You've Got Mail

Here Salgado has photographed the refugees from the Bihac pocket while they are waiting for mail. Once a week the Red Cross delivered mail to hundreds of people that were waiting to hear from relatives and friends. Through the barbed wire you can see their solemn faces. They have experienced pain and despair but they keep their optimism. They wait at the fence every week in hopes that someone they know is well and concerned for them. It is amazing how much a simple note can mean after so many traumas. We often take for granted the simple conveniences of e-mail and instant messaging. We can communicate with anyone in the world in a matter of seconds. We can even see pictures or watch video of each other. All the refugees want is to hear from those they love, but it is the one thing that many of them can’t have.

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Sebastiao Salgado. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [Children Today: Men and Women of the New Century]". Legends Online. PDN and Kodak Professional. Web. ND. 17 March 2010

Education Matters

This photo by Salgado depicts a young child sitting in the Natinga School camp in southern Sudan. Although the photograph is focused on the child we can make out the rough conditions that these students try to learn in. The bench is made of a few sticks slapped together. A lot of times these kids are the children of very educated people. I recently volunteered for Catholic Community Services to help refugees learn how to find work in the United States. I was amazed at the level of education some of these people have. The two people I worked with were incredibly intelligent. One has a master’s degree and is applying to get into a doctorate program here. The other held a managerial position for many years in Iraq. The process of finding a job here in the United States is so much different than where the refugees come from that even the most educated men and women have to learn how to go through the process of interviews and resume’s before they can put their talents to use.

Sebastiao Salgado. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [The Human Family Around the World]". Legends Online. PDN and Kodak Professional. Web. ND. 11 March 2010.

Afraid of Heights?

Here Salgado photographed a man clinging to the rebar infrastructure of a very tall building in Kuningan Jakarta in Indonesia. He is a refugee working in construction and it is most likely the only job he could get. Often in developing countries and cities the main focus in construction is speed with safety and quality being distant afterthoughts.

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In 2007 in Baku Azerbaijan there was a tragic collapse of a sixteen story block of flats. The collapse was determined to have been caused by poor foundations and shoddy workmanship. At the time, Valeh Askerov, a refugee was working on the eleventh story putting final touches on the finish work in the building (Guliev). Valeh originally got a degree from the Azerbaijan Oil Academy but was unable to find work in his profession (Guliev). He took the job at the flat one month prior to the collapse because he could not find other employment (Guliev). He was believed to have been killed in the collapse.

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Refugees are considered second class citizens throughout the world and unfortunately until governments are held accountable for regulating safety conditions refugees will remain simply the collateral damage of cheap contractors.

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Sebastiao Salgado. Photograph. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition [The Human Family Around the World]". Legends Online. PDN and Kodak Professional. Web. ND. 3 March 2010.

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Guliev, Emin. “Building Tragedy Reverberates Through Baku.” Institute for War & Peace Reporting. 6 September 2007. Web. 3 March 2010