With the echoes of the Mekong River getting more audible these days, the pace of change on the river finds an echo in the anxieties of the people who live along its course.
The latest documentary from Sutthichai Yoon, one of Thailand’s most respected journalists, Echo from the Well: I Can Hear the Mekong Weep follows the veteran journalist on his voyage to hear the voices of people along the river, Southeast Asia’s most important lifeline that slithers its way past mountains and rice paddies through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. An attempt to raise an awareness of peaceful co-existence among the six Mekong nations, the film depicts the newsman’s journey back to his familiar culture, way of life and “the well”.
As the Mekong binds Asia together, the well is the symbol of a shared Asianness reflected in its belief in sustainability and the possibility of communal sharing. It also represents the possibility of communities taking part in managing the “public sphere”. The echo from the Mekong may be its last gasp just before the mighty river succumbs to the force of change at the hands of mankind.
