Working at Thanh Xuan has really made me think about how society outside the walls of Thanh Xuan perceive the inhabitants within. Before I first came to Hoa Binh I was afraid I would be dealing with people who were severely disabled both mentally and physically, unable to communicate with all people not just those who cannot speak the same language (like myself). I don't know where those thoughts came from, but my guess is that I formulated these ideas through the way, at least American, society thinks about the disabled, the autistic, and people affected by Agent Orange. People in general are afraid of the disabled, mostly because we think communication would be difficult so there would be no way to convey the necessary feelings and awareness that is "required" by interaction in a given society. So far my experience there has completely blown away all those previous assumptions and worries. A vast majority of the children and adults in Hoa Binh are perfectly able to communicate, just not in the way that is classified by society as "normal." For example, there is a boy at Hoa Binh who doesn't like to stay in his seat, doesn't exactly speak sensical Vietnamese all the time, and has difficulty concentrating, but when you rub his head and really sit with him and and work then he gets really pleasant and interested in doing his work.
I have also inquired how Vietnamese society feels about disabled people and the general response I've gotten is that if they cannot learn very fast or very well, then they should be taught a skill that would be able to benefit the family like handicrafts. The same communication fears are present which do also limit the expanse of possible activities for disabled people. Though there are laws here and in America to prevent discrimination in the workplace, they are shakily enforced in both countries.
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