For this weeks blog post, I was flipping through the Salgado book looking for a picture to write about when I stumbled across this one. I was immediately drawn to this picture because the little boy in here looks exactly like my little cousin, Hank. Suddenly, a million stories were running through my mind of this boy and what his life must be like.
This little boy in the photograph belonged to the Ivankovo camp in eastern Croatia. In this camp, there were 120 refugees living on one train. These trains had been re-designed by the German humanitarian organization Cap-Anamur to resemble very humble living quarters. Perhaps the saddest part of this little boys story is the fact that they were not headed anywhere. They were not what was known as "priority refugees" because they were not victims of rape, torture, or ethnic cleansing. They were considered refugees though because they had fled their homes in an attempt to escape before these atrocities reached them. Such examples of these atrocities are intact rape, torture, ethnic cleansing, human trafficking. They did not know if such acts would happen to them, yet they made an effort to escape before anything could've happened. They would sit on the train headed no where, being constantly reminded of the fact that they had no destination.
This story, as do all these stories, makes me grateful for the fact that my life has direction. I am lucky enough to attend an incredible university, study whatever I want to, and have amazing opportunities placed before me each day. I am grateful that my train of life is heading in whatever direction I choose it to be, and that I have control of the choices I make.
Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition." Aperture. New York, 2000. 170.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_Anamur ---Unfortunately that was the main source of information for the Cap-Anamur humanitarian organization because everything else was in German.
Pike, John. "War and Ethnic Cleansing in Yugoslavia."Global Security. N.p., 11 07 2011. Web. 27 Sep 2012. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/yugo-hist4.htm>.
I also did my blog post on this picture and I, too, was struck by the fact that these people were literally going nowhere. I've always been the kind of person to focus on a destination and work until I got there, and then pick another one, and another, and another. I'm goal-driven. So to see an entire community living like this- without aim, progress, or destination- is hard for me to understand. I also really appreciate that you mentioned the fact that these people fled their homes before the horror struck, anticipating a worse life if they stayed than if they left. This little boy has been saved from one kind of destruction and subjected to another; I wonder what impact all the waiting and wondering had on him.
ReplyDeleteThat was really eye-opening. It doesn't seem at all right or fair that these innocent people should be stranded with no hope of improving their prospects just because they took action to prevent these terrible things from happening to them. The analogy of the train really hit home, because its a literal one as well as figurative: they are literally on a train that is headed no-where. But, like you, I am incredibly greatful that we live in this land of opportunity where we are free to make our own choices and choose our destination. Thanks for raising awareness for these stranded refugees, this was an awesome post.
ReplyDeleteThis is Nathan Powell, it didn't put my name for some reason
DeleteWow, I have never thought of that before. Whenever I hear of refugees I immediately think of those who have suffered atrocities but never of the ones who saw what was coming and ran for their lives. It is very sad to think that they are ranked below others and are still trying to move on with their lives but can't. Everyone needs a direction in their life,and I can't imagine how it would feel to be stuck in limbo all the time. Thanks for making me aware of even more people who need our help!
ReplyDeleteJayne I loved this! I liked how you made a personal connection to the boy because he looked like you cousin. You could tell you genuinely cared about what you were writing. I think that is really horrible that these people can't have any hope for progression. I feel like life is all about bettering yourself. I don't know what I would do if I had absolutely no destination or goal. It makes me wish these people had the gospel in their lives so they at least had some sort of eternal goal.
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