just before she leaves once more for Laos, Truyen receives friends in her home in Hoa My hamlet, Loc Bon village, Phu Loc commune in Thua Thien-Hue province.

Truyen and her children asleep on the overnight trip to Laos. Many Vietnamese, especially from Loc Bon village, Phu Loc say they know many people who go to work in Laos, then come back for major Vietnamese holidays.

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