look hard

to say i struggle with my place in photojournalism is an understatement. in the last week i have come face forward with why i find photojournalism truly inspiring and an emotional exchange. i have been working on a documentary about refugees and immigrants in scotland, the stories of why they have come to scotland are as varied as their accents and skin tone. i’ll wait to go into what i have learned from this experience for another time. but for now i would like to introduce you to hannan shihab, who after being burned from an american bomb in the opening months of the iraq war at age 15 has found a new life in scotland, and now at 19 is a wife, mother, and survivor of all that is awful of war; and marlena lubnieuska and her three daughters, who came to scotland in hopes of a better life than poland could offer, and ended up escaping from an abusive father and partner, rebuilding their lives from sole suitcase of clothing. to me these woman are beautiful, and it has nothing to do with how they look on the outside.

~ by mksmith on August 8, 2007.