When we stepped foot onto Bangkok’s Klong Toey slum, we had no idea what to expect or what we were getting ourselves into. A juxtaposition of feelings is what would best describe us at that moment. The further we delved in, the more we became overwhelmed by the lives and the spirit of its people. Life seemed so surreal there and somehow living with close to nothing seemed acceptable. It was absolute functioning chaos but shed a light on the excessive lifestyles of not just the west, but of people all over the world who cannot fathom living without the many luxuries they have.
The railroad tracks were cluttered with tiny wooden shacks, most of them falling apart with little or no windows at all. Families and friends were gathered around in circles, having a beer or two and sharing food. Children played on what seemed to be a perfect playground for their curious little minds; throwing fistfuls of dirt in the air and jumping on roofless mattresses on the trackside. The drug addicted roamed about, adding a bit of intimidation to the place but keeping to them selves most of the time. A melting pot of people lived along this path, all of which surprisingly seemed harmless. We were even invited to dinner by one local man, but didn’t want to press our luck considering we were new to the area!
Deeper into the narrow alleyways were glimpses of family life, and their daily routines were no different from ours. It was close to sunset and the scent of Thai cooking was amidst! Every time we encountered a group of young teenagers, they took the opportunity to practice their English, so we’d exchange responses with them in Thai and learned a few new lines along the way. To our surprise, we even came across one young girl playing with a new Ipad!
We tried to capture simple moments that wouldn’t patronize these ordinary people who often become stigmatized by the rest of society. There were moments where it seemed these people were just making the best of their situation, no matter how dire it may be. In essence, we all share the same emotions and handle the lives we were born into accordingly. The people in this community were nothing short of welcoming and vibrant. Their energy was infectious. The following photos are part of a project in progress.
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silent tapes is a series of projects by 2 photographers, Francis and Stephanie Lane, focusing on documenting the lives of people from different cultures in various slums around the world, and generating funds for those communities through their works.
http://www.silenttapes.com
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