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Paintings of love for Saigon as pandemic stalks city

By Tam Ky August 7, 2021 | 03:30 am PT

Painter Le Sa Long illustrates the solidarity people across the country show for their brethren in HCMC as they grapple with Covid-19.

Farmers in Da Lat Town of Lam Dong Province harvest vegetables and send them to HCMC when the city faces problems in food supply due to the Covid lockdown. Every day, dozens of Da Lat farmers send vegetables to the southern city without charging any money.

Farmers in Central Highlands Da Lat Town harvest vegetables and send them to HCMC since the food supply in the city has been disrupted due to the Covid lockdown. Every day dozens of farmers in fact send vegetables to the southern city for free.

A 100-year-old woman in central Thanh Hoa

A 100-year-old woman in the central Thanh Hoa Province sends packages of rice and fish to people in HCMC.
Long has done a number of paintings of Saigon amid its current lockdown in the last few weeks, sold them and used the money to support poor people amid the pandemic. He also plans to organize an exhibition when the pandemic is over.
As of Saturday, HCMC has recorded 115,812 Covid cases in the current outbreak.

People in My Tho Commune, Phu My Ward, central Binh Dinh Province carve words of love on squashes before sending them to Saigonese.

People in the central Binh Dinh Province inscribe words of love on squashes before sending them to Saigon.

A Quang Tri woman takes her pig to the local people’s committee to send to Saigon. She does not have a lot of money, so she wants to show her encouragement to HCMC by sending a pig, which can be cooked for many people, she said.

A Quang Tri woman takes her pig to the local people’s committee to donate to Saigon. She does not have much money and so wants to show her solidarity with Saigonese by gifting the pig, which can be cooked for many people, she said.

A zero food stall on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, District 1. Poor people and workers can visit the stall and have free meals provided by a local church.

A food stall on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street in HCMC’s District 1. Poor people can come here and eat for free.

Long also creates paintings of migrant workers amid the Covid wave. Many of them have lost their jobs and decides to go home with whatever they have. In the painting, workers eat food provided by local police in central Binh Dinh Province while going home.

Long has also done paintings of migrant workers, many of them have lost their jobs due to Covid and decided to go back to their hometowns with whatever they have. In this painting, workers eat food provided by some police officers in the central Binh Dinh Province en route to their hometown.

A tour guide says farewell to Saigon to coming back to her hometown in central Thua Thien Hue Province, after months of joblessness. Long heard the story from a student and decided to illustrate it.

A tour guide says farewell to Saigon while returning to her hometown in the central Thua Thien Hue Province after months of unemployment. Long heard the story from a student and decided to paint this.

A nine-day-old baby travels with his parents from southern Binh Duong Province to central Nghe An Province. Yearning to coming home from the Covid hotspot, they are taken home by Samaritans in central Da Nang City as their motorbike is broken after traveling on the thousand-kilometer route.

A nine-day-old baby travels with his parents from the Binh Duong Province near HCMC to the central Nghe An Province. They were taken home by some kind-hearted people from Da Nang City as their motorbike broke down.

Photos by Le Sa Long