DISPATCHES FROM THE NORTH
How has Vietnam changed in your lifetime?: Life was very hard before doi mo (economic reform; 1986 ) as many people lived on subsidies. Doi moi was not only an economic awakening, but a social awakening, as people had a better understanding of the shortages and the misery of the past. Now we have access to information and news from all over the world and this has raised our national expectations. The government has begun to look after the cultural history of the country. Monuments and buildings have been restored; artists like me have more freedom to express our vision and the media is more free to discuss the bad as well as the good.
How has Hanoi changed?: Life is changing every day in Hanoi. Hanoi is no longer poor like it was in the 1980s. There is lost of construction and it sometimes seems the buildings sprout like mushrooms after the rain. Many people in Hanoi are earning high salaries working for foreign companies, but they soon start to live a foreign lifestyle. They forget who they are and lose touch with their traditions and this is also changing the face of Hanoi. Hanoi is growing, but growth is not always for the best.
How has your Life changed?: When I came back to Vietnam from the Soviet Union 20 years ago, life was difficult. I had to cycle daily from Hanoi to Bat Trang to work as a painter to earn money to attend the Hue Arts University. In 1993, I graduated but it was not an easy climate to find a job I had to take a job in advertising to make money to follow my dream to bea painter in 1996 the tourism industry starred to grow and I started work as a painter for a tourist company , which allowed me to travel all over the country.