Vietnam man marries derelict, featured on American photographer’s blog
Monday, October 06, 2014, 15:42 GMT+7
The story of a young man, who extended his hand and opened his heart to a homeless woman with a young son, has received thousands of comments and shares on social media after a photo was taken of them and posted last month by the creator of the hugely popular “Humans of New York” (HONY) photo blog.
Brandon Stanton, 30, who launched HONY – a blog which features street portraits and interviews collected in New York City – arrived in Vietnam on September 20, as one of his 10 destinations during a 50-day world tour under the auspices of the United Nations, including stops in Iraq, Jordan, Congo, Ukraine, Haiti, India, and Mexico.
He wasted no time, roaming the streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, taking photos of total strangers whom he met on the street in everyday situations, and interviewing them briefly.
Stanton posted the photos and quotes from the interviews on his blog, which immediately gained widespread attention.
One of the most popular photos shows Nguyen Van Tai, 29, and his wife, Nguyen Thi Thuy An, 28, sitting on his motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City.
Stanton happened to meet the couple when he was strolling along the city streets on September 25.
Tai and An are now married and live happily with An’s 3-year-old son and the husband’s family in a rented house in a poor part of District 4.
Stanton included several quotes about their moving love story.
A few days ahead of Tet (Vietnam's Lunar New Year) this year, which was in late January, Tai bumped into An when she had been evicted from her rented room, as she could not afford the rising rent.
She and her young son had nowhere to stay.
Concerned about their safety, Tai offered to take them to his tiny rented house, which he shares with his mother and two siblings.
An is an orphan who became pregnant from a colleague, who soon deserted her.
Tai helped her wholeheartedly and pampered her son like he was his own.
The two began a romantic relationship a few months later.
Initially, Tai, who works as an attendant at a motorbike parking lot, struggled to provide for An and her son, and cover the little boy’s medical fees.
An is now peddling wares at a local construction site.
The two are currently leading a happy life together.
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In November 2010, Brandon Stanton started his photo blog HONY, featuring New Yorkers in everyday moments after his stock business in Chicago failed. Over 6,000 portraits have been created so far. HONY has developed a large following through social media, and has over 10 million followers on Facebook as of this month. In October 2013, his first book, “Humans of New York,” was released and quickly became a bestseller. In May 2013, HONY won the 2013 Webby Award's People's Voice prize in the "Best Use of Photography" category. The photo blog has inspired some 500 clones worldwide so far. |
"He found me and my son around New Year’s Eve, sleeping in a construction site. We’d been forced out on the street after my husband abandoned us. He said: ‘You shouldn’t live like this, come home with me.’ He let us live with him for months, and he never asked me for a thing, and he's very good to my son. Sometimes I’d come home and find him carrying my son on his shoulders. After a few months, we developed romantic feelings for each other."
Brandon Stanton's photo taken of Nguyen Van Tai, and his wife, Nguyen Thi Thuy An, while Stanton was roaming the streets in Ho Chi Minh City on September 25, 2014.
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