Floating Misery /06/ Photo

Photographer’s Note

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I met this girl at the classroom where she babysat her brother while learning. As the class ended and she rowed the big boat home, I shot this photo with telelens and tripod set on the veranda of the "school" connected to the catholic church — against sunset light.

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Problem of Statelessness

(Continued)

Controversies over citizenship are currently impeding the search for solutions in a number of countries around the world. In addition to the Cambodian situation, difficulties have arisen with regard to the ethnic Nepali refugees who have fled from Bhutan to Nepal, members of Kuwait's Bidoon minority living in other Arab states, and a small number of ethnic Chinese boat people who remain in Hong Kong. The details of these cases differ substantially, and in each instance they are surrounded by complex legal, factual and political disputes. What these situations have in common is that the country of origin will not allow the people concerned to return, citing lack of citizenship as the reason for their exclusion.

The threat of displacement

A second and perhaps even more important connection between statelessness and the refugee problem is to be found in the threat of displacement and expulsion which hangs over many people who are not recognized as citizens of the countries to which they essentially belong. This threat derives less from the simple absence of citizenship, however, and more from the policies and prejudices which often motivate a state's decision to withhold citizenship from a particular group of people. (Excerpts from “The State of the World's Refugees” — by UNHCR, edition 1995, pp-67)

(To be cont’d)

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veronika, ChristineLe, NgocSon has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

hello_ishan (1571) 2006-05-23 6:00

Hi,
Fantastic image; well done; congrats.

Srinivasan

daddo (11961) 2006-05-23 6:03

Hi Thanh. A moving, wonderful photo. The sacrifices some people go through to get an education and yet in the West, where they are given every chance, how often do they try to avoid school. Your colour of gold befits this little person with a big heart. A sad, yet beautiful photo. Regards, Klaudio

russte (0) 2006-05-23 6:11

Hi Thanh, I agree with 'daddo', this is a sad but beautiful photograph. Technically perfect. Stephen

katsuhiro (479) 2006-05-23 6:13

Great shot...love the framing, the DoF and the colours. Well done!

sabyasachi1212 (19552) 2006-05-23 6:46

Hi Thanh,
What a moving photograph, in the right spirit of TE. Did the girl get some education as well or was it the exclusive privilege of the male child, as is often the case in third world countries.
As far as the image is concerned, in golden silhoutte it speaks for itself !
Thanks for sharing
Sabyasachi

veronika (6038) 2006-05-23 12:21

Hello Thanh,
what a perfect light! It looks like if they were sailing on the gold stream..
Wonderful shot Thanh,like in fairy tale..
Nice evening :)
Vero

jmhullot (0) 2006-05-23 12:51

This both a very moving picture and a wonderful work. The resulting colours are perfect. Congratulations.

ChristineLe (59) 2006-05-23 19:43

I am glad you posted this.
It's not a coverage alone. It's photography at successful level. You may not be able to "beat" other masters of photography in TE with their "perfect" performance, but you mapped out your own path to look deeply into others' poverty and misery. This needs a heart rather than a mind.
Your current work fits perfectly TrekEarth's purpose, "to learn about the world through photography".

Thanks for being here with us.
Best wishes!

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LamVien (130) 2006-05-25 0:10

Wow!!!! Dep qua anh oi.
Mong anh tham gia cung tui em tai www.vnphoto.net cho vui.

Mong duoc xem nhieu a?nh cua anh.
Than chao anh!

nex (2688) 2006-05-25 3:22

You said (in your intro) that your photos have no photographic value, but this one has great one, very nice colours, it´s like a photo from the NG´s magazins
carpe diem
Michael

nika (0) 2006-05-25 8:44

It is a fantastic gilded effect that floods the sight with a pleasant , rythmical and quiet sensation . Love the details , little girl (with that sad connotations of injustice children there and in many places are suffering)with the kid on the boat and that background in which sky and water get confused without continuity solution

Ps Very interesting profile requiring time to sift , read , think about ...Regarding to the system points it is not important but sometimes for non native english speakers is difficult to find the right resources to express , articulate and turn thoughts into words . In other occassions , as this one with that picture, for me , far from technical aspects (i 'm not a photographer either but enjoy too much TE in a whole dimension (including notes , contact , pictures , comments , advice ...) the sensation this picture , note and globally page you offer us is pulling me to express opinion , admiration ...

Nice day and my best wishes Thanh !

whereami (1451) 2006-05-30 8:25

That light and colour is sensational. i love the partial silhouette - it has an almost velvety feel to it, and you've really nailed the focus. Really good note too.

balatrek (7419) 2006-06-14 7:44

Hola Thanh,

Nos muestras una interesante imagen, no hace falta decir que el color es fantástico, pero lo que más me llama la atención es la sensación de paz que se experimenta al observar esta fotografía, casi se oye el ruido del agua al romper su tranquilidad con el batir del remo, el desenfoque gradual del agua hace que la vista comience con fuerza desde abajo y ascienda lentamente para pararse en la pequeña barca, ha sido también un acierto dejar aire a la derecha de la embarcación, de esta forma no queda atrapada y se sabe cual es su destino, podría seguir, pero mejor lo dejo para otro día, no quiero aburrir, como dices en tus notas, ¨solo describo mis sensaciones¨, buen trabajo.

Saludos, José

Photo Information

Copyright: Ngy Thanh (ngythanh) (8504)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-03-04
Categories: Daily Life, Transportation
Camera: Canon EOS 10D, Canon 75-300mm F\4-5.6 IS USM, RAW @ ISO 100, Canon Circular Polarizer
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/250 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): The Floating Misery [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-05-23 5:48
Favorites: 3 [view]