Cambodia 2004-2007 & 2008-2009
As a documentary photographer, I have encountered people in many contexts and that has changed my life, not by the process of photographing but by the process of engagement. The more I have studied people and shown concern for them, the more I have learned about myself.I suppose that is one of the main rewards of being a documentary photographer.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Dey Krahom- the forced eviction
This long wall is not the wall of protection; the kind of wall that surrounds your house, keeps you safe. This wall is built to not let you see, what were a few hours ago, your houses; the places you used to cook in, to sleep in, to eat in, to play in. This wall is put there as a sign of boundary, a limit to hope.
These shirts on hangers are not merely pieces of cloths. They are people, resisting, fighting. They are people with names, with faces, with hopes, with fears. They are people who remind us of pain, of courage, of standing firm in front of oppressors. It is for them that we remember the value of life.
Nothing about forcing slum dwellers out of their houses is an accident. Nothing about starting to evict people at 2AM, nothing about using tear gas on innocent children, nothing about forcing families to leave before packing their stuff, their lives, is an accident. Nothing about ruining poor people’s dignity is an accident. The only accident here is ‘us’ not being ‘them’.
This wall is long, but the story of resistance is much longer…