Specialty Tailoring

(Baonghean) - In the last alley of Hamlet 17, Son Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, there is a tailoring shop for men and women's suits run by deaf and mute people. The owner is Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen. The tailors communicate with each other using signs, especially through eye contact...

In the hot early summer sun, we and the Son Thanh Commune Front cadres went to a special tailor shop owned by an unfortunate family. It was special because the owner and the tailors here were mostly deaf and mute. They communicated with each other using signs, so we couldn’t understand what was going on, so we had to ask for the “interpreter” Ms. Vu Thi Bon, Duyen’s mother.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen cuts and sews clothes for customers.

Mrs. Bon said: Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, her husband, joined the army in 1966, participating in the southern battlefield. In 1974, he returned to his hometown with a 3/4-class war invalid, and got married. From 1975 to 1987, the couple had 4 children, 1 boy and 3 girls. But ironically, all 3 children were born deaf and mute. Only the second daughter, Nguyen Thi Nguyen, stuttered. Seeing many unusual signs in his health, it was not until the end of 1990 that Mr. Vinh went to the doctor and found out that he was infected with Agent Orange. That pain left a lasting impact on the couple's innocent children. Because they were deaf and mute, the 3 children could not attend school at the village school, although they all loved to study. Therefore, when the children turned 10 years old, the couple sent them to the provincial Vocational School for the Disabled.

After graduating, Duyen worked for Huyen Phong tailor shop in Cua Lo, then returned to her hometown to work for Hong Thuy tailor shop in Vinh Thanh (Yen Thanh). Duyen always cherished a burning desire to become a good tailor to own a tailor shop. While working for tailor shops, Duyen accumulated a lot of experience and became a good tailor. Returning to her hometown, thanks to her parents' loan, Duyen opened her own tailor shop at home. Duyen's younger sister is Nguyen Thi Tra, after learning tailoring, Tra went to Hanoi to work for an export garment company. When Duyen opened her tailor shop, Tra returned to her hometown to work with her. Coming back with Tra was a young man 2 years younger than her, who also had the same deaf-mute situation. He was Nguyen Van Vinh, from Van Giang district (Thai Binh). The two met and fell in love during their 3 years working as factory workers in Hanoi. Now they are husband and wife, waiting for the birth of their first child.

Enthusiastic, passionate about her job, her products are always fashionable, beautiful, and she delivers the clothes on time to customers, so Duyen's tailor shop is chosen by customers. Customers coming to this "special" tailor shop are always satisfied with the quality of the fabric and their tailoring techniques. When we arrived, there were still quite a few customers' clothes hanging in a long row against the wall, next to which were countless fabrics on display, making it easy for customers to choose.

The tailors here are paid daily according to the products they make. On average, each tailor earns 110,000 VND/day.

In addition to cutting and sewing clothes for customers, Ms. Duyen also trains many people in the commune in sewing to go to work abroad. The girls were born in farming families and had never used industrial sewing machines. Understanding their wishes, Ms. Duyen enthusiastically guided them. In a short time, they learned to sew proficiently and were qualified to work as workers in industrial garment factories. Over the past 3 years, Ms. Duyen has trained 5-6 people in the commune and neighboring communes in sewing each year.

Duyen's tailor shop, the workers communicate with customers through eyes and gestures, they work quietly. Their passion for "surpassing themselves" creates a simple beauty in everyday life.

Article and photos:Xuan Hoang