Mekong. Or better "Mae Nam Khong" which translated in English makes "Kong, the mother of the waters". I didn't even know it was the name of one of the longest river in the world until 3 years ago. And since I saw it, during my trip to Cambodia, it has a special place in my heart. I saw how the entire life and culture and economy of millions of people is functional to the floods of this slow brown river. And I loved it. So when my friend Chris invited to the screening of a documentary about the first person who kayaked did it all the way from Tibet to Vietnam, I couldn't say no. So Tina and I went to this special screening of the movie "Exploring the Mother of Waters". Also Mick, the intrepid Australian guy who kayaked the river all the way from Tibet was there. Really an interesting documentary. the setup was nice. It was in Chris new home close to San Diego. And after the movie was projected has been so "refreshing" to share thoughts in the backyard in front of a warm fireplace ...
The documentary was interesting but the real issue about this movie is that China is building a series of dams in its territory that will give a great economical return for China itself, thanks to the electricity produced, but is not taking int account the fact that the economy and life and culture of 20 millions people is in great danger. If you think that the Mekong river is crossing 7 countries (Tibet, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) what China is doing is probably legally correct but ethically wrong. But of course nobody nowadays cares about ethics anymore. The strong wins, the weak looses. Mick with his documentary is trying to make people aware of what China is doing. I am not sure if he will make any difference, but at least he is trying to make the difference. And I definitely liked it. If you are interested you can check this link. It is the foundation that Mick co-founded. Mick has a dream, and I loved his work for this. I see so many people around me without dreams. They don't live, they just survive. While they have the means and the chances to follow their dreams. And that is killing me, day after day.
The documentary was interesting but the real issue about this movie is that China is building a series of dams in its territory that will give a great economical return for China itself, thanks to the electricity produced, but is not taking int account the fact that the economy and life and culture of 20 millions people is in great danger. If you think that the Mekong river is crossing 7 countries (Tibet, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) what China is doing is probably legally correct but ethically wrong. But of course nobody nowadays cares about ethics anymore. The strong wins, the weak looses. Mick with his documentary is trying to make people aware of what China is doing. I am not sure if he will make any difference, but at least he is trying to make the difference. And I definitely liked it. If you are interested you can check this link. It is the foundation that Mick co-founded. Mick has a dream, and I loved his work for this. I see so many people around me without dreams. They don't live, they just survive. While they have the means and the chances to follow their dreams. And that is killing me, day after day. 
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