Hilton Chen
Laughter
Burmese boys just want to have fun. These guys live in a Buddhist run orphanage in Mandalay, and they are peering out of their classroom window laughing at this photographer. The thanaka paste on their faces is a unique feature of Myanmar culture. What belies all that joy and laughter is a tale of sadness and tragedy. I saw hundreds of children at this orphanage (this was just one orphanage among several in the city), and was told that many of them were sent here from Myanmar's conflict zones. They are orphans because their parents were killed in the war and their villages destroyed.
Laughter
Burmese boys just want to have fun. These guys live in a Buddhist run orphanage in Mandalay, and they are peering out of their classroom window laughing at this photographer. The thanaka paste on their faces is a unique feature of Myanmar culture. What belies all that joy and laughter is a tale of sadness and tragedy. I saw hundreds of children at this orphanage (this was just one orphanage among several in the city), and was told that many of them were sent here from Myanmar's conflict zones. They are orphans because their parents were killed in the war and their villages destroyed.