Sebastiao Salgado is a Brazilian photographer who has made
it his mission to spread awareness and concern about the plight of refugees
around the world. Over the course of
seven years Salgado traveled to more than thirty-five countries to photograph
people who had been forced to flee from their homes because of war or
instability in their home countries. He
compiled the photographs into a book called “Migrations” and it is on that
book, or more importantly the pictures in it, that I will base a majority of my
posts.
As I flipped through the pages of Migrations I couldn’t help
but notice how many children were featured in the photographs. One child stands in the middle of a field of
dirt, the abandoned train that him, his family, and fellow refugees call home
can be seen in the distance behind him. He
is living in the Ivankovo camp in eastern Croatia. I was struck by the realization of how hard
being a refugee must be on these young children; forced to leave their home and
everything they know because of forces beyond their control.
But despite the cruelty of their situation I still saw joy
in the faces of children in other photographs.
Another photo, taken in the Nahr el-Bared camp near Tripoli, shows two
children that appear to be dancing for the camera. I was reminded by this photograph of the
extraordinary resiliency of children.
They can always find a way to have fun in any circumstance. By finding the joy in their life they have
forgiven anyone who has ever wronged them; including us, who have sat in
ignorance of their situation for far too long.
The world is far too big for us to be aware of every cruelty
that goes on in it, but Salgado through his photographs has taken away our
excuse to be totally unaware of it. Salgado
doesn’t offer a solution to the problems he sees in the world, his goal is
simply awareness. But awareness is the
most important step in solving any problem.
My purpose in sharing this information with you is also to spread
awareness about these horrific situations so that we as a society can take the
next step in solving these overwhelming issues.
Sources: Salgado, Sebastiao. Migrations. Paris: AMAZONAS, 2000.
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