VietNamNet Bridge – “They have lived in that way” photo exhibit is not simply an exhibition. Many people agreed with Mr. Nguyen Tan Tai, 79, that “These are lessons for life. Each photo and each character is a lesson.”

Electrician Pham Tuan Son, 29, from Long An province lost his both hands and three right toes. He is now Vietnamese dong billlionaire thanks to fish farming.

Inspirational photos – “They have lived in that way”

Tuoi Tre newspaper introduced some of the 90 characters of “They have lived in that way” at the agreement of photographer Nguyen A.

Pictures of tears

“Perhaps this is the set of photos imbued with tears. First, the author – me –cried nearly all the time with my 90 characters. They were tears of admiration for unfortunate people,” revealed Nguyen A.

“Our characters, when I invited them to attend the opening ceremony of this exhibition, nearly all of them cried. That’s tears of happiness for the public sharing. And finally, the viewers, I also saw them cry a lot when they stood in front of my photos,” he observed.

Blind teacher Nguyen Phuoc Thien and his students.

Thien’s students speak English with foreign visitors.

According to Nguyen A, it is very difficult to take photos of the disabled, much more than photographing beautiful girls, because the society doesn’t look at the disabled as normal people, so they are often defensive with strangers.

“I often needed 1-2 days to integrate into the life of my characters. Whenever they saw me as a member of their family, I took out my camera,” Nguyen A explained.

The photographer said that he spent over 200 million dong ($12,500) for these photos. “Some people said I was crazy to spend a lot of money on this set of photo and gain nothing. But I think differently – the things I have from them are 90 invaluable lessons,” he added.

Blind teacher Nguyen Van Long.

“I love all of the characters, but actually I have the most compassion for blind people. Sometimes I went alone to their houses at night. In the dark night, I found that it is the most tragic to live without light. My job is the art of light.”

“My works are for people to look at and experiment. If this world was in darkness, my job would not exist. I cried many times when my characters asked their relatives, “How are my photos? Are they nice?”

Special characters

Every weekend, blind teacher Nguyen Phuoc Thien takes a train from HCM City to Phan Thiet (420km in total). After a long ride on a motorbike taxi, he reaches his charity class in Mui Ne to teach English free of charge for poor children. After nearly one year, these poor children can speak English to foreign visitors.

* Audience’s comment: “Though teacher Thien cannot see life, life has to admire his big heart.” (Pham Thi Thu Van from HCM City Open University)

Scarlet fever took away Nguyen Van Long’s eyes when he was three. But darkness could not take away his aspirations for study and he went on to receive a Master’s degree in culture. Long is day by day transfusing his knowledge to the blind students of the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School. He can’t know what he looks like in Nguyen A’s photos.

Phan Thanh Thuong and his son.

Thuong is repairing a computer.

Thuong and his students.

He plays volleyball.

* Audience’s comment: “I will tell Long’s story and those of other characters in this exhibition to a friend in Hanoi who lost an arm and a leg in a traffic accident. I will tell my friend that in this world, there are many people who are unfortunate, but they overcome fate to live a useful life for others and themselves.” (Pham Thi Phuong – from Tokyo Development Consultants Company)

Phan Thanh Thuong from Tay Ninh is a victim of Agent Orange. He was born with one-finger hands. His son, 4, suffers the same malformation. He is now a computer teacher in Tay Ninh and he still plays volleyball like ordinary people. He said optimistically: “My son will do many things better than me because he has a father who goes ahead with experiences.”

* Audience’s comment: “I would like to take off my hat to Mr. Thuong. His energy is a great lesson for me.” (Dang Duc Ninh – Blue Music Company)

A paralyzed arm and leg from polio could not stop Tran Ngoc Diep (HCM City) from becoming a teacher. Graduating from HCM City Teacher Training College, she joined the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for blind students. She doesn’t care about herself, but always thinks that she is much happier than her students. “I wish to be a candle to guide my students forever,” she remarked. Diep is also a member of the HCM City chess team.

* Audience’s comment: “Nguyen A’s photos about Tran Ngoc Diep are very youthful and bright. The photos are about a disabled person, but in them I feel the youth and joy of living.” (Nguyen Xuan Mai, 65, HCM City).

Other comments:

“I’m extremely moved in coming to Nguyen A’s exhibition. There has never had any unique exhibition at the HCM City Youth Culture House that has attracted public attention like this one.” – Composer Pham Dang Khuong

Teacher Tran Ngoc Diep and her students.

“Nguyen A has made a marvelous thing. His photos urge viewers to rethink life and themselves. Thank Nguyen A, the artist with a beautiful soul.” – Actor Thanh Loc

“First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Nguyen A! When I looked at these photos, I could not hold back my tears. There are many unfortunate people around us, but how do they have such strong wills and the energy to live like that? That is a big question that we have to think about! Thank you very much! Thanks to your photos, I will surely live better!” – Nguyen Anh Tuan

“These people don’t have complete bodies, but they have brave hearts! Thanks to Nguyen A’s photos, which give me the energy to overcome difficulties in life!” – Ly Minh Thanh

“Life is very beautiful and valuable…These people are worthy of being admired. They make me further respect life. Let’s live meaningfully so that when we die, we have no regrets!” – Bui Viet Cuong

“Thank you photographer Nguyen A! With “They have lived in that way,” you have lightened up candles for the people to understand more about the value of life and help me find a road in the darkness.” – Nguyen Dung 

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre