Imaging Our Mekong - Documentaries

Tracing Human Trafficking

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:29:04 -0500

Chonlatis Kaewprasertsom and Chatra Siamthong, Producers, Saradee Company, Thailand

Owing to their geographical locations, Laos and Thailand enjoy close ties. They have similar languages and traditions, and the importation of Thai products to Laos has always been brisk. But unscrupulous people are now taking advantage of the convenient and easy routes between the two countries, and more and more Lao people are becoming victims of human trafficking in Thailand. View Film

Chicken Smuggling

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:16:23 -0500

Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam

At the Vietnam-China frontier area, authorities spend sleepless nights. The place is a hotspot for smugglers, especially those who illegally transport chicken from China to Vietnam via different roads.

To make this daring documentary, Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh pretended to be tourists and interviewed an illegal transporter who guided them through the dark and complicated world of chicken smugglers.

China Border

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:15:05 -0500

Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh, Reporters, Vietnam Digital Television (VTC), Vietnam

After over 4 years of avian flu incidence, are the Vietnamese and the Chinese now fully prepared to combat this threat to health and livelihood?

“China Border” explores the impact of the long bout with the H5N1 virus on the ways of life of poultry farmers in Vietnam and China.

Le Thi Thoa and Bui Tuan Linh bring the viewer to a breeding place for fighting cocks, a chicken farm, and a dumping ground for slaughtered, illegally-imported birds. They show how citizens, at different levels of involvement ,can rise to the challenge of overcoming the hurdles brought on by the disease.

Cockfighting and Avian Flu

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:14:22 -0500

Khamdeng Thounlevilay, Producer, National Film Archive and Video Center, Lao PDR

In the midst of excitement during a game or a sporting event, safety is not on top of the minds of participants and spectators. In the thrill of a cockfight, breeders, caretakers and gamblers may disregard the risk of contracting avian flu.

This is why in Lao PDR, cockfighting arenas are banned by the authorities in big cities like Vientiane. They are allowed only in remote communities, where it is easier to screen the animals. Authorities from both Laos and Thailand have also prohibited the transporting of birds across the Lao-Thai border.

Cooperation Between Laos and Thailand for Bird Flu Prevention & Control

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:15:28 -0500

Lamngeune Latsaath, Producer, Lao National Television

The bird flu outbreak of 2007 in Lao PDR was far more grave than the country’s previous experiences with the disease. The Second Friendship Bridge, which links Laos to Thailand and Vietnam, has brought not only trade to the province, but also carriers of the avian flu virus. It spread in four provinces in the country, and affected human beings, something that the Lao people have not experienced.

This comprehensive account of Lao PDR’s experience with bird flu by Lamngeune Latsaath shows the resourcefulness and resilience of a threatened population.

Cheap Chinese Products in Laos

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:43:42 -0500

Souvannaphet Champhone, Lamgneune Latsaath and Somphavanh Khamphachane, Producers, Lao National Television

If you have a limited budget, buy products made in China. This is common knowledge in Laos, where cheap household items, clothes and other consumer goods have been flooding in from the People’s Republic of China.

Lao businessmen, however, are protesting against their aggressive Chinese competitors. Some allege that the low prices of Chinese products are due to unskilled laborers and low quality machines churning out substandard products. Illegal practices, such as unregistered businesses and tax evasion, are also rampant.

Our Village

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:02:48 -0500

Zhang Min Feng, Filmmaker, Yunnan Television

The migration of Vietnamese women to China in order to marry Chinese men and improve their lives is an occurrence familiar to the residents of the Ma Beng village in Vietnam.

“Our Village” follows the life of one such Vietnamese, Yang Xiu Xing. But instead of the good fortune that she and her two children were hoping for in China, they were met by unexpected events that left them reeling.

The Miracle of Love

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:42:27 -0500

Lu Mu, Reporter, China Central Television

In addition to blood transfusion, mother-to-child transmission is almost the only way children under the age of 15 can get infected with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Fortunately, in 2001, an AIDS treatment and prevention research group in Chiang Mai, Thailand developed a new drug which could effectively reduce the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from mother to child.

Through a project of the United Nations’ Children’s Fund and the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese doctors trained in Thailand to learn more about how to block the transmission.

Pya'y in Kunming

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:35:58 -0500

Zhang Lei, Filmmaker, East Asia Institute of Visual Anthropology, Yunnan, China

After a financial crisis in Thailand in the late 1990’s, Thai businessman P’yai decided to take a gamble and explore opportunities in China. Although his first visit to Kunming in 1999 did not meet his expectations, a second visit in 2002 pleasantly surprised him.

For Farmers in Vietnam, Control Measures Aren't Easy

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:55:40 -0500

Vo Ngoc Van Quan, Reporter, Vietnam Television

Many of the measures to bring avian flu under control may be well known, but getting local farmers to follow them is not always so easy, Vo Ngoc Van Quan, a reporter with Vietnam Television in Can Tho Centre, reports. They are finding the Vietnamese government ‘s attempts to implement new and safer ways to raise poultry unfamiliar and expensive, so that many continue to stick to the old ways. Still, the government and its citizens are working out ways of working together.

Avian Flu TV Report: Cambodia

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:47:39 -0500

Sophea Promviceth, Reporter. APSARA TV, Cambodia

“Prevention is, without a doubt, better than cure.” This is the stand many Mekong nations are now adopting in its battle against Avian Flu. Cambodia has not been spared from the grips of this pandemic. Thankfully, they are not too late in addressing the situation from a preventive standpoint.

In recent months, labs have been built, safety equipment have been put in place. At the borders, the tightening of security has ensured that only fully-certified poultry may enter the country. Educational campaigns have been mounted throughout the community, spreading information on the deadly virus.

Sophea Promviceth’s report accurately depicts the kingdom’s vigilance, and shows how this country has set an example to its neighbours.

Highway No. 9: The Way of Changes

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:56:47 -0500

Siwattra Tiang Rojrat and Khomsunti Thongmak, Producers, The Nation Channel, Thailand

Highway No. 9, revered as the saviour of the Laotian economy, intends to link Laos with other Mekong regions such as Vietnam and Thailand. Upon the completion of the project, the newly land-linked republic is expected to draw in foreign investments and increase cross-border trade.

While thriving capitalists wave their flags in full support of this developmental project, the sceptics express concerns on the extent in which it would damage society. One cannot deny the possibility that the Laotians may be unprepared for the inevitable changes.

Life Without a Choice: Khmer Farmers in Vietnam

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:57:35 -0500

Sokhayouk Prak and Kong Sideth, Producers, Youth Today TV Program, Cambodian Television Network, Cambodia

Faced with dry lands and with no irrigation system in place, Khmer farmers resort to trooping to farms in Vietnam. There, for a mere 2 U.S dollars a day, they take on hazardous work: spraying pesticides in Vietnamese fields.

Exposure to such toxic chemicals poses health risks, not only to the farmers, but to their families as well. But due to lack of other options for livelihood, the Khmer farmers ignore the perils.

“Life Without a Choice” documents the causes and consequences of the farmers’ situation, and ultimately raises the question: are the pastures really greener on the other side of the border?

Human Zoo

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:59:09 -0500

Ko Ko Gyi, Director, Horizon Video Productions, Myanmar

Modern-day tourism often allows travellers to gain
insights on lives other than their own. However, are the ethical compromises that this entails worth it?

Since the late 1980s, Nai Soi in Thailand has been the home of the Padaung, a Myanmar tribe known for its women’s practice of wearing brass coils on their necks.

The refugees sacrifice their privacy in order to earn a living as a tourist attraction. The phenomenon has imprisoned the Padaung women within the parameters of their tradition, turning them into tourist specimens.

Life in Laiza

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:59:55 -0500

Lanau Roi Aung, Researcher,
Images Asia E-Desk (Thailand), Myanmar

In less than two decades, Laiza, a border town in the northernmost state of Myanmar, has undergone rapid growth. After ceasefire agreements between both the military government and the Kachin Independence Organization, the town’s economy has boomed. Chinese businessmen flock to this haven, investing in commercial enterprises and social establishments.

But has the roaring opulence of this state turned the once solitary countryside into a place of vice? The prevalence of the sex trade, gambling and drug abuse seem to suggest so.