That being said, I have hit a new chapter in my life where I tend to be more aware. Being in college opens your eyes to things that high school and junior high couldn't even begin to show you. Here is my expanding horizon unfolded.
There is this man named Sebastiao Salgado who grew up in Brazil and had a very decent job and one day he just decided to quit. He felt that is would be a better use of his time to help bring awareness to the refugees and countries in poverty. In his book Migrations there are dozens of photographs that he took that depict the struggles these people go through. This blog post is about one of those photographs that spoke to me.
While looking through Salgado's book I saw this picture of a female girl standing by the shore surveilling the border of Gibraltar (Salgado 38). Her uniform was extremely reserved and professional and she had a pair of binoculars up to her eyes, as if she were hunting down those who tried to cross over into "her" territory. Upon first glance it gave me the impression as cruel, dark and gloomy but upon further examination I was able to read deeper into this photograph.
Salgado gives the explanation of this photograph as "Gibraltar, a border between two worlds." I have never been an expert on immigration and its surrounding topics, but a border simply divides people and doesn't create unity. Perhaps that is what is intended but it really has never made sense to me. Like I said at first I felt as if the woman was keeping out others, but looking at the photograph again I felt a completely different feeling. It made me think of the longing we have to be connected with others and even ourselves. This woman was searching for that peace she so desperately desired.
How often are we divided between two different things? And how often do we long with all of our might to regain unity? I know I feel ripped in two, especially now because my best friend, my mom, is at home and I live in an apartment with people I don't know really well. Everyday I wish that I could live with my best friend again. Sometimes I wonder if these countries and places ever feel like something is missing like I do, or is all this border stuff based on hatred? Do these borders and barriers simplify the problem or even solve the problem? No.
Salgado does a phenomenal job on illustrating not only the sorrow of division but the constant watchful eye others have when they are divided. So my question to you is how can we bring unity back into the world? With ourselves, others, emotions or whatever it is. How can you regain that peaceful unity back into your own life? And when you do, will you do all you can to keep it?
Salgado, Sebastião. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. New York: Aperture, 2000. Print.
Salgado, Sebastião. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. (Pamphlet) New York: Aperture, 2000. Print.
I really liked your post Aubrey! I like how you connected the picture to your life, to show that there are other ways than just refugees and immigration in which there is disunity and hatred. I especially like how you talked about the longing we have to be connected with even ourselves. I think that being connected with ourselves is a huge part of who we are as human beings, and before we can do any good in the world we need to be connected with ourselves first, and then others. Really awesome!
ReplyDelete