The profession of swinging with 'death' in Nghe An

In the past, among common jobs, people thought that the most dangerous was well digging, often called "eating earthly food, working in the underworld". If the well accidentally collapsed while the worker was still working, the consequences would be truly unpredictable.

In terms of risk, painters working at heights of tens of meters are not much less risky, only the spatial dimension is opposite to the ground, meaning one side is depth, the other side is height.

Not many people can pursue the profession of wall painting because they cannot stand the height. Photo: Cong Kien

An old high-rise apartment building in Vinh city is being repainted. Every day, residents of this building, especially children, gather to watch the painters at work. When witnessing, almost everyone admires the skillfulness and bravery of the painters. The children shout: "Spider-Man! Spider-Man is real!"

Taking advantage of a short break, we chatted with two “spider men”, Nguyen Van T. and Le Van P.. The first thing they said was that they wanted to remain anonymous because they didn’t want their relatives to know that they were working in dangerous conditions. Both are from Nghi Loc district, not far from Vinh, with little land, so they packed up and followed the construction industry, then “fell in love” with the job of painter. “This job is never clean, clothes are stiff because of the paint that sticks to them, and their legs and arms are also covered with layers of paint. Even after bathing thoroughly, sometimes the children don’t dare sleep with their father because they complain about the strong smell of paint,” said Mr. T.

Painters swinging on the wall of a high-rise apartment building. Photo: Cong Kien

Sitting next to him, Mr. P. added his thoughts on the hardships and difficulties: “There were days when I was so tired from work that I came home, ate a quick meal, and then lay down on the bed. In my dream, I saw myself floating high above with a rope and a paint bucket, screaming nonstop. Only when my child shook me awake did I realize I was just dreaming.”

For normal houses (level 4 houses and low-rise houses), rolling and painting is not too difficult, workers usually only need to set up scaffolding to stand on, so it is quite safe. But when painting high-rise buildings, especially painting the exterior, it is completely different, setting up scaffolding tens of meters high is not feasible, only the rope swing method is the most reasonable, because it saves both cost and time. A large rope is tied tightly at a position on the terrace, an iron chair and 2 paint buckets are attached to the rope. The worker sits in the chair, holding a roller and a paint brush on the wall, moving from top to bottom. And to move at a lower level, the worker uses his hand to loosen the knot of the rope and the chair. Like that, almost all day, the painters work in a state of suspended in the air, only coming down to the ground to rest a little in the short space between two rope swings.
Mr. Nguyen Van T. shared: “Painting a normal house is not difficult, anyone can do it, but painting a high-rise building is not easy, it requires not being overwhelmed by the height, not suitable for people with weak hearts and high blood pressure. Sometimes people who look healthy cannot do it, people with small stature can do it, in short, out of 10 people, only 2-3 can be chosen.”

He still remembers clearly the first time he climbed on a rope to paint a wall for an apartment building. Right from the moment he sat on a chair from the edge of the rooftop, looking down, he suddenly saw a vast space, his heart suddenly pounded, and his hands and feet began to tremble. Thinking that he could not keep up with the job, Mr. T climbed back on the rope and intended to retreat. The people in the team encouraged him and shared some experiences, regaining his courage, he sat back on the chair, this time not looking down at the ground, focusing on the wall in front of him and working with the paint roller. By the second session, he got used to it, the overwhelming feeling of height also decreased and he has stuck with rolling paint for nearly 5 years.

The hardest part for high-rise painters is exposing themselves to the harsh sunlight. Photo: Cong Kien

Normally, painting a house requires sunny weather to avoid the risk of mold. The sunnier and hotter the weather, the faster the paint dries and the better the quality. Therefore, summer is the time when painters make a living, but it is also the most difficult and arduous season. It is tiring because of standing in the heat of nearly 40 degrees, feeling like standing in front of a furnace, the whole body is sunburned. In addition, the Lao wind blows dryly, sometimes reaching level 5-6, causing the swing and chair to swing, sometimes spinning.

Painting high-rise buildings always poses risks and dangers to life. Photo: Cong Kien

Mr. Le Van P. once encountered this situation, when the strong wind blew and twisted the rope, the knot suddenly loosened, causing the chair to gradually slide. He was shocked, but fortunately the chair hit a window on the 12th floor. Luckily, the door was not closed, Mr. P. reached out to grab a bar and held on tightly to the window, waiting for the wind to calm down before continuing to work. "When the rope was swinging strongly and the chair slipped, I thought about what was smart, thought about what was stupid, even thought that I was standing in front of death" - Mr. P. said.

According to Mr. P., some of his friends have had accidents and injuries such as being hit by strong winds that caused the rope and chair to hit the wall, breaking their ribs; falling off the rope and breaking their arms and legs. However, this job brings in a good income, usually the investor pays about 1 million VND per day, much higher than construction workers and bricklayers. Moreover, this is not a regular job, sometimes only once every few months, so painters like Mr. P. and Mr. T. have to take advantage of it to have a source of income to support their families.
After a short break, the two painters went back to the roof to swing on the rope, continuing with their daily work. Mr. P. suddenly looked back: "I know it is hard, dangerous, swinging in front of "death", but for the sake of life, for food and clothing, I have to pursue this job."