Kevin German's In the Footsteps of Ghosts
This project examines the economic and social transitions of Vietnam while focusing on the people who are left behind in these changes.
Vietnam is one of the most misunderstood countries in American history -- along with much of the Western world. And now more than three decades after the end of the American-Vietnam War, the country has been trying to find itself economically and in many ways still recovering from a bloody past.
Vietnam is the world's thirteenth most populous country with a population of more than 86 million, yet it is smaller than the state of California. More than sixty percent of Vietnamese were born after the fall of Saigon. Emerging from this prolonged military engagement, the war-ravaged nation was politically isolated. The government's centrally planned economic decisions hindered post-war reconstruction and its treatment of the losing side engendered more resentment than reconciliation. Even though their standard of living has risen dramatically in the past 10 years, given Vietnam's great natural resources and its clever, persevering workforce, there are few other countries where the gap between potential and performance is so great. Vietnam still remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The majority of them survive on less than one US dollar per day. Most of them – living in the countryside, home to eighty percent of the country's population – have never seen a bank, an elevator, or even had access to a flush toilet.
But now Vietnam is on the rise. Since joining the World Trade Organization in 2007, the economy has steadily increased. Booming development has changed the skylines of cities up and down the coast. But with these changes comes social collateral damage. The current system is growing so fast that the proper infrastructure is not being implemented correctly. Many economists see a bubble in Vietnam's near future.
This story is not a simple one. Post-war affects still run deep in Vietnam. Education, health, politics and climate change are issues that seem to be ignored. Fast-food franchises are pushing the traditional street cart out of business and in the process. The country is seeing the beginning it's first childhood obesity issues. Big hotels and resorts are pushing people off their land. Hydro-electric dams are doing the same to ethnic minority tribes in the highlands. All these people will be left behind in the process. Left to walk in the footsteps of Vietnam's ghosts.
Kevin German is a Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam based artist.
To view more of his work, please visit Luceo Images
