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.
Great post Ben. I especially liked how you tied in your volunteer experience into the post in a very pertinent and informing way. I also liked how you addressed the picture- how sometimes we have to look a little closer to notice some details that could go unnoticed. The level of education that some refugees have really is quite incredible and makes us stop and reconsider the situation and breaks up some common stereotypes. Plus they're doing all of this in a second or third language.
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