The young Sâm was amputated at femoral level due to a bullet impact in a war accident in 1971. The war was raging and not much could be done against a lost bullet in terms of compensation. The boy got by with home-made crutches until long after 1975, the year of peace recovery in Vietnam.
He could not remember when he got his first artificial leg, but the second one was provided in 1999, when an outreach team of the Da Nang Rehabilitation Centre arrived to his district. The prosthesis was made out of wood and laminated. It was heavy but strong enough to last until now and he is still dragging it around for working!
Heating metal before beating into tools
Mr Sâm got registered in September 2003 with the ICRC-SFD project when it was deployed through the local Red Cross. It was only in February 2004 that he got the first ICRC-SFD paid prosthesis and could wear the light device made out of polypropylene. That waiting period of 5 months was indeed experienced at that time by many ICRC-SFD’s beneficiaries in Quang Nam province, which counts up to 2,334 amputees being registered in ICRC-SFD data base, 85% of whom are war victims (ICRC-SFD data, retrieved on 22 July 2015). Quang Nam and the contiguous Quang Ngai province hold the highest figures of war victims in the central area and both are known to be among the hottest spots of hostilities in the Vietnam War.
In January 2014, Mr Sâm received his fourth prosthesis – second polypropylene fitting, also paid by ICRC-SFD – after being invited for a replacement fitting following an interval of ten years. This device was in good condition at the time of our visit. The patient explained he had been trying to spare the nice polypropylene device, using most often the crumbling wooden one for working at the forge, this with a view to preserving the nice device as long as possible and for festive occasions!
It was interesting watching the amputated blacksmith beating and shaping his glowing metal wares while squatting on the ground with his artificial leg bent to the rear. To do this, he had to loosen the suspension belt before sitting and had to tighten it again as soon as he stood up for moving around. There were items requiring to be hit with full force in a standing position. Then our smith could not do without his prosthesis. In 2014, the district authorities granted him a disability allowance of 170,000 đong/month (8 USD), which was soon canceled the next year. The commune authorities, in charge of disability assessment, found his allowance irrelevant because his disability did not prevent him from assuming a hard job! The assessment board ruled that only persons unable to move around and requiring the assistance of others for personal needs would deserve such an allowance. Applying WHO’s ICF criteria proves to be a real issue in this case and probably in many other cases, especially at the grassroots level (ICF: International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health).
Mr Sâm’s house is a shelter for three generations, as is common in the Vietnamese countryside. He and his wife, his son, his daughter-in-law and his grand-son share the same roof. His son’s family is now dependent on him, as his 36 years old son has been suffering from a slipped disc and is therefore unable to work. Of his two children, only his 26 years old daughter received a successful education (college graduate) allowing her to get a job with a timber business in the southern province of Binh Duong; although not earning much (monthly salary 3½ million đong or 160 USD), she could manage to contribute to the family budget. We don’t know how she did with such a meagre salary, but it was confirmed by the father himself.
In that context, Mr Sâm became the main income earner with his smith forge, a makeshift workshop he had set up years ago on a small piece of communal land. The local authorities, though having withdrawn his allowance, had willingly put that place to his free disposal. Despite the fact it is the only smith forge of the hamlet, Mr Sâm’s shop is busy just for few months of the year, during the harvests of early May and early September, when peasants need new sickles and other farming tools. For the rest of the time, business goes sluggish. That’s why he was embarrassed when having to calculate his monthly average income. What comes more clearly to his mind is the 2½ million đong (or 115 USD) he has to spend every month to maintain his family, not to include unexpected medical expenses, which tend to become regular because of his handicapped son.
Mr Sâm attempted several times getting credits from the local public bank to respond to the demand of metal hand tools during harvesting seasons. Credits were effectively allowed, but lengthy disbursement procedures made them ineffective in terms of business opportunity: money was paid only towards the end of seasons, when needs were already gone. Our blacksmith had to turn to moneylenders whose loans were readily available. The credits granted by the bank were eventually used to cover the exorbitant interest rates imposed by moneylenders. Weary of that vicious circle, Mr Sâm stopped using both services from the bank and from lenders. He stopped also dreaming of business opportunity.
Mr Sâm inserting a sickle blade into its handle.
Mr Lâm Tấn Sâm’s physical rehabilitation was fairly successful. Though using an above-knee device, he has an extended mobility, can carry heavy loads and is quite able to get on well with the hard and qualified job of a blacksmith. As a skilled and willing worker, Mr Sâm is the main pillar in supporting his family, but he can hardly secure a stable living for himself and his next of kin. His case is however a full inclusion of a disabled person into the community.
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