I really enjoyed this interview with book blogger Teena Raffa-Mulligan
http://intheirownwrite.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/meet-nichola-hunter/
Friday 6 December 2013
Thursday 5 December 2013
Another one of my travel articles previously published on Travelroads.
The "tear stain" with the culprit? on top of the world. by Nichola Hunter
At 3pm on Saturday outside the Notre Dame Cathedral, the statue of the virgin reportedly began to cry. The once imposing square, dwarfed these days by a shimmering glass department store, filled up steadily as evening fell. By 10 pm, all the surrounding roads and footpaths were waist-deep in idling motorbikes, and you had to wade through them to get to the statue.
There certainly was a slivery substance gleaming from the right eye of the statue, all the way down the right cheek and stopping underneath the chin. Small bands of people were muttering prayers and hymns with the discreet religious fervor characteristic in communist countries, while scores of others were demonstrating Saigon’s newfound prosperity by taking pictures with their mobile phones. The police had arrived, standing around on the corners and looking uncomfortable. In fact the government still has a very uneasy relationship with religious orders in Vietnam and has been monitoring the event carefully since it began.
Sunday morning saw more people arriving, and all roads blocked off to the square. The cold light of day also revealed the "teardrop” to be the unmistakable colour and texture of bird shit. This did not detract from the enthusiasm of the crowd, which grew to around 1,000 by midday. People were calmouring to touch the statue and waving flowers and singing. As emotions stepped up, the story grew. “She was crying from both eyes yesterday,” one spectator said. An official from the Canadian embassy had reportedly seen the statue begin to cry from the embassy building across from the square – a miracle in itself given the time of day and the distance from the building to the square.
By early afternoon, the vendors had moved in selling dried bananas, balloons and ice cream. “The tear” had turned into “the stain” and people stood around in the rain marveling that the substance changed colour when it got wet. Monday saw the stain, but not the crowds. They were beginning to disappear and instead of wading through motorbikes, it was people waving Mary photographs for sale. The head of the Catholic Church Father Huynh Cong Minh issued a statement that the tears were merely from standing exposed to the elements without being cleaned.
The selling of the Mary photographs was banned within hours, and Tuesday saw one family of poor vendors being dragged off by police. The road reopened to traffic, and wardens, called in to keep the motorbikes away from the believers, were blowing whistles in a kind of mad 12 tone scale. A van with a megaphone circled the area sending a constant shrill message for people to “go home where you will be safe from thieves who will take your mobile phones and wallets.”
The serene, beautiful face of the Madonna with its disappearing “teardrop” looked down through the clouds of exhaust fumes on the noisiest place a miracle has ever taken place.
Religion is one place where the communist government doesn’t know best, although they maintain strict controls over official church appointments and all religious material must be approved by the government before distribution.
Vietnam has eight million Catholics in its population of more than 82 million, the second largest Catholic community in Asia after the Philippines.
The Vatican and Vietnam still have no diplomatic relations.
October 29 2005
Vietnam Crying Out for Religious Freedom?
The "tear stain" with the culprit? on top of the world. by Nichola Hunter
At 3pm on Saturday outside the Notre Dame Cathedral, the statue of the virgin reportedly began to cry. The once imposing square, dwarfed these days by a shimmering glass department store, filled up steadily as evening fell. By 10 pm, all the surrounding roads and footpaths were waist-deep in idling motorbikes, and you had to wade through them to get to the statue.
There certainly was a slivery substance gleaming from the right eye of the statue, all the way down the right cheek and stopping underneath the chin. Small bands of people were muttering prayers and hymns with the discreet religious fervor characteristic in communist countries, while scores of others were demonstrating Saigon’s newfound prosperity by taking pictures with their mobile phones. The police had arrived, standing around on the corners and looking uncomfortable. In fact the government still has a very uneasy relationship with religious orders in Vietnam and has been monitoring the event carefully since it began.
Sunday morning saw more people arriving, and all roads blocked off to the square. The cold light of day also revealed the "teardrop” to be the unmistakable colour and texture of bird shit. This did not detract from the enthusiasm of the crowd, which grew to around 1,000 by midday. People were calmouring to touch the statue and waving flowers and singing. As emotions stepped up, the story grew. “She was crying from both eyes yesterday,” one spectator said. An official from the Canadian embassy had reportedly seen the statue begin to cry from the embassy building across from the square – a miracle in itself given the time of day and the distance from the building to the square.
By early afternoon, the vendors had moved in selling dried bananas, balloons and ice cream. “The tear” had turned into “the stain” and people stood around in the rain marveling that the substance changed colour when it got wet. Monday saw the stain, but not the crowds. They were beginning to disappear and instead of wading through motorbikes, it was people waving Mary photographs for sale. The head of the Catholic Church Father Huynh Cong Minh issued a statement that the tears were merely from standing exposed to the elements without being cleaned.
The selling of the Mary photographs was banned within hours, and Tuesday saw one family of poor vendors being dragged off by police. The road reopened to traffic, and wardens, called in to keep the motorbikes away from the believers, were blowing whistles in a kind of mad 12 tone scale. A van with a megaphone circled the area sending a constant shrill message for people to “go home where you will be safe from thieves who will take your mobile phones and wallets.”
The serene, beautiful face of the Madonna with its disappearing “teardrop” looked down through the clouds of exhaust fumes on the noisiest place a miracle has ever taken place.
Religion is one place where the communist government doesn’t know best, although they maintain strict controls over official church appointments and all religious material must be approved by the government before distribution.
Vietnam has eight million Catholics in its population of more than 82 million, the second largest Catholic community in Asia after the Philippines.
The Vatican and Vietnam still have no diplomatic relations.
October 29 2005
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