Sabaydii,

 

Here is the continuation of a series ‘Coming home’ entitled ‘Xekong – another corner of Muang Lao’

 

Hakphaang,

 

 

Consisted of only a few government buildings

A couple of paved roads

And, maybe, one hotel

At least the one we stayed

This became a town called Xekong

One of the seventeen administrative centers

In the new Laos

 

 

Greeting us at the hotel lobby

Were some old issues of

Sieng Pasason[1] an official party mouthpiece

And of Vientiane Mai[2]

A no less mouthpiece of the power-that-be

 

Interesting to see

There wasn’t anything worthy to read

But self-aggrandizing success and achievement

No wonder nobody cared about them

 

Couldn’t help to ask

What is the purpose of the newspaper?

If not to inform

Or at least to entertain

 

Or are we that different

That stupid

To be fed like a baby

Like a retarded

 

On our trip to the school

Built by the Japanese donors[3]

The head of Xekong school systems

Jokingly said

At the meeting attended by

All seventeen provinces

Each one came up with the impressive numbers

Though we added a few zero to our number

We still came out second to last

 

I wonder

What an outlandish number

They had to come up with

 

That is how low it gets

When truth is discarded

Integrity is lost

And a sense of self-respect is destroyed

 

Not sure

What we’re building here

A country full of self-serving yes-man

Or a strong foundation of ethical citizens

Muang Lao can grow on

For eons to come

 

The sign seems to be pointing

To the former

 

I guess that is the most

We can do

Or what else?

 

Slowly

Our pick-up tumbled its way

To the school

Past the bumpy trail

Past the hard-to-reach corner of the province

And past civilization itself

 

Maybe there is still hope left

To redeem Muang Lao over there

 

8.5.03