Migrants Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

This is Najur and Bobby, they are Indians and have been living in Hong Kong for almost a year. In the day, they scour the streets of Kowloon touting fake watches to taking out garbage to channel the little money that they make back home. Officially, they stay at the infamous Chungking's Mansions but I found them sleeping under the veranda of the Victoria Harbor Promenade; for the fresh air they said.

In the age of global economy, we are witnessing displacements of human on a scale that has never been seen in the history of mankind. In Hong Kong on every Sunday, you can find groupings of different nationalities sharing a meal, a laugh, a song, all in a bid to smell, to taste, to feel... home.

The fire in their eyes reminded me of the immigrant ghettos when I first arrived in Canada; the same intensity, the same determination, the same knife's edge look to carve out a better life.

bfly, nilolabrador, pridel, MiguelP, Catli, kinginexile, mikoyen, joyce, KevinRL, thebecky has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bfly (5737) 2004-10-04 15:10

this is a very good documentary I think..you caught such an expression in their eyes ; pride, a little hatred, distance... yet they posed for you in a very relaxed pose (this kind of touchiness between two men or women is very normal for us here too, though I am sure it is not for most members here)..
thanks..

bebel (7355) 2004-10-04 16:20

nice shot and composition ; the choice of B W is really good to give dramatic intensity to the faces. A lot of question about those regards..

good job
Pierrot

pridel (233) 2004-10-04 16:35

Thien
it is a very beautiful photograph, the b&w is superb, the glances of Najur and of Bobby are very strong.
your note and your page of presentation points out the boy met in Tunisia to me. he wanted a life better in Europe. the same determination.
Pascal

MiguelP (14336) 2004-10-04 17:06

Bravo for the picture as well as the note. About the first one I think the composition is rather good, also the soul you´ve achived to portrait. There´s a tender feeling, they join theis humanities and you´ve catch with your camera. About the note... yes, we are witnessing displacement, but apparently there´s no problem, or so they said (dont ask me who are they because it´s still unclear to me). Congratulations from Madrid where live is giving us a few extra summer days that I´m determined to enjoy.

nilolabrador (1469) 2004-10-05 0:27

Great shot and great note.
Thanks!

kaiser (10) 2004-10-05 21:21

You really did a good job capturing these guys' expressions. I've been to Hong Kong and saw people of all types of ethnicities and a lot of middle-aged Indian guys hawking or selling on the streets.

kinginexile (2440) 2004-10-06 1:36

Good explanatory note. the shot gives us an idea how these migrant people stick together, like brothers, with certainly more than a passing thought for the families and homes they had to leave behind.

Actually, one is having a stoic stare, realting to his daily life, and the other more dreamy, looking not at, but thru the camera, at somewhere else not in HK.

mikoyen (1178) 2004-10-09 13:22

Very nice picture Thien, nice b&w. Nice composition.
Best regards
Guy

joyce (21) 2004-11-17 21:55

I like how you show the other side of Hong Kong in this photo. And their closeness is definitely a cultural difference (compared to North Americans).

totetuti (83) 2004-12-06 11:56

Excellent photograph! even without the note, their postures, their eyes tell a lot about their life stories...

KevinRL (819) 2005-01-14 2:55

Great photo Thien, all the good things have been said above.
The pose has been talked about, wouldn't happen in US for sure, but the people of Asia are very different, they really enjoy close, touching friendships.
Thanks for posting this, I love it.
Kevin

thebecky (686) 2005-01-14 3:13