Currently I am in Hanoi waiting to get my camera fixed so i can continue with the final stages of my project, hence an opportunity to update the blog. I would just like to inform everyone that I am still working and will update this blog as soon as I have a base so please sit tight and check in four weeks.

In the last three months I have traveled around Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos documenting the devasating effects that UXO, in particular cluster munitions, continue to have on the people of these countries.

The stories of those who have lived through and survived the American carpet bombings from 1964-75 are harrowing enough, the next generation of children that continue to be killed and maimed 30 years since the bombings have ceased makes the continuing legacy of the war more difficult to digest.

Each country is tackling the issue very differently, with laws, legislations and policies dealing with UXO sometimes alternating between each province.

In meeting with various NGOs, government representatives, villagers, survivors of UXO accidents and families of victims that weren’t so fortunate, one thing that remains apparent in each country, each province, each contaminated village, clearing the land of these ghastly weapons alone is not enough.

It is no coincidence that the areas most heavily contaminated with UXOs are areas that are living below the poverty line.  Contamination and the continuing struggle of survivors in these areas stunts any socio-economic growth to see the countries enter the developed world.

During my studies I have come to realise just how complicated the situation throughout these areas are and it is our responsibility in the international community to ensure that the basics of human rights are provided for the children whos lives continue to be cruelly inflicted with the hangover’s of   a war that they don’t understand. NGOs continue to work alongside governments and have some fantastic projects in place, but they need our support. The western world is not the only victim fastened in the clutches of the depressing economic climate. Funding for charities who’s work is imperative in these countries is quickly being withdrawn to safehold our own economies. It is our responssibility to provide for those who rely on external help to survive.

 Adequate healthcare needs to reach those that have survived UXO accidents (often in remote areas). Children who have either personally survived explosions or who have a survivor in the family need to be granted the implements to ensure a fair education and those who risk life and limb to collect scrap metal to provide for their families need to be provided with safer opportunities.

It is imperative for the lands to be cleared to provide a safer environment for those who have survived the most publicised war in history in Vietnam, to those who continue to live with the legacy of ‘The Secret War’ in Cambodia and Laos.

Please re-check the blog to see a detailed account when I can return to the technological world! Each account will be posted on the ‘pages’ option at the right side of the screen.

Thank you.

The first week here was a wonderful culture shock that kept my jaw firmly glued to the bridge of my flip flop for at least three days straight. The traffic is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Envisage the entire population of the UK taking Speedway onto the streets. I can’t quite figure out what the order is except I know there is one as I haven’t seen one crash or fit of road rage in the bedlam. I have a wonderful “Hanoi’  tattoo on my right calf. I don’t know what may concern you more mum, but it’s one that was actually branded into my leg by a motorcycle engine. Note to self, motorcycle engine will always win so don’t start. It truly is a game of Wacky Races minus The Pigeon.

All this to absorb and still the matter of having to actually do some work, which for those concerned, I haven’t stopped! I met Robert Kinnear, organiser of Project Pineapple, in the dark of the evening on my first day. He spoke about the Project and the injustices of this world with such utter passion that I went to bed with the importance of what I can do to help, ringing desperately in my ears.

I spent the week photographing the bike ride and the small group involved, but mainly watching Robert and trying to catch his charisma through the lens. The dates of the ride were changed, despite their original significance (19 March-start of Iraq War, 30 April- end of Vietnam) and the content of the ride began to concern me. When after a week I had still not met a spokesperson from a charity, or anybody directly linked with the issue of cluster bombs, I was left with the grave concern that my project was going to comprise of ‘one man and his bike’. Although I have the upmost admiration for his efforts and passion, I feel that the visual content I would be including in my work would not be enough to encompass public interest in this pressing matter.

The fact of the matter is that I came here, in short, to do a job. I have come here to document the effects that these cataclysmic weapons are still having on the people of Indochina. Despite Robert’s fiery efforts and desire to help those who need it, I have decided to distance myself from ‘Project Pineapple’ and set off on my own. My ears haven’t stopped ringing.

So the past week has been an outrageously busy one for me. I have been trying to organise various meetings with charities, clearance companies, hospitals, and arrange visits to areas most affected throughout Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. All whilst in Vietnam, armed only with a stubborn English vocabulary.

Luckily for me I have made some incredible Vietnamese friends who have helped me with translation, news stories, state of mind and a place to stay. So i would just like to take this time to thank;

Hoa Anh- who can lift the darkest spirit in the room

Hang- wonderful chef, roommate, and a truly individual young lady

Dat- friend/translator/taxi driver/secretary/head of cultural education

A potentially worrying situation has been somewhat alleviated by all those mentioned above, who’s raw, honest nature has made me understand that these wonderful people’s back garden’s need to be cleaned up.

So starts my journey…….

PROJECT PINEAPPLE.
An Easy Ride through Indochina.
Lift the carpet. Remove the bombies. Repair the damage.
Hanoi 19th March 2009 – HoChiMinh City 30th April 2009.

Dominique Lyons was born in Cardiff in 1984, the youngest of 7 children. Showing a keen interest in both photography and politics in her teens, she went on to graduate from University Falmouth of Art and Design in 2007 earning a BA(Hons) in Photography. Specialising in documentary, she directed her theoretical study to the subject of the powers of photography during the Vietnam War.

“I first became really passionate about photography when I was 14 and I saw Nick Ut’s image of the Vietnamese girl fleeing her napalmed village naked. I had seen the image before but I don’t think I ever looked closely enough. That image, along with all the other photographs that emerged from that time stirred international disgust about the events in Vietnam. It caused the collapse of America’s home front. They helped stop a war. That’s when i realised what a powerful tool photography could be”

In 2009, an estimated 76 million cluster bombs (bombies) remain from the ‘carpet bombing’ carried out during the Vietnam War. Unexploded ordnance litters acres of land in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, scattered like seeds, ready to explode. And they do. Every week.

Handicap International estimates that 98% of the victims have been civilians, 27% children. Children are attracted to them because they are often brightly coloured. Many look rather like toy pineapples……more numerous and insidious than landmines.

On average, 10 children have died every month during the last 33 years.

On average 120 people a year die in Laos alone from unexploded ordnance

On 3rd December last year 94 countries, including 18 of the 26 NATO member nations, signed The Convention on Cluster Munitions. Otherwise known as the Oslo Treaty, the Convention seeks to ban cluster bombs and assist the victims.

“As Westerners we can make ourselves heard, the victims of these menacing weapons that are polluting the lands of Indochina don’t have the opportunity to assert their inflicted injustices. It is our responsibility to pressure government’s to act and get these lands cleared. Children are dying. It is our responsibility to give them a voice.”

Project Pineapple (PP) is planning a peaceful event to publicize the issue of these unexploded ordnances (UXOs). Increased awareness will help to mobilize the support necessary to clean up the mess, support the victims and educate locals to know how to deal with what they find. It is hoped to add more signatories to the Treaty. It is hoped to give the people of Indochina a voice.

Project Pineapple will take the form of an ‘Easy Ride’ by motorbike enthusiasts. The riders will carry a pineapple from the starting point in Hanoi, Vietnam, through Laos and Cambodia, ending in Ho Chi Minh City.. Stops will be made along the way, meeting with local charities, clearance companies and victims of the weapons.

“I will document the ride and all I see along the way. I will document the people, the land, the damage. So I invite you on this journey and I invite you to act, and help rid the world of these menacing weapons through the quest of Project Pineapple.”