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Sabaydii,
Here is the continuation of a series ‘Coming home’ entitled ‘A very able new force’
Hakphaang,
Kongkeo Saycocie
Phonesavan or Tik
My acquaintance in
The one in charge of
School project and scholarship in the country
Was an interesting person
Born in Savannakhet
And graduated from the university in the former
She was the right candidate
For this demanding job
Running the Minsai Lao office
Coordinating any contact with the headquarter in
And its main subsidiaries in
Before
I was contacted to run the Lao office
Many things were in the way
I wasn’t that free to move to
Most importantly
The government just wouldn’t like
A LaoNork to have such a big role in Lao education
A face was at stake here
And maybe justifiably so
Close to a hundred candidates
Applying for this job
Virtually none came close
To a standard the Japanese
Was looking for
A basic accounting
General international practice
And the utmost dedication to the job
Beyond the job requirement itself
In another word
The passion for what you do
And the ability to carry it through
No matter what
Glad I was
When they found the right person
Lao kids just couldn’t wait
Any longer
I myself
When all things settled
Just came to help out
Whatever I could
And that was I came to know Tik
And learnt of
I wouldn’t have thought of
Among other qualities
She made all things run that smooth
With all the officials at any level
Yes it did take time to know
How committed she was to the job
So all my blessing to her
A Lao woman
The foundation of the country future
Generally speaking
I thought
She was quite pleased
With what direction the country was taking
Then a little poking here and there
She began to leak out
Her frustration at what she thought
The selling out of the power-that-be
Once an education for all
An exemplar achievement of the new regime
Was forever discarded
In its place
Came an educational system
Reminiscent of the much maligned old regime
Triangle shape indeed
With the few at the benefit
And the majority poor
Just couldn’t afford to pay their kids
Beyond primary school level
Couldn’t help to wonder
What legitimacy did the government still have?
What was its raison d’etre still based upon?
Equality and justice for all?
Or were these a thing of the past too?
Then there is one thing
Shared by all
Officials or not
Having to deal with the Thai
A deep resentment
At how we are treated
From the so-called caring big brother
On our visit to the education ministry
The one in charge of the primary school
We ran across the Thai official
Rewriting the country educational curriculum
I guess
No one was pleased with this move
Except maybe the ones benefiting
From the Thai
When we left the building
I could see what she went through
In this society of ours
While spectacular statistics posted on the board
Praising the accomplishment of all grade level
Was still in front of me
I rubbed my eyes
And let the sad stories I had confronted so far
Undone the rosy picture
Only existed in the dream
9.8.03