Visualizing the invisible: COVID-19 pandemic season in Saigon

• Main Author: Christophe Robert
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Pôle de Recherche pour l'Organisation et la diffusion de l'Information Géographique 2020-07-01
• Series: EchoGéo
• Subjects: COVID-19; visual ethnography; invisibility; informal sector; gender; Vietnam
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/19692

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted daily life in Vietnam and Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City in ways that diverged from reporting in Vietnamese and foreign media. Images of empty streets with no traffic became features of Western reporting and were mimicked by Vietnamese media. Yet, in alleyways and smaller streets, life went on. Through a sequence of images of street scenes and COVID-related signage, I discuss ethnographically the importance of the informal sector for providing the basic necessities of life in the city. This is especially true for the basic provision and sale of food. Images of street markets show the key roles of women to ensure these essential tasks were not disrupted during the pandemic. This informal sector work, like the role of women in society in particular, is rendered invisible, considered routine and habitual. The sudden disruption from COVID-19 brought into view daily patterns of life and work, and placed them temporarily in a new light.