30 Vietnam, 2005 : Raffaele Capasso

30 Vietnam

This project was shot back in 2005 when, finished my studies, I wanted to become a photoreporter :)

Thirty years after the end of the war and 30 days to document the actual state of this land.

In 2007 ,Vietnam has entered as a member in WTO, and boasts a large economic growth, which unfortunately came up in unequal terms. Whilst the main cities have been transformed and modernized within the period of a few years, the country- side, especially in the mountainous and remote areas, has remained untouched.

More than three quarters of the Vietnamese population live within these remote areas. Poverty is still abundant; the percentage of families which live under the poverty line is at 30%. Malnutrition for infants is still widespread; hygiene and infrastructure in the rural areas are extremely deficient.

Nevertheless, more than half of the Vietnamese population is under the age of 30.

Hoi An, Vietnam 2005. Vietnam National Administration of Tourism advertising states: ''Vietnam: a destination for the new millennium'' with cyclo drivers, motorbikes and people passing by

Hue, Vietnam 2005. Cyclo driver in front of a big National Communist Party congress propaganda sign. Many Vietnamese use to drive cyclos to make money, if they have no place to live they sleep in the cyclos chairs at night

Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam 2005. Tobacco seller during a storm

Hanoi, Vietnam 2005. A small cafe by the street of the capital

Sapa, Vietnam 2005. In a closed restaurant a man shows his tattoo

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2005. Many people in Vietnam live all together in one-room houses, sharing their life

Lak Lak village, Vietnam 2005

Duc Trong, Vietnam 2005. Sakyamuni Buddha statue in a buddhist temple. There should be 3 main religions in Vietnam: Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism; but in fact there is only one, which is an amalgam of these three doctrines

Lak Lak village, Vietnam 2005. Little fisherman in a lake

Hoi An, Vietnam 2005. A boy crosses a flooded square

Hanoi, Vietnam 2005. Along the Hong river (Red river) children play with mud balls in front of their boat houses

Lac, Vietnam 2005. Rice-field draining

Lak Lak village, Vietnam 2005. An old woman washes her dresses in the town's lake

Hoi An, Vietnam 2005. Children play in a flooded square

Hung Yen province, Vietnam 2005. A man drinks and smokes in his house. In Vietnam Spring droughts have occurred frequently in the last few years and have highlighted the precarious water situation and shortage of drinking water

Hoi An, Vietnam 2005. A flooded street corner

DMZ, Vietnam 2005. Outside Vinh Moc tunnels

Cat Cat village, Vietnam 2005. Hmong making rice

Sapa mountains, Vietnam 2005. A young hmong boy rests on the top of a hill

Sapa mountains, Vietnam 2005. A young girl. Vietnamese previous generation was totally doomed. More then half of the population is under the age of 30