Dealer or healer

Dealer or healer?

A documentary photo-book by Danny Bach

Part 1: S.H.A.M.E

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S.H.A.M.E. Serious Hippy and Mother Earth

This is the story of Heather ‘Hippy Muso’ Gladman, one of many passionate Australian cannabis growers who are challenging laws that relate to the medical use of cannabis.

Heather lives in Victoria where she cultivates cannabis for medical use.

She provides cannabis, free of charge, to people who are suffering a range of medical conditions. She shows them how to grow cannabis from seeds and teaches them how to make cannabis oil.

Heather believes that cannabis can be effective in relieving the symptoms of many conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, bowel cancer, Parkinson’s disease and bipolar disorder.

She has seen chronic pain decrease, and quality of life improve, with the use of cannabis.

On the 15th February 2016, Heather’s home was raided by five police officers; she was arrested for possessing more than forty cannabis plants. She now faces criminal charges for cultivating cannabis— even though she provides it on compassionate grounds, at no cost, for people who are ill.

‘I have seen people sell possessions and take risks so they can afford to import cannabis illegally. They have one thing in common – they are trying to help a loved one who is suffering. The Australian government is working, very slowly, on the way to legalise medical cannabis. In the meantime, many Australians are left suffering and in pain every single day.’ Heather Gladman, 2016 Following her arrest, Heather decided to take a stand by going on a hunger strike. Her goal was to secure an amnesty for cannabis growers until safe, legal medicinal cannabis is available.

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16 February 2016: The hunger strike

‘This is not a crime–there is no victim here.’

Heather stops eating on the day of her arrest; following the confiscation of her cannabis plants she is distraught and frustrated.

She begins a hunger strike to highlight the position of people who face arrest for growing cannabis for medical use.

To raise public awareness Heather plans to set up camp in Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens where she will continue her hunger strike. She gathers the support of family and fellow believers.

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28 February 2016: Treasury Gardens, Melbourne

On their first day in Treasury Gardens Heather and Fred, a supporter, are approached by a park ranger about her plan to camp in the gardens— but she is allowed to stay.

Heather is visited by a documentary filmmaker and by Diarmuid Shaw, one of the people she has helped.

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Heather has not eaten for two weeks and she is becoming weaker.

Sleeping outdoors is uncomfortable and she is in pain. As she rests during the day she is interviewed by a reporter from Vice Magazine.

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Her supporters keep Heather company at the camp. She is in severe pain and is barely able to sit; her friend Ral offers to share a hotel room with her, which will allow her to rest at night.

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Visitors to the garden sign a petition—some have travelled long distances to offer encouragement.

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Heather’s health is deteriorating; her family want her to end her hunger strike. She spends two nights resting in a nearby motel.

A rally is planned for Sunday 6th March to bring cannabis supporters to Parliament House. Heather hopes for a large crowd to show support and unite people for the cause. She works to bring together key players in a display of solidarity.

The Medicinal Cannabis Users Association has over 5,000 members.

However there are various factions in the cannabis movement and not all are in agreement. Despite the differences that exist, Heather persuades advocates of each group to join her at the rally and present a united voice.

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The local police are notified of the rally on Sunday. Heather promises it will be a peaceful gathering.

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Heather tells one visitor her story and answers his questions about cannabis.

(On the other page) Matt Riley represents Free Cannabis Victoria—an advocacy group in the cannabis movement. He visits Heather with his wife and take time out to discuss the cause to which they are both dedicated.

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Heather and her friends are in high spirits, despite her not eating.

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As news of the hunger strike spreads, Heather is interviewed by ABC Radio.

On Saturday she leaves Treasury Gardens to travel to Neerim in south eastern Victoria.

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5 March 2016: Neerim

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Heather is a musician; she and her band are scheduled to play at a bush dance at the Neerim Memorial Hall. They tune up before the crowd arrives: Heather plays the accordion, Maurice plays bass, Alan plays guitar and is the MC for the evening.

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The dance kicks off and the crowd is lively. Heather’s love of music keeps her going; she plays until the last dancers leave the floor.

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Next day, Sunday, is the rally at Parliament House.

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6 March 2016: The rally

On the day of the rally Heather and her supporters meet at Treasury Gardens and prepare to march to Parliament House.

Messages are chalked on footpaths for the public to read. Elizabeth and Matt Pallett arrive to lend their support. Heather’s daughter Julie and her family are on hand for their Mum and Grandma. Heather explains the reason for the rally to her grandson, Coby.

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The rally begins at 1pm. Heather and her supporters reach Parliament House; the police are waiting but the marchers are peaceful.

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Heather tells her story to the crowd: she speaks passionately about the importance of medicinal cannabis and its benefits for people with illness and chronic pain. The crowd is with her.

Other speakers from the cannabis movement take the microphone, including Greg Chipp from the Drug Law Reform Party and Matt Pallett.

Like Heather, Matt has provided cannabis for medicinal purposes; he too has previously been charged with cannabis offences.

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At the end of the rally, on Day 18 of her hunger strike, Heather announces that she is ending her hunger strike.

There are tears of happiness — she has been overwhelmed by the support she has received.

That night she enjoys her first meal with her family.

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Heather returns to her home, a converted train, and picks up the threads of her old life. She rests and prepares for her court appearance.

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Stephen is Heather’s landlord. They discuss the events of the past week and she reads the Bible, which contains references to healing herbs.

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With her cannabis plants gone, Heather is busy repairing and restoring her garden. The garden looks bare and there is much work to do. She grows all her own vegetables.

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The night before her court appearance Heather meets with her friends Ral, Stephen and Jess to discuss possible outcomes.

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15 March 2016: The first hearing

Heather leaves home to appear at the Sale Magistrates’ Court.

Jess and friends Ral and Stephen accompany her.

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Heather waits all day and eventually appears before the Magistrate at 4pm. She is representing herself; she believes that she has a strong case as she does not earn money from growing cannabis.

However, the Magistrate decides that it is in Heather’s interest for a lawyer to represent her—the case is adjourned to the 11th May 2016.

Heather returns home to plan her next court appearance.

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12 April 2016: Medicinal cannabis legalised in Victoria

On the 12th April 2016, the Victorian Parliament passed the Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2015, becoming the first state to legalise medicinal cannabis. It will give Victorian patients legal, safe and secure access to cannabis, in ‘exceptional circumstances’, from 2017.

A trial for the cultivation of medical cannabis is underway in Victoria. The Government predicts medicinal cannabis, in oil or tablet form, will be available by 2017 for children suffering severe epilepsy seizures.

Heather Gladman believes that this proposal will leave many sick and suffering people without legal access to medicinal cannabis.

‘Although we have been told that ‘medicinal cannabis is legal in Victoria’ this is far from the truth. The government will begin trials in 2017. The recipients will be children with epilepsy. No one else will have access. Even though many tests have been done overseas, in Israel, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands and the USA, the Australian government is ignoring these findings and making sick and dying Australians wait needlessly for help and pain relief; and worse, they will not use ‘whole plant therapy’ which is imperative for healing.

They have genetically modified the plant, and removed many of the cannabinoid, so that this ‘tampered with’ cannabis can be patented by the government and big pharma.’

Heather Gladman’s comments in the news following passing of the Bill

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Heather spends time with her family. She chooses a lawyer and they discuss a strategy for her next court appearance. Because she has admitted to police that she had cultivated cannabis she cannot change her plea to not guilty.

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28 April 2016: Facebook update from Heather

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LATEST UPDATE ON COURT PROCEEDINGS Hi all, after consultation with my lawyer, my friends and my family, I have decided to take my case to a jury.

The most they can do is put me in jail for 12 months. It’s worth it.

So I will follow in the footsteps of ‘The Palletts’ and go for it.

I intend to prove that what I did is not a crime. According to the laws of the land, there is no victim. To see an injustice and do nothing about it, that’s a crime.

I do this for every person who needs cannabis to stay healthy or even stay alive. I have lost too many friends needlessly, for John Daniels, for Mason Wisbey, for Vicki Douglas, for Doug, and for all those suffering needlessly.

Will keep everyone up to date.

‘WE WILL DEFY’

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11 May 2016: The mention

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Heather’s lawyer and Matt Pallett accompany her to the second court hearing. Her lawyer decides to seek an adjournment to 7th of June; he is hoping for a more sympathetic judge at the next hearing.

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7 June 2016: The final decision

As she arrives at court for the last time, Heather is worried. She had hoped to plead not guilty to the charges, as she believed this would help her to continue her battle. However, her lawyer has advised her that she must plead guilty to the charge of cultivation.

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Outside the courtroom Heather sits with her only supporter of the day, waiting for her name to be called.

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‘On the 7th of June 2016 I faced the Magistrates’ Court in Sale for the third time. My intention was to take my case to County Court and from there I would face a jury.

My lawyer informed me that because I was only charged with ‘cultivation and possession’ and had freely admitted to cultivation for the last 40 years, I would not be able to defend the charge. If I had been charged with ‘supply’ I would have been able to defend this in court, but I could not dispute the cultivation charge.

The judge gave me ‘no conviction’ and 60 hours of community service for cultivation of 46 plants, which I consider very lenient.

Some important precedents have been set for others who follow me. I will continue to support the cannabis community and fight the laws at every opportunity.

Had there been a large showing of support from the cannabis community I would have fought to the death. It saddens me that there was not more support at my court case. Even when I went on the 18-day hunger strike, out of a possible 5,000 members in and around Melbourne only 80 came to the rally.

Like all organisations there are divisions in the ranks. Too many egos and too many disagreements over things that don’t really matter. For us to change this ridiculously unfair law we MUST join together as one. If this could happen, but one time, we would be a force to be reckoned with.

The fight goes on and WE WILL CONTINUE TO DEFY. There are too many people to thank individually, so let me say I love all of my supporters and thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the support you provided.’

Heather Gladman, June 2016

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‘I live to fight again, I want every man, woman and child to have access to safe organic cannabis’

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Dealer or healer?

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Part 2: Nimbin - home for the healing souls

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NIMBIN Home for the healing souls

Nimbin, home of the MardiGrass and the Nimbin Roots festival, is a healing retreat for the soul, located in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, Australia.

Nimbin is also the home of counter culture and the original hippies, who arrived in the early 1970s. It is the place where the Australian HEMP Party was founded, one of the few political parties to support the re-legalisation of cannabis in Australia.

The ultimate objective of the HEMP Party is to explore and promote the use of the Cannabis genus in three categories: recreational, industrial and medicinal. The party operates out of the Hemp Embassy in Nimbin – a place to connect, brainstorm, collaborate with and educate people about medicinal cannabis, and promote products made from industrial hemp.

For the last few decades, Nimbin has been a destination and refuge for many Australians whose own hometowns have rejected them for their alternative views on life; a place the outcasts, the artists (Nimbin is home to many wonderful galleries), the pariahs and of course the stoners could call home. A hometown where they can live, work, love and be loved again.

This book shows the beauty of Nimbin aesthetically through photographs; it also tells the stories of the people who have dedicated their lives to learning about and helping promote the medicinal benefits of cannabis.

Nimbin – a great place to become human again.

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Nimbin town

Nimbin’s main street and its one and only roundabout

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The Hemp Embassy is the headquarters of the Australian HEMP Party.

It also promotes products made from industrial hemp and helps educate and connect people who are in need of medicinal cannabis in Australia.

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Nimbin’s village is unique and vibrant, as seen in its cars, bus stops, signage and shops.

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The street life reflects Nimbin’s characters and sense of inclusion. From a man and his dog, or a bold rooster begging for food, to the sounds of live music from musical travellers.

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Once the sun goes down, Nimbin retains its own charm. The night is often quiet when all the tourists are gone. It’s a time when the locals hang out and enjoy life.

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One of the regular community activities is the Drum Circle, where people gather together, play drums and dance for each other.

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Nimbin people

Michael Balderstone - the president of the Hemp Party I’m 68, been in Nimbin for 30 years. I grew up in a country town. I was a stockbroker in London, I was 24 and I dropped out to go travelling, smoke hashish. When I came back to Australia I didn’t know what to do, but I heard about Nimbin. The 1973 Aquarius Festival was the start of the hippie thing in Nimbin. So I came to Nimbin – I remember staying in a tent – but there was nothing much in the village so I went back to India. Everyone was into God, I was into God too; I really liked India.

Eventually I came back to Nimbin with Louise, who had two children.

We have a daughter in Melbourne. I felt we had to get out of the city.

We rented a shop and I sold second-hand stuff. Louise and I split up and I had this idea to make a museum. I wanted to communicate a hippie way of life.

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Then I got with Elspeth. Together with an Aboriginal friend, Burri, we turned the junk shop into the museum. I’m very into communities, people working together. Bob Hopkins was a hippie in Nimbin before me, he started MardiGrass about 25 years ago and I learned from him about prohibition. The Hemp Embassy was in the museum at that point. Then the old high school came up for sale, so we bought it and it’s now the community centre.

Making the museum and the Hemp Embassy coincided with tourism, Byron Bay became popular. Many people come to the Hemp Embassy to ask for help to find medical cannabis. We help connect them. One hundred years ago, all medicines contained opium and cannabis. It should not be illegal.

While I was in Afghanistan, a man gave me a hookah of Afghani hash. I had a spiritual experience, it was very strong. Medical cannabis works for me, for depression and stress.

It makes me feel normal.

I live on a hippie commune with a few other hippies, an old dairy farm. The CIA used [cannabis] as a truth drug. It opens your eyes – a lot of people can’t handle that. I used a lot of alcohol before I discovered cannabis. Cannabis led me here to Nimbin to meet like-minded people. It’s somewhere that I don’t feel like a leper.

I think you get distracted when you’re stoned, it does mess with your short term memory. Smoking tobacco with cannabis is bad; nicotine is addictive, cannabis not so much. I realised the damage the drug laws were doing and I got really angry. The law is the problem, no one ever died from cannabis use in the world’s history. The stigma of being classed as a criminal is bad. In Nimbin you are not judged for being different.

The biggest joy in the Hemp Embassy is being able to help people. Sometimes it’s people who have been busted and want advice. Sometimes it’s people who are sick. The kids that are recovering from epilepsy are just amazing. About ten years ago we discovered that cannabis can work for some epilepsy. Many members of the Nimbin community are epileptic but we don’t see them having seizures because they use cannabis. Many people come to us with all sorts of cancers.

Twice I’ve been caught and got two cautions. The police were raiding behind the museum, so I was filming it. The sniffer dog walked past me then stopped – I got done for some seeds. I have to smoke a lot of cannabis to stop my anger toward the police.

They have a lot of power in Australia. I think the police have the last say on drug laws.

The police tell the politicians what to do. There are some good ones and some bad ones, just like us. I’m not a big fan of the police. I’ve met heaps of good police, but they can’t move, they’re in a straight jacket, they can’t move.

Legalisation is coming, and it’s coming in a rush. We have to keep the pressure on, overgrow the government. The whole thing is about getting the truth about cannabis out there.

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Michael Balderstone and his wife, Elspeth Jones in their home

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Andrew Kavasilas - the secretary of the Hemp Party Sydney-born Andrew came to Nimbin 20 years ago – he opened the Oasis cafe. He is helping the HEMP Party fight the ban on hemp consumption.

I started a tea house, the Oasis, which I turned into a cannabis cafe. The Hemp Embassy is our flagship, it’s strong. I’ve been involved in legal grow high-THC cannabis, had a permit. I’ve been to court a couple of times; police either withdraw or dismiss the charge. I respect the police.

They’ve been told to ignore medicinal cannabis users. Prohibition breeds corruption. The people are putting pressure on the government, but these baby steps they’re taking could have happened a long time ago. It’s like they find the slowest, most expensive way of doing it, it’s outrageous.

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Mark Rayner - Hemp Party representative in South Australia Mark is the long serving secretary of HEMP SA. He has been a cannabis activist for most of his life, helping many people access cannabis for medicinal purposes. He is a dedicated and passionate man and his many friends will vouch for his generosity.

I have no qualms with the medical industry, as long as they are practicing medicine, not capitalism.

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Raldic Al - Hemp Embassy volunteer

I’m from Brisbane – aged 60 – and came to Nimbin in 1973 for the [Aquarius] festival. I’m a musician and an artist; I was playing music and involved in politics. It was during the Vietnam War, I went to lots of protests.

When we came to Nimbin, we wanted to get away from the system and set up a sustainable lifestyle. The festival was about sustainability. Ten thousand people came to that festival and helped each other. We formed a co-op ... and found that Nimbin was actually for sale; so we passed around the magic hat, raised $1500 and went up and bought three buildings. That’s how the hippies came to Nimbin, before that it was a dairy town.

I had a car accident when I was 19 and damaged vertebrae in my back. I used to smoke it recreationally. I didn’t realise that it was helping me with the pain. My father was a herbalist and I’ve been involved in herbal medicines all my life. I first made a balm out of the roots and found it helped my pain very well.

I started making tinctures, balms and oils. A friend came to me with a bad ulcer, a staph infection on his foot. I decided to try the balm. Within an hour, he walked home and drove to the hospital.

They told him that they would have to amputate his foot if the inflammation didn’t come down. He’s still got his foot.

I help as many people as I can – have treated many different ailments since 1985. We need clinical trials so we can work out dose rates. We are all stabbing in the dark at the moment.

At first I was busted about every four years. I told them I used it for pain. Some believed me, some didn’t. I showed judges proof of cannabis being an analgesic. The TGA has cannabis as a Schedule 9 drug, which means it has no medical use. Recently they dropped it to a Schedule 8. The judges were very lenient on me; I had to pay a few fines, but didn’t have to go to jail.

My worst experience with the law, well, there’s too many to mention. Until they actually say you can self medicate and get a license, there’s no case here. Self medication is not illegal. The prison industry, the police and the pharmaceutical companies are slowing the process.

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Gerald - Hemp Embassy volunteer

I’ve lived in Nimbin for 30 years, by myself in the country. I like it – I’m a bit of a hermit. I treat myself with cannabis all the time. I’m into producing ointments, that’s what I do. Generally high-CBD, low-THC. Not far from being legal, it’s a grey area. Because there is no great profit involved in medical cannabis, the government seems to be leaving us alone.

Cannabis has always been my medicine; I first got stoned at 14.

About 15 years ago I realised that cannabis had medicinal effects and have been concentrating on that ever since. Cannabis makes you less ruthless, some people look at that as a negative effect, but I don’t.

When I was young, hitching around Spain, I met a man who was taking a bull to the bullfight. When we got to the town, the truck driver got sick and he asked me to unload the bull. I put it into its yard and fed it. The truck driver told me to feed the bull some hash before the fight to make it less dangerous. I kept the hash and took the bull to the arena. The bull ended up killing the bullfighter, I left Spain then.

I came to Nimbin to drop out and be away from the city. The cannabis laws aren’t that important, because whether they legalise it or not, it won’t affect cannabis use in the country.

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Max Stone (Gary) - Hemp Bar volunteer

Gary works at the Nimbin Hemp Bar with Dave and Sam. I live deep in the forest above Rainbow town – by myself. Have been using cannabis most of my life, and guess what? Turns out it’s good for me. I had an accident and broke my back. I had lots of hot baths, used alcohol for the pain, but it’s a short-term solution.

People have told me cannabis makes their lives better. The only down side is the prohibition.

There was a six-year-old girl who had epilepsy. After using medical cannabis, she was able to tell her uncle that she loved him. She could not talk before medical cannabis.

I was charged for growing cannabis – 61 plants. I pleaded guilty for political reasons. I made a video of the first outdoor grow. I set a precedent. I came to Nimbin as a guest of the MardiGrass in 1996, one of the only people on the web with a cannabis website – Bigbong.org was created in 1994.

It’s all good, we have the Big Banana and other things, and I have the Big Bong. The movement has collectively won the hearts of the people, most of them think that cannabis should be legalised.

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Dave Cannabis - Hemp Bar volunteer Canna is one of the most useful plants ... so many good uses besides getting high. I smoke it every day. Cannabis does no harm to society; alcohol does enormous damage. We need the freedom to choose. One day it will be legal; I’ve been saying about five years, and I hope I was right five years ago.

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Sam - Hemp Bar volunteer I’m Sam. I work in the Hemp Bar. I love cannabis. It’s a plant – it’s easy – it’s a preventative medicine. Prevention is better than cure. Cannabis can heal many things. Cannabis could heal Hiroshima and Chernobyl, if it was grown in the radiation zone.

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Frances - Hemp Embassy volunteer

I work at the Hemp Embassy. I came up here from Victoria – decided to come to Nimbin to help the Embassy – moved here a year ago. I camp in a caravan with friends.

I got involved with medicinal cannabis because of my dog. He had severe epilepsy.

He was 12 when he got epilepsy and he passed away at 17. From the first day I gave him cannabis oil, he never had a seizure again. I want to help the animals as well as the people.

Before that I had been a grower for 20 years. I had a 20-year opiate and antidepressant addiction. The doctors told me to stop cannabis and take their drugs. They experimented on me. I decided not to take their drugs and medicated myself on cannabis. My health improved and so did my mental health. I had anxiety, depression and an opiate addiction, cannabis fixed that. I have bowel damage from the pharmaceutical drugs, and I will have it for the rest of my life, cannabis is helping with this too.

About a month and a half ago I met a lady, aged 48, with MS. She used a walking frame. I gave her a bottle of cold extract oil. Within minutes she felt tingling in her legs. She had never felt this before. When she got home she sent me a video. Her first night her sister records her. She is walking without her sticks. We have some great stories about results of improvement in autism. It’s a heartwarming process to work at the Hemp Embassy.

They will come for me. I will have my day in court and I will stand proud. We will defy.

The HEMP Party stands for cannabis law reform.

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Bob - Nimbin radio presenter I started smoking cannabis when I was 17 and I’m 67 now. I work at Nimbin FM radio – came to Nimbin 45 years ago, six weeks before the Aquarius Festival. Worked on the festival site and helped put the festival together. Bought a share in a property: one wife, three children and seven grandchildren. I just love smoking weed – working, doing things around the place, reading – everything is better with weed.

It’s about time it was legal.

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Heather (Hippie Muso) - Hemp Embassy volunteer After what happened in Victoria, I was then offered a voluntary job in Nimbin, helping people access medicinal cannabis. I decided to take the job and move to Nimbin. Helping people is so rewarding; there are many dedicated, selfless people at the Hemp Embassy and I am honoured to be counted among them.

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Rosemary - Hemp Embassy care receiver

I’m 41. I live in Nimbin – moved here from WA about three years ago. The laws in WA make it very hard to get hold of cannabis and I needed lots to cure my cancer. I juice it for health – the best way to get fresh CBD and THC-A. Many like-minded people in Nimbin have helped me obtain the medicine.

I had a small tumour down below, a bad spot; they had to cut it out. The roots had spread and I had endometriosis. I refused chemo and used cannabis tincture and oils, also suppositories. I also used Bloodwood tree sap and Gumby Gumby, an Aboriginal remedy.

I got busted for cannabis, was on a suspended sentence. I represented myself in court and told them I had cancer and proved that I was doing it for medicinal reasons. Cannabis helped with pain, sleeping, appetite – without it I wouldn’t be where I am.

The government needs to realise that there are many problems that can be treated with cannabis. I volunteer at the Hemp Embassy and help as much as I can. I also work at the Oasis Cafe and make food and coffee.

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Johny Ganja - Hemp Embassy care receiver Johnny Ganja (aka Nimbin Bob Marley) is a refugee from Indonesia. He moved to Nimbin more than a decade ago, because Nimbin is the only place he feels welcome and equal. Without cannabis, he would not be able to work, play music, or even think straight, and, most importantly, take care of his young family.

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Aaron - Hemp Embassy care receiver Aaron is a member of the Bundjalung people. He has been in Nimbin for over 20 years, coming and going; this time he has been in Nimbin for three years. Aaron is a recovering alcoholic – since giving up drinking he has started using cannabis.

There’s nothing wrong with cannabis, so I started smoking it.

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I collected all that – it’s just rubbish – and I built the cubby house for the kids, I done the stairs.

The land was sloping and I flattened it out, lots of work. Been coming here for 20 years. Been working here all the time but now I’m starting to work up there. I look after all this. They look after me here; I never go without buds or a feed.

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Mingle Park is Aaron’s passion. It is his park – the park of his people. He gathered concrete, bricks and broken things from all over town for his projects. He lives in the blue shed opposite.

He hopes that one day Mingle Park will be one of Nimbin’s tourist attractions.

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Artist statement

Graduated Diploma of Photo Imaging from RMIT Media & Communication, Melbourne, Australia in 2016. Now I’m a portrait and documentary photographer based in Vietnam and South East Asia. Photography has taken me to places that I may never have gone; it has introduced me to great people from different cultures and with different beliefs.

My projects reflect what I believe in and hope for. My ultimate subject matter has always been people. I look for stories that can bring hope to the world; stories that inspire people to take action; stories that witness and preserve a culture or lifestyle that is disappearing.

Nam Hai (Danny) Bach, 2016

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Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who have helped me to finish this book, especially ‘Ma Ganja’ Heather for welcoming me into her life and treating me like a family member.

Thanks to Jess, Ral, Julie and her family, Liam, Fred and Tonia for our unlikely friendships.

To my mentors Rob Gale, whose support and critiques guided me to become a better documentary photographer; to my editor, Sally Holdsworth, for her help in getting the words right.

Above all I want to thank my wife, Thanh Binh, and the rest of my family who supported and encouraged me in spite of the many times I was away from them. It was a long and difficult journey for them.

Last but not least: I beg the forgiveness of all those who have been with me over the course of months and whose names I have failed to mention. I thank you all.

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Copyright © 2017 by Danny Bach

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the photographer, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator - Dealer or healer” at the address below.

Danny Bach - Portrait/Documentary Photography contact@DannyBach.com www.DannyBach.com (+84) 94 555 0912 Ordering Information: Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the photographer at the address above.

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