newsletter registration Two hours a day, by the light of an electric torch, he learns to lead, write, and to do sums.
Sikor (15), Laos
Sikor is crouching in front of a braided straw mat carrying a large heap of rice grain. Energetically, he sweeps a large round fan past the heap. Accurately to a hair’s width. Again and again. Every now and again, he mixes up the rice with his hand. This way, he can remove the last rice husks still clinging to the grains after the rice has been beaten. The whole family shares the work in the paddy fields of the Laos highlands. Father, mother, and children, all hands are needed. A patch of wood is cleared and burned down In March. In June, rice is sown out. Harvest time is in November; the rice bushes are cut and beaten by hand and filled into large sacks.
Now it is near noon. Sikor has been working on the field for four hours. He sweats and wipes the sweat off on the grey sleeve of his shirt. His hands are rough and cracked. Rice dust sticks to his head. It is shaven exept for a tiny spot on its backside on top. Here, a long ponytail reaches upwards cheekily. “Because the soul is inside the head”, is how he explains his headdress.
Sikor is an orphan but has found shelter at the village elder’s. The family is numerous, Sikor does not know exactly how many brothers and sisters he has. The work is hard. During harvest time, everyone has to help and there is no time left for going to school. But Sikor is lucky. In the evening, he goes to an evening class in his village. Two hours a day, by the light of an electric torch, he learns to lead, write, and to do sums. Until he falls asleep.
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