Village Kitchen
Burma, a village on the banks of the Irrawaddy River. 2011
A woman boils water for drinking. I can’t think that she does much else in that huge pot. And she has her thermos ready and waiting there on the left in the picture. People in many Asian countries, including China, must boil their drinking water. She sits on a charpoy and waits for the water to boil. Now she is in the twilight of her life, she can lapse into thought as she waits. There are no babies to tend now. How many hours, days, weeks or months of her life has she spent waiting for water to boil?
Life in Paradise
An elderly man enjoys a nap. This is his home, a bamboo hut open to the sultry, warm air. When the monsoon comes, he moves his bed to another corner, but it was hot that day and he wanted to enjoy the breeze from the river. No doubt he deserves his rest, having farmed or fished all of his life. It is likely he still does farm or fish. Where else would he get the food for himself and his family? There are no entitlements in Burma. He does have something an entitlement will never confer… he has the self-worth that comes from doing an honest day’s work.