Emma Magazine - CASE

20After completing her post-doc work at the CDC, Duong decided tostay on, even though she’d always imagined working for a nongovernmentalorganization. “I realized that it’s all about having an impact, andthe CDC has the weight of the United States government behind it,” shesays. And unlike a career in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries,Duong would be able to focus on the public health mission, free fromconcerns about profits and losses.“My parents cringe when they hear me say I don’t care about money.It causes them grief,” she says, without a hint of confusion. “I get it.They’re immigrants and they emigrated to achieve financial security.I’m secure, I just don’t want to be independently wealthy.”Instead, Duong prides herself on being a model governmentemployee. “When I go abroad I’m there to represent the U.S. governmentand I’m pretty serious about that. You have to represent properly.”Despite her independent and strong sense of identity, she dons a headscarf while working in places where they are the custom for women.“When I work with my Afghan colleagues, they offer tea which is agesture of kindness. It is rude to say no to the tea so even if I think I’mgoing to get sick from it, I drink it anyway. That’s how you build trustand a working relationship in that part of the world,” she says.Another aspect of her job with the CDC involves helping developingcountries create clinical lab systems to secure accurate results. Thework is akin to the proverb that it’s better to teach someone how to fishthan to give him a meal. The only place Duong refuses to go is Nigeriabecause, she says, the restrictive safety precautions would prevent herfrom getting anything done.“I joke that in my branch I’m like the civil unrest lab liaison,” shesays, adding that she chooses the uncomfortable and risky assignmentsbecause, “these are the places that need help the most. The need andthe ability to have an impact is what attracts me to them.”There is a lot of discomfort involved in her travels, which keepher away from her life in Atlanta about 40 percent of the year.Much of it is unavoidable, but even where modern accommodationsare available, Duong usually chooses to “rough it” bystaying in places that aren’t too far removed from the way thelocals live. “I figure as long as I have a bed, a shower, a sink,and clean water, I’ve got everything I need,” she says.Duong is rewarded by the way the sights, smells, sounds and tastes ofeach unique location so thoroughly work their way into her senses. “Onestrong sensory memory I have is of the dirt in southern Africa. It’s redand it has a smell to it and when I see and feel it, I know exactly whereI am in the world. There is no other place like it.“When I’m in South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Namibia,I try to go on safari as often as possible. I never get tired of seeing thegame there. In Swaziland, which has become my adopted homeland,they have a sanctuary for black rhinos that are officially extinct. I alsolove the elephants, lions, crocs and anything else I can see.”She says the people of Afghanistan have captured her heart. “Afterdecades of war the spirit of the Afghans is amazing. They really stillbelieve they can rebuild their country.” In poetic terms, she describesthe country’s effect on her: the way the dust and smoke rush into her“I joke thatI’m like thecivil unrestlab liaison.”nose and eyes and suck the moisturefrom her skin, the delicious kabobsand flat bread she eats with everymeal when she’s there. On one ofher visits, she and her colleagueswere able to go out to a local restaurant,and when they got there theywere greeted by an armed guard.“I like to start off all my meals withan AK-47,” she cracks.Maintaining a social life outsideof work is a bit of a challenge, butDuong manages to keep up withher friendships and even to date.She met a Marine while in Kabulwho returned to New York andshe sees him when she can. ForThanksgiving, she and a friendtoured Greece and Turkey, andat Christmas she was home inSaskatchewan to visit her family.Her work assignments inVietnam have allowed her to practiceher Vietnamese and reconnectwith her roots there. On a recenttrip to Vietnam, she bought a paintingof a child sitting on a water buffaloplaying a flute. “It’s an iconicVietnamese story and every timeI see this painting, it reminds mewhere I came from. I could be thatkid on a farm working today, butluckily I am not.”emma