FORSAKEN BY SOCIETY TRILOGY::::>PEOPLE<::::

Embrace the stars...

2007-12-13T19:44:00.001-02:00

Embrace the stars..., originally uploaded by carf.

A short RETROSPECTIVE of 2007 – Watch our latest Video HERE!

Reaching for a Star Campaign - 2007
To Date: USD$775,00

Beginning with three contributions of USD$50,00 each for the "purchase" of three personalized CHRISTMAS GIFT CERTIFICATES to friends and family from a Flickr member, the Reaching for a Star Campaign 2007 got off to a roaring start this week.

I hope many of Flickr's members, new to the community, will discover this alternative method of giving at Christmas, ideal for friends and family whom you feel already have everything.

Still having problems trying to decide what to give at Christmas?
Then this is surely the ideal gift that everyone will appreciate. Our children certainly do!

Simply go to our Christmas Gift Certificate Campaign Page and decide how much you would like to give by clicking on one of the donation buttons provided on the page. You can give any amount you desire.

This will bring you to our PayPal payments page ( PayPal is a global leader in online payment solutions with more than 153 million accounts worldwide. No need to worry, you don't need to have an account because payments can be made using most credit cards).
Don't forget to leave a message on the PayPal payments form stating who your certificate is to be made out to and from whom it is being given. We will then prepare your personalized gift certificate with those names and e-mail it off to you ready for printing on your desktop printer. Fast and easy without even leaving your computer.

100% of your gift goes towards the Hummingbird Project, attending more than 600 underprivileged children. This year's campaign funds will be used for purchasing musical instruments for our new community prevention centre in Sítio Joaninha due to open in February 2008.
This will be the first social development program available to at-risk community children in the region and a most important step towards bettering their lives.

Please join us to make it the success they deserve!

Gregory J. Smith
Social Entrepreneur and Founder
The Children At Risk Foundation - CARF

A change for the better...

2007-11-25T09:13:00.001-02:00

A change for the better..., originally uploaded by carf.

During her first trimester of pregnancy, Paula, a mother from the shanty community of Sítio Joaninha, had listened ardently to what I had to say about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and the possible effects of alcohol on her unborn baby.

I find myself constantly informing pregnant mothers like Paula, whom I meet during my regular visits to the community, about the dangers of alcohol use during pregnancy. Paula’s habitual drinking gave me all the more reason to reinforce the information with her on each visit, about this leading known cause of mental retardation in the World today, with an occurrence rate of 1 in 750 live births. It is estimated that in the US alone, 5,000 infants are born each year with FAS and 50,000 with Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). Approximately 30 to 40 percent of all women who drink heavily during pregnancy will have a baby with FAS. It is found in all races and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Brazil has no statistics on the subject and I am apt to believe that the numbers will be much higher here if ever the health authorities get round to doing research on the subject. The incredible number of youngsters from underprivileged communities in this country, involved with drugs and crime and living on the streets, could very well have roots back to the abuse of alcohol during pregnancy. Almost all the kids I have worked with on the streets or in youth delinquent detention centres came from alcohol abusive homes and specifically alcoholic mothers.......

Paula now believes that her alcohol abuse during pregnancy is probably the reason for her first-born son, João Vitor, to be the “impossible” child he makes out to be, a belief that gave her good enough reason to take heed of my advice and to stop drinking during the last 6 months of her recent pregnancy. Last week Paula’s second son was born, only a few days after the above photo was taken. I hope for the child’s sake and his mother’s too, that they will both be shielded from one more frustrating problem along with all the others they must deal with in their daily hardship to survive.

FAS / FAE is preventable - 100% preventable. Research has shown that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The only sure way to prevent damage is to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. There is no cure for FAS.

NB! As an important side note on this problem, our group of youth entrepreneurs, WINGS of Hummingbird, are developing a prevention programme about FAS / FAE to be introduced to Paula’s community next year.

Photo by Gregory J. Smith, São Paulo - BRAZIL.

Arsenic poisoning...

2007-03-21T23:42:00.001-03:00

_MG_6075.JPG, originally uploaded by MPRPhoto.

Arsenic poisoning victim, Bangladesh.

Photo by Michael Rubenstein, Athens, Ohio – USA.

Reading the news

2007-03-13T22:02:00.001-03:00

reading the news, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

The brazilian newspaper "Folha de Sao Paulo" wrote yesterday in their editorial, that "the anti-Bush protests are reducing defensables causes to a bizarre, innocuous and infantile spectacle";. The editorial made severe criticism about the protesters, calling them a "harlequins' minority group".

There were no words about the Military Police' behaviour, neither a discussion about the possible consequences of the agro-business explosion...

The cover today says that "Ecological militance has a medieval world's vision", written by their columnist.

In this picture, Landless Worker's women, during the protests at the World March of Women and Anti-Bush protest this week in São Paulo, before their confrontation with the Military Police.

Copyright © 2007 - All rights reserved.
Photo by Tatiana Cardeal, São Paulo - BRASIL.

Buhay Basura

2007-03-12T23:24:00.001-03:00

buhay_basura1, originally uploaded by Edwin_Martinez.

Life in Trash

A place forsaken by men but not by God, a place of waste but also of profit. A place where most would think hope has abandoned....most but not all. Few find this place a paradise to feed their families.

This is from my series of the children whose life evolves in one's trash.

Photo by Edwin Martinez, PHILIPPINES.

War is over

2007-03-05T21:59:00.001-03:00

War is over, originally uploaded by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

Photo by Rodolphe Simeon, Paris – FRANCE.

A light in the dark...

2007-03-04T23:08:00.001-03:00

A light in the dark..., originally uploaded by carf.

...and hope for a better future for these Guarani children on the streets.

A sad sight to be observed in the city during the most important pre-adolescent years for these young Guarani Indian boys, who instead of wasting time on the streets, should really be at home in their natural habitat preparing for manhood, trained with special qualities expected of a responsible family man such as: strength, physical resistance, agility and dexterity, as well as learning to make working and hunting tools, adornments, and understanding techniques of self-sustainability such as: hunting, fishing and agriculture. Not to forget learning their cultural heritage through dance, song and rituals.

Instead of maintaining traditional values from the proud indigenous tribe of their ancestors, what will they have left to share with their children and humanity?

Unfortunately the conditions left by those in power offer very little to sustain the original needs of most indigenous tribes today and access to alternatives in a modern society are also minimal.

Photo by Gregory J. Smith (CARF), São Paulo - BRASIL.

Chronic Patients, Santiago 73

2007-03-03T00:19:00.001-03:00

Chronic Patients, Santiago 73, originally uploaded by Marcelo Montecino.

Photo by Marcelo Montecino, Bethesda, MD, USA.

LAOS

2007-03-01T01:10:00.001-03:00

LAOS, originally uploaded by BoazImages.

One smiling and one very shy.

Photo taken in North Laos by Boaz, Nanjing – CHINA

Hold me tight (suggested title)

2007-02-26T19:16:00.001-03:00

, originally uploaded by viiny.

Varanasi, India

Photo by Vincent Marcil, Montréal – CANADA.

"Dam-damachak"

2007-02-25T22:59:00.001-03:00

"Dam-damachak", Street Musicians - Pune Maharashtra. INDIA, originally uploaded by lecercle.

Street Musicians - Pune Maharashtra. INDIA

Photo by Akshay Mahajan, Mumbai - INDIA.

Worker

2007-02-24T16:30:00.001-02:00

Worker, originally uploaded by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

He is sitting under a porch. He's not begging. He's got no cup for the money. To give him something, you have to see him, to approach and to give him personnaly. He's small and thin. He looks very fragile. And a little bit shy.
He immediately tells me that he don't drink at all. But that he's smoking too much. "That's my sin !".
He was a worker in the book industry, then, for some reasons, he loose his jobs. His hands show all his life. Yesterday working. Today waiting.
We took a lot of picture. And after seeing at them on the screen of my camera, he made me promise that I will give one to him next week.
He said to me that he had no picture of him.
Before leaving, we shook hands. And, perhaps do you know that feeling, touching old hands are always a great moment.
(This picture is dedicated to Miss .N - hope you will love it)

Photo by Rodolphe Simeon, Paris – FRANCE.

Happy Hugging...

2006-11-08T21:05:00.000-02:00

Happy Hugging..., originally uploaded by carf.

Happy Hugging!

I know our picture galleries will never reach as many views as 5.724.662 (five million, seven hundred and twenty four thousand, six hundred and sixty two) with 12.956 comments and 36.879 faves but THIS did!!!!

Go give someone a HUG!

Vigilante Justice

2006-08-28T20:55:00.000-03:00

vigilante justice, originally uploaded by ko-knia.

Robber beaten by a mob.

Photo by Ian Taylor Toronto, CANADA.

Gihembe Refugee Camp

2006-08-10T18:43:00.000-03:00

Gihembe Refugee Camp, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

During school hours, these children climb a sign promoting education.
Their classroom is the refugee camp where too many school-aged
children never set foot inside a real classroom.

Gihembe Refugee Camp
UNHCR
Gihembe, Rwanda. Afrika.
July 14, 2006.

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, Based in East Africa at the moment.

Yagua Chief

2006-08-09T01:15:00.000-03:00

Yagua Chief, originally uploaded by jto_.

....a more dramatic shot of the Chief

Photo by James, New York - USA.

World Ceasefire Vigil

2006-08-07T22:27:00.000-03:00

World Ceasefire Vigil, originally uploaded by carf.

During the last week I’m sure there are many visitors to the Flickr photostreams who have noticed all the small black ribbons that Flickrites are now using as their buddy icons. Those icons represent more than just another Flickr identity, they represent a strong desire for world peace and a stop to the recent war breakout, by the many who have chosen to wear them for this peace action, an important action against yet another war to destroy thousands of innocent citizens, their families, their homes and their countries.

This is why over 4000 Flickrites decided to unite their actions this last week in a group called MUNDO UNO

…and the group is constantly growing as one of the fastest and most
meaningful on Flickr.

* MUNDO UNO means ONE WORLD.
* MUNDO UNO is a call for peace.
* MUNDO UNO is a virtual protest against the madness of the war.
* MUNDO UNO is a way to say: stop the killing of civilians in both sides.

Shall we be ONE, one world, one face, one people to change this?

I hope and believe so and that is why I am asking you, my Flickr friends and contacts and anyone else visiting this Blog, to be part of this important action for World Peace.

Please join us today and take part in the group's CEASEFIRE action in
support of Amnesty International's WORLD CEASEFIRE VIGIL.
More information about this can be found in the group's discussion
threads.

I thank you and I'm sure our group members thank you.
MUNDO UNO

Gregory J. Smith (CARF)
Social Entrepreneur and Founder
Children At Risk Foundation - CARF

COLORFUL INDIA

2006-08-05T19:08:00.000-03:00

COLORFUL INDIA, originally uploaded by BoazImages.

The Bonda people live in a remote forest area.

Photo by Boaz based in Nanjing, CHINA.

A Violation of Indigenous Rights

2006-03-16T11:29:00.000-03:00

A Violation of Indigenous Rights, originally uploaded by carf.

A Violation of Indigenous Rights

For the sake of survival, selling their handcrafts to visitors in the town, Guarani Indians spend their nights sleeping on the streets of Paraty in Rio de Janeiro.

As I conversed with this young Guarani woman from the village of approx. 400 Indians in Brakui, Angra dos Reis, I noticed her elderly grandmother in the background seated proudly upright and looking around at her sleeping people.
I could feel her humiliation and her pain and I felt very small indeed.
I did not take her photo because she did not wish me to.
The other Guarani in this photo series from Paraty will be receiving copies of their photos on my return trip to their village, where my organization is supporting some of the youth with their artisan efforts.

The indigenous women of our planet had their lands stolen, their cultures and spiritual beliefs lacerated, their lives sheared and then generations and generations of their children discriminated in the urban and agricultural society, rejected by politicians and businessmen alike. They had their cultures hung in Museums or demonstrated in Carnival parades, as beings of the past, or something folkloric, serving as jesters begging for alms in citadels. The men get drunk and turn weak or go crazy. Their children become fragile and a wave of destruction covers entire tribes, until strong women and men, like the many leaders to come, listen to the voice of their ancestry, seeing the marks of genipap set in the ethnic faces as a mark imposed by Me - NHENDIRU, the Creator - and then feel the eternal call of their INDIGENOUS IDENTITY to be respected and accepted as an example for the planet Earth. Example of a humane cultural society that bled, then recovered their ancestral voice and ethics, surviving the process of slavery of the past and the present so that it could really teach the philosophy of equality and fraternity. Because the indigenous peoples are my first-born children of the five continents, being the first ones whom I placed in this planet, for knowing the principle ethics of the balance of nature. Indigenous people should be examples of GOOD CONVIVIALITY WITH SOCIETY AND WITH NATURE. An example of ethical and spiritual prosperity.
Text by: Eliane Potiguara
GRUMIN – Indigenous Communication Network

A violação aos Direitos Indígenas

As mulheres indígenas do planeta terão suas terras roubadas, suas culturas e espiritualidades dilaceradas, suas vidas ceifadas e gerações e gerações de filhos discriminados na sociedade urbana e rural e desprezados pelos políticos e empresários. Terão suas culturas penduradas em Museus ou demonstradas em desfiles de Carnaval, como seres do passado, ou do folclore. Servirão de chacotas em cidadelas e pedirão esmolas. Os homens se embriagarão e ficarão fracos ou loucos. Seus filhos serão frágeis e uma onda de extermínio acobertará tribos inteiras, até que mulheres e homens fortes, como muitos líderes que virão ouçam a voz da ancestralidade, vejam as marcas de jenipapo cravadas nas caras étnicas como uma marca imposta por Mim - NHENDIRU, o Criador - e que sintam a chama eterna da IDENTIDADE INDÍGENA para ser respeitada e aceita, como um exemplo para o planeta terra. Exemplo de uma etnia humana que sangrou, retomou a voz ancestral e ética e sobreviveu a todo o processo de escravidão do passado e do presente e que realmente possa ensinar a filosofia da igualdade e fraternidade. Porque os povos indígenas são meus filhos primogênitos dos cinco continentes, foram os primeiros que Eu coloquei neste planeta, por conhecerem o princípio ético do equilíbrio na natureza. Povos indígenas devem ser exemplo do BOM CONVÍVIO COM A SOCIEDADE E A NATUREZA. Exemplo de prosperidade ética e espiritual.
Texto de: Eliane Potiguara
GRUMIN - Rede de Comunicação Indígena

Photo by Gregory J. Smith - CARF, São Paulo - BRAZIL.

Anandwan Logo + Leper

2006-03-15T22:15:00.000-03:00

Anandwan Logo + Leper, originally uploaded by Meanest Indian.

A resident of the Anandwan Leper Community.

Photo by Meena Kadri, Ahmedabad - INDIA.

Watching the pigeons

2006-03-14T07:07:00.000-03:00

watching the pigeons, originally uploaded by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

Photo by Rod, FRANCE.

AIDS

2006-03-13T00:40:00.000-03:00

AIDS, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

This little boy stands in the doorway of his compound where he lives with several brothers and sisters and two other families.
Gitarama, Rwanda. Afrika.
June, 2005.

"When it's my turn and God takes me, who will look after my children?"

Aids ravages Rwanda
By Jane Elliott
BBC News Online health staff

Selafina is just 39-years-old, but she is already preparing to die.

A refugee from the Rwandan genocide, the mother-of-two has Aids.

During the war she was captured by the militia and locked up in a house where the soldier repeatedly raped her.

After the war she began to get sick and, when she was tested, she was found to be HIV positive.

Sores

Now her arms are covered in scabs, which cause her great pain.

She finds chores almost impossible to carry out and even washing a plate is agony.

She cannot afford the medicine needed to prolong her life and knows she will die soon.

But her greatest worry is for her children Rose and Patrick and their two cousins for whom she is the sole carer.

The home they live in is rented and Selafina knows she and her family could end up on the streets.

"The most serious worry I have is dying and leaving them behind, where will I leave them?", she said.

"I have no-one else to turn to. When it's my turn and God takes me, who will look after my children."

Figures

Every 14 seconds, Aids turns children like Rose and Patrick into orphans.

The average life expectancy in Rwanda, one of the least developed countries, is only 49 years and almost one in six children die before they reach the age of five.

About a million people were massacred in the genocide in 1994 and now over 11% of the population are living with HIV or Aids.

Teenager Herana became the head of her household at just 14 after her mother died from Aids.

She had no relatives to care for her and her sister Rose, aged eight, and brother Jean Paul, aged two.

Starve

So each day Herana has to cultivate the land outside their home, leaving Rose to cook and care for Jean Paul.

Soon the vegetables left by their mother will run out and Herana is worried the family will starve as none of the neighbours are helping them.

"No-one came to help us with her dead body, they showed no concern.

"I gathered my sister and brother together and told them they had to be brave because we had been left alone."

Now a charity called Hope and Homes for Children has set up a project to help support the orphan of war and Aids.

They work to keep family units like Selafina's and Herana's together, sending the children to school and providing them with food and shelter.

Hope

Helen Harper, director of fundraising at Hope and Homes for Children said Aids was ravaging Rwanda.

"Genocide in Rwanda left thousands of orphan children in Rwanda, and now Aids is creating a new generation of children without hope.

"The scale of the problem could be overwhelming but our work is based on the belief that complacency in the face of statistics is not acceptable.

"Hope and Homes for Children must contribute to bringing hope back to the children of this wonderful and beautiful country and we work with the individual child, not the statistics to provide each with the love of a family, hope for their future and an opportunity to contribute to the future of Rwanda.

"In 2003 we will be working with 452 children in Rwanda and our plans are to grow the number of children helped significantly in the next few years.

"We are passionate about doing as much as we can without losing sight of the very individual needs of each child."
Story from BBC NEWS

For statistics on Rwanda:

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher

The Farmer

2006-02-23T22:55:00.000-03:00

The Farmer, originally uploaded by joaobambu.

7:26pm, my friend Akio waits for the tractor to arrive patiently. He is the descendent of Japanese farmers who came to the state of São Paulo for a better life in the beginning of the century. They prospered and now they are Brazilians as well.

This is the first week his tomato plants are in the ground.

Taken with a 58mm pitch:0.75 HOYA CIR-polarizing filter I recently bought on a Canon Powershot Pro 1.

This photo happened by chance.

I was cruising around Echaporã late afternoon on my new motorbike...

I saw him in the city in his pickup truck and asked him where he was going.

".. To the new field, where we are planting tomatoes..."

I was on my new motorbike and sensed an opportunity. The weather was perfect and I captured some amazing shots afterwords of a rainbow, lightning, and the serenity and peacefulness of living in the countryside.

Photo by João Paglione, Echaporã - BRAZIL.

El ropabejero

2006-02-22T23:26:00.000-03:00

El ropabejero, originally uploaded by Ram!.

Photo by Ram Martinez, Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

80 years later

2006-02-21T23:18:00.000-03:00

80 years later, originally uploaded by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

Photo by Rod, FRANCE.

Scream for your rights (suggested title)

2006-02-20T20:59:00.000-03:00

167., originally uploaded by guilherme.schilling.

There comes a moment when it's necessary to scream for our rights.
Exchanging words with two street dwelling women, who received me very well.

------------------------------------

Chega um momento que é necessário gritar pelos nossos direitos.
Duas mulheres moradoras de rua que conversei e fui muito bem recebido.

Photo by Guilherme Schilling, Porto Alegre -BRAZIL.

Tattoos

2006-02-19T23:55:00.000-03:00

Tattoos, originally uploaded by Jan Dara.

There were a lot of "up-country" people living next to the railroad tracks in Bangkok. They used this "free" area to construct wood and aluminum shanties to live in or set up shop

Photo by Jan Dara.

All That Fall / Tutti quelli che cadono

2006-02-18T11:14:00.000-02:00

all that fall/tutti quelli che cadono, originally uploaded by centrifuga.

Potessi spiaccicarmi sulla strada come un grumo di marmellata, un grosso grumo colato dal suo vaso, e non muovermi più.
- Samuel Becket, "Tutti quelli che cadono"

Just let me flop down flat on the road like a big fat jelly out of a bowl and never move again!
- Samuel Beckett, "All that Fall"

Photo by Centrifuga, Rome - ITALY

Legally blind

2006-02-17T07:38:00.000-02:00

legally blind, originally uploaded by stoneth.

...John from texas; gets SSI benefits because he's legally blind; the benefits pay for his hotel (about $700); he has $50 left per month after housing which he makes up by panhandling.

Photo by Tomas, San Francisco - USA.

B A I D E H I. Varanasi

2006-02-16T00:15:00.000-02:00

B A I D E H I. Varanasi, originally uploaded by Claude Renault.

I know it's a simple portrait, not a very good image. But it has a story.
Baidehi is a old woman, people told me, 100 years old. She is a destitute woman from the state of Bihar. She came to Varanasi to die. She is living with other older women inside a house next to the cremation ghats.
A very nice woman, I forgot her name, has set up this place for those women to die peacefully.
She was adorable.

Photo by Claude Renault, Reykjavik - ICELAND.

Alan

2006-02-15T23:57:00.000-02:00

Alan, originally uploaded by Keith Emmerich.

Alan has been homeless for 20 years and lived in 14 states. He now presently lives and has lived under this underpass for 4.5 years.

Photo by Keith Emmerich

Today, a sad look

2006-02-14T22:45:00.000-02:00

today, a sad look, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

This are Romilda Nunes, 63 years old, and her sick husband, João Cosme.
They live at the Prestes Maia building.

Prestes Maia, is a colossal abandoned clothes factory that towers over central Sao Paulo, and the biggest occupation of Latin America, with 22 storeys in total, is home to 468 families; around 2,000 people from the MSTC (Downtown Homeless People's Movement).

"The owners of the building, Jorge Hamuche and Eduardo Amorim, who do not possess the title deed, abandoned the building for twenty years and owe close to BRL$5 million (EUR$1.8 million) in taxes.
Despite this, the judge of the 25th Civil Jurisdiction of Sao Paulo granted an injunction for the repossession of the property, ignoring the residential rights of the occupants and even a UN report that declares; "the municipal government of Sao Paulo, through the Secretaria de Habitacao e Desenvolvimento Urbano and COHAB, should promote the renovation of the Prestes Maia building for housing and social interests, to meet the objective of the dispossession of the building by the municipality."

But this week, after this february, 15th, the people must leave the building, and they won't, and I'm afraid there will be a lot of violence there, by the military police. The authorities didn't plan a project to remove everybody, and we know that they will return to live at the streets. We are trying to stop this, and to pressure the state governor Geraldo Alckmin and the mayor from the city José Serra, to make first a project, and then remove the families.
Please, help us signing this on-line pettion, spread this.
www.petitiononline.com/pmaia911/

Por favor, leia o link acima (em português), espalhe e clique para assinar.
Entenda melhor o Prestes Maia e os seus moradores:
prestesmaia.weblogger.terra.com.br/

Please join the new social injustice group in support of the Prestes Maia families in their plight for justice.

Photo by Tatiana Cardeal, São Paulo - BRASIL.

Dignidad púrhepecha / Púrhepecha dignity

2006-02-14T00:00:00.000-02:00

Dignidad púrhepecha / Púrhepecha dignity, originally uploaded by arantxamex.

Iba a escribir algún comentario, pero creo que las arrugas de su rostro hacen vanas las palabras.

I was to say something about them, but her old and wise face makes useless any comment.

Photo by Arantxa, Morelia, Michoacán - MÉXICO.

Dark

2006-02-12T23:34:00.000-02:00

dark, originally uploaded by toune.

Photo by Toune, Paris - FRANCE.

Javier, Salvador y Adán

2006-02-11T23:53:00.001-02:00

Javier, Salvador y Adán, originally uploaded by Arantxata.

Viven en Santa Rosa, la última localidad del municipio de Los Reyes (Michoacán), allá en una zona montañosa donde continuamente sopla un viento que corta la piel y hace polvo las rocas.

Hoy tuvieron visita, gente importante de Morelia visitó su comunidad porque después de mucho trabajar con toda la población, fueron certificados como Comunidades Saludables, junto con otras dos localidades hermanas: San Antonio y San Isidro.

Javier, Salvador y Adán descubrieron hoy la magia de la fotografía, primero como modelos y después como fotógrafos.

------

They live in Santa Rosa, the last village of Los Reyes municipality, in Michoacán. It is a mountain region, where the wind blows hurting the skin and making dust from the rocks.

Today they were visited by important people from Morelia, the State capital. The governor's wife and the Health Secretary, among others, went there to celebrate that after a hard work by all the people, their town (and two others, San Isidro and San Antonio), are considered "Healthy Communities". They have now a clean and beautiful village, where all the kids under five are vacunated and the mums have prenatal control and lactancy control, among other actions.

For Adan, Javier and Salvador (the older), today was also the day they discovered photography, first as models, then playing with a camera.

Photo by Arantxa, Morelia - MÉXICO.

Cold morning

2006-02-10T22:07:00.000-02:00

cold morning, originally uploaded by phitar.

Photo by Philippe Tarbouriech, Geneva - SWITZERLAND.

Leaving the shadows behind...

2006-02-09T23:57:00.000-02:00

Leaving the shadows behind..., originally uploaded by carf.

...is so difficult when they always seem to catch up with me.

Note:
Roney is one among 15.000 lost children still roaming the streets of São Paulo.

Photo by Gregory J. Smith - CARF, São Paulo - BRAZIL.

Orphan

2006-02-08T00:07:00.000-02:00

Orphan, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

"The warmth of his tiny body snuggled against mine filled me with a peace and serenity that elevated me above the chaos. This child was alive yet terribly hungry, beautiful but covered in dirt, bewildered but not fearful. I made up my mind: this would be the fourth child in the Dallaire family. I couldn't save Rwanda, but I could save this child.

Before I had held this boy, I had agreed with the aid workers and representatives of both warring armies that I would not permit any exporting of Rwandan orphans to foreign places. When confronted by such requests from humanitarian organizations, I would argue that the money to move a hundred kids by plane to France or Belgium could help build, staff and sustain Rwandan orphanages that could house three thousand children. This one boy eradicated all my arguments. I could see myself arriving at the terminal in Montreal like a latter-day St. Christopher with the boy cradled in my arms...

That dream was abruptly destroyed when the young soldier, fast as a wolf, yanked the child from my arms and carried him directly into the bush. Not knowing how many members of his unit might already have their gunsights on us, we reluctantly climbed back into the Land Cruiser. As I slowly drove away, I had much on my mind.

By withdrawing, I had undoubtedly done the wise thing: I had avoided risking the lives of my two soldiers in what would have been a fruitless struggle over one small boy. But in that moment, it seemed to me that I had backed away from a fight for what was right, that this failure stood for all failures in Rwanda.

Whatever happened to that beautiful child? Did he make it to an orphanage deep behind the RPF lines? Did he survive the following battles? Is he dead or is he now a child soldier himself, caught in the seemingly endless conflict that plagues his homeland?

That moment, when the boy, in the arms of a soldier young enough to be his brother, was swallowed by a whole forest, still haunts me. It's a memory that never lets me forget how ineffective and irresponsible we were when we promised the Rwandans that we would establish an atmosphere of security that would allow them to achieve everlasting peace. It has been almost nine years since I left Rwanda, but as I write this, the sounds, smells, and colours come flooding back in digital clarity. It's as if someone sliced into my brain and grafted this horror called Rwanda frame by blood-soaked frame directly on my cortex. I could not forget even if I wanted to. For many years, I have yearned to return to Rwanda and disappear into the blue-green hills with my ghosts. A simple pilgrim seeking forgiveness and pardon. But as I slowly begin to piece my life back together, I know the time has come for me to make a more difficult pilgramage: to travel bcak through all those terrible memories and retrieve my soul...

...That mission, UNAMIR, failed. I know intimately the cost in human lives of the inflexible UN Security Council mandate, the penny-pinching financial mangement of the mission, the UN red tape, the political manipulations and my own personal limitations. What I have come to realize as the root of it all, however, is the fundamental indifference of the world community to the plight of seven to eight million black Africans in a tiny country that had no strategic or resource value to any world power. An overpopulated little country that turned in on itself and destroyed its own people, as the world watched and yet could not manage to find the political will to intervene. Engraved still in my brain is the judgment of a small group of beaurocrats who came to 'assess' the situation in the first few weeks of the genocide: 'We will recommend to our government not to intervene as the risks are high and all that is here is human.'"

Lt. General Romeo Dallaire, Force Commander of the UN Assistance Mission to Rwanda, 1993-1994 in his introduction to _Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda_.

The text below is from www.orphansofrwanda.org

"Centre Memorial de Gisimba (Gisimba Memorial Center)

The Gisimba orphanage, located in the Nyamirambo quarter of Kigali, is led by Damas Mutezintare Gisimba. Damas's father founded the orphanage in 1980 with 18 children living in one house. Damas took over in 1986 after the death of his father. During the genocide Damas sheltered over 400 children and adults in the small orphanage compound from the predations of the interahamwe [the Hutu paramilitary squads that carried out much of the genocide]. Though the orphanage was repeatedly menaced, Damas and his colleagues held their ground and did not give in to the genocidaires. He has been honored for his heroism by the Rwandan government and many other organizations.

The orphanage currently houses over 150 children. Ten years ago almost all were genocide victims, but many of the newer arrivals have been orphaned by AIDS. Because their parents were HIV+, a number of them are also infected."

PLEASE DONATE TO ORPHANS OF RWANDA: www.orphansofrwanda.org

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, USA.

La Procesion

2006-02-07T23:51:00.000-02:00

La Procesion, originally uploaded by Ram!.

Photo by Ram Martinez, Barquisimeto - VENEZUELA.

The Exorcist 9/10 Desesperación y Esperanza

2006-02-06T01:25:00.000-02:00

The Exorcist 9/10 Desesperación y Esperanza, originally uploaded by CarlosBravo.

Tribute to the Exorcist
Photo 9. Desesperación y Esperanza.

Photo by Carlos Bravo, Monterrey - MEXICO.

Homeless Iraqi women

2006-02-05T01:00:00.000-02:00

Homeless Iraqi women, originally uploaded by masser.

Baghdad, October 2003

Photo by M Asser.

Muddy boy with a doll on his back

2006-02-04T20:17:00.000-02:00

muddy boy with a doll on his back, originally uploaded by phitar.

This young Hmong is living on a roadside, with no official status. Laotians do not want them, Thais neither. 6000 people (1/2 under 5) live under the constant threat of being arrested and sent back nightly over the Mekong into the jungle (so they have a chance of escaping the Laotian army).

Photo by
Philippe Tarbouriech, Geneva - SWITZERLAND.

Back to breathing everyday life...

2006-02-03T20:11:00.000-02:00

153., originally uploaded by guilherme.schilling.

Voltando a respirar cotidiano.

Photo by Guilherme Schilling, Porto Alegre - BRAZIL.

"Are Some More Human Than Others?"

2006-02-02T19:56:00.000-02:00

"Are Some More Human Than Others?", originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

--Gen. Roméo Dallaire

1994: Rwanda.
Today: Darfur.

What happened to "Never Again"?

Genocide Memorial.
Nyamata, Rwanda.
June, 2005.

Links/Books on the Genocide in Darfur:
www.spaces.msn.com/stopsudangenocide (fantastic)
www.genocideintervention.net
www.darfurgenocide.org
www.protectdarfur.org
www.kukummi.org (for high schoolers)
www.passionofthepresent.org (outstanding)
www.hrw.org

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT DARFUR
www.hrw.org

Gerard Prunier's Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide.

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, USA.

This is Society

2006-02-01T23:02:00.000-02:00

01186, originally uploaded by Junkmale.

I am nearing the end of my time with this site. Like everything else in life, there has been good and there has been bad. By and large I have enjoyed it though.

Photo by Steve Harrison, United Kingdom.

Thai Girls

2006-01-31T21:54:00.000-02:00

, originally uploaded by shadowplay.

Photo by Hans Proppe, Agua Dulce, Ca. & Whidbey Island, Wa. USA

Penang-Street Tattoo

2006-01-30T06:50:00.000-02:00

Penang-Street Tattoo, originally uploaded by Jan Dara.

Sleeping in a box on the street in Penang, Malaysia

Photo by Jan Dara

Filling Up

2006-01-29T21:29:00.000-02:00

Filling Up, originally uploaded by More Altitude.

A teenage girl fills up water pots in Kan-Karen-Kacha, central Niger.

This girl will fill up a lot of the pots lined up around to the right, then walk each one individually home on her head. The well from which she drew the water is about 50m deep, and she pulled the water up by hand using a small plastic bladder at the end of a rope. It takes several draws to fill up one of the pans she is pouring from. This will take several hours of her day, and she will do this every day until she has daughters of her own old enough to take care of this for her.

Niger ranks highest in the world for the proliferation of child labour. A recent Economist article observed that 60% of children between 5 and 15 are, according to technical definitions, engaged in child labour.

Photo by Tris, Niamey - NIGER.

Ethiopia

2006-01-28T23:57:00.000-02:00

Ethiopia, originally uploaded by BoazR.

Two smiling sisters in the
Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia.

Photo by BoazR, Nanjing - CHINA.

Friends

2006-01-27T10:06:00.000-02:00

Friends, originally uploaded by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

My heart bleeds in black. I will meet you soon my friends...

Photo by Rod, Paris - FRANCE

Think you got it rough...

2006-01-26T20:08:00.000-02:00

Think you got it rough..., originally uploaded by ronwired.

Photo by Ronald Reed, Oakland - USA.

Demolition of the Azinhaga dos Bezouros Neighbourhood

2006-01-25T23:00:00.000-02:00

Demolicao do bairro da azinhaga dos bezouros, originally uploaded by boiviki.

Demolição do Bairro da Azinhaga dos Bezouros.

Photo by Gonçalo Santos.

Anyone for a game? (suggested title)

2006-01-24T02:55:00.000-02:00

..., originally uploaded by ênio cesar.

Photo by Ênio Cesar, Paulicéia Desvairada - BRASIL.

Tajikistan

2006-01-23T20:49:00.000-02:00

Tajikistan, originally uploaded by babasteve.

Photo by Steve Evans, Bangalore - INDIA.

Hey! Look what I found!

2006-01-22T01:44:00.000-02:00

Hey! Look what I found!, originally uploaded by carf.

Remember this?

Photo taken in Paraty, RJ. by Gregory J. Smith - CARF, São Paulo - BRAZIL.

Los ojos de Don

2006-01-21T22:42:00.000-02:00

Los ojos de Don, originally uploaded by Memo Vasquez.

Cuando no sabemos el nombre de una persona mayor, le decimos "Don"... o "Doña"... este es el caso.
Me impresionaron mucho los ojos de Don. Mucha añoranza acumulada.

Photo by Memo Vasquez.

2 de bofe pa' llevar

2006-01-20T22:24:00.000-02:00

2 de bofe pa' llevar, originally uploaded by b4RuCH1N.

Sad fact: while some people eat at fine restaurants or in the warmth of home, many people still eat in the coldness of a street.

...y todavia uno se queja

Photo by Barusch Benitez, Mazatlan - MEXICO.

Desalojados - Uninhabited

2006-01-19T01:00:00.000-02:00

Desalojados, originally uploaded by dExTeR_.

Manifestation against the uninhabited on the Plaza Figueira.

Manif contra os desalojados na Praça da Figueira, 22-10-05

Photo by Pedro Vilela.

Grandmother & Daughter II

2006-01-18T22:52:00.000-02:00

Grandmother & Daughter II, originally uploaded by Kalabird.

A grandmother and her daughter in their home in rural Cambodia. The little girl's mom has died from HIV/AIDS and this woman is caring for her and 3 other children. She is exhausted.

During our baseline survey in Kien Svay Province, Cambodia.

Photo by Michaela Hackner, Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA.

uneasy

2006-01-17T23:21:00.000-02:00

uneasy, originally uploaded by stoneth.

(sf civic) (taken 1/17/06)

...homeless Terence from Alameda. Terrence had difficulty making eye contact; similar to Ray in furtive distraction.

(not cropped)

Photo by Tomas, San Francisco - USA

Old Weaver

2006-01-16T11:58:00.001-02:00

old weaver, originally uploaded by phitar.

Exploring some of the hills on my own, I stopped for a while to watch this old Karen woman weave. Her son in law came by and spoke English. She is 89 years old and has all her humor.

Photo by Philippe Tarbouriech, Geneva - SWITZERLAND.

NO COMMENT

2006-01-15T06:54:00.000-02:00

NO COMMENT, originally uploaded by HORIZON.

Photo by HORIZON, Mashhad - IRAN.

Close your eyes to dissapear

2006-01-14T14:18:00.000-02:00

Close your eyes to dissapear, originally uploaded by anacrisan2000.

" Could you spare some change please? " she said with her eyes closed....
I know her. I stopped. " One sec, let me check."
She opens her eyes, recognizes me and smiles. " Hello Miss. Thank you. You are very kind to us all. Thank you Miss."
" Oh, you're in luck! " I hand her a toonie.
Her smile got bigger. " I thank you very much. God bless you. Take care Miss."
"You too, good luck" I smile, touch her shoulder for a sec and then go on my way.
HER AND HER WORDS WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN

Photo by Ana Crisan, Oakville, Toronto - CANADA.

Maputo, Mozambique

2006-01-13T22:38:00.000-02:00

Maputo, Mozambique, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

I love the choreography of kids playing--as well as the crouching, the squatting, the posing. These three muskateers are in a half-illuminated alley in one of Maputo's most dangerous neighborhoods. What a backdrop for such innocence, imagination, and silhoetted motion.

Mozambique. Afrika.
July, 2005.

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, USA.

G I V I N G. Badami

2006-01-12T01:36:00.000-02:00

G I V I N G. Badami, originally uploaded by Claude Renault.

A woman giving water and food to a poor personn in Badami. I must add that before that she gave him food, wasn't ready to click...What else to say?. Here it seems people give often and all the time.

Photo by Claude Renault, Reykjavik - ICELAND.

A Night out at the Opera...

2006-01-11T13:01:00.000-02:00

A Night out at the Opera..., originally uploaded by carf.

Paraty is a wonderfully atmospheric town, any time of the day or night. There’s always a surprise waiting around the next corner.

Little Leandro was quite captivated by this first meeting with a very strange instrument that he had never ever seen before, in this equally strange "fairytale land".

Likewise his brothers, Samuel, Lucas and Elias, from the shanty where they normally live, in the mega city São Paulo.

Photos by Gregory J. Smith - CARF, São Paulo - BRAZIL.

The lion

2006-01-10T00:23:00.000-02:00

The lion, originally uploaded by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

It was cold. I was spending some time sitting and chatting with Guy. We were sitting on the pavement in a crowed street. A man, Guy's buddy, was sleeping near us on a card. Half an hour later he suddenly woke up, looked at my face and decided to adopt me as a friend. We shook hands and begin a very long conversation. When I asked to shoot him, he'd got a large smile and his eyes twinkled. So, during an hour, we talked and made pictures. He was such an actor !!! He took poses, played with his eyes, moved his hands. We made almost 25 pictures. This picture is one of the first. He wanted to begin with a classical smoking picture (like Boggart).

He explained me a lot of things about the street : the violence, the alcohol, the night, the friendship. He's said that he knows almost all the homeless in the heart of the town. He had learned to be respected with his fists and his words. Actually, he was very well educated and was a really good speaker. I imagine he was a playboy in his young years.

Now he's 57 and he looks not so bad despite the living in the street. His name his Gérard. He's a lion.

Photo by Rod, Paris - FRANCE>

In Memory

2006-01-09T06:20:00.000-02:00

in memory, originally uploaded by kerenleaf.

St. James Church, Armenian Quarter, Old City of Jerusalem April 25th, 2005.
A memorial service for the Armenian Genocide.

Photo by Keren Leaf.

GLOBAL POVERTY

2006-01-08T07:33:00.000-02:00

GLOBAL POVERTY, originally uploaded by HORIZON.

This man and his familly have come to Tehran after Pakistan terrible earthquake, at least they have a shelter, food and something to warm up their little room here.

Photo by HORIZON, Mashhad - IRAN.

Katkovalam Meeting

2006-01-07T05:29:00.000-02:00

Katkovalam Meeting, originally uploaded by amparabill.

Photo by Billy Barkle, Ampara, SRI LANKA.

Visit my Blog

Warao Indians

2006-01-06T07:24:00.000-02:00

Warao Indians, originally uploaded by BoazR.

Visiting the local Warao Indians in the delta of the Orinoco river

Venezuela 1996

Photo by BoazNanjing - CHINA

Who we are

2006-01-05T11:19:00.000-02:00

Who we are, originally uploaded by AnomalousNYC.

"Great tragedy has come to us, and we are meeting it with the best that is in our country. ...Because this is America. This is who we are."
--George W. Bush

And one morning all that was burning,
one morning the bonfires leapt out of the earth devouring human beings
and from then on fire,
gunpowder from then on,
and from then on blood.
Bandits with planes and Moors,
bandits with finger-rings and duchesses,
bandits with black friars spattering blessings came through the sky to kill children and the blood of children ran through the streets without fuss, like children's blood.

Jackals that the jackals would despise
stones that the dry thistle would bite on and spit out,
vipers that the vipers would abominate.

Face to face with you I have seen the blood of Spain tower like a tide
to drown you in one wave of pride and knives.

Treacherous generals:
see my dead house,
look at broken Spain:
from every house burning metal flows
instead of flowers from every socket of Spain
Spain emerges and from every dead child a rifle with eyes and from every crime bullets are born which will one day find the bull's eye of your hearts.

And you will ask: why doesn't his poetry speak of dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of his native land.

Come and see the blood in the streets.
Come and see the blood in the streets.
Come and see the blood in the streets!
- from Pablo Neruda,
"I'm Explaining a Few Things"

ORIGINAL IMAGE: unknown US Military
Image Alteration by AnomalousNYC, Lower East Side - USA.

Espera

2006-01-04T18:40:00.000-02:00

Espera, originally uploaded by Ram!.

Photo by Ram Martinez, Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

Girl

2006-01-03T13:31:00.000-02:00

Girl, originally uploaded by elmaremoto.

Photo by Jaime Guerra, Santo Domingo - Dominican Republic.

b l o k e s. . .XX

2006-01-02T11:26:00.000-02:00

b l o k e s. . .XX, originally uploaded by dR. . ..

Photo by dR...

Wish upon the shooting stars...

2006-01-01T20:51:00.000-02:00

Wish upon the shooting stars..., originally uploaded by carf.

May all your dreams come true.

Thank you for helping us to realize ours

Happy New Year kids

2005-12-31T12:26:00.000-02:00

happy new year kids, originally uploaded by phitar.

Found sleeping peacefully on a sidewalk in Bangkok last night. Amid noise and pollution. Happy New Year to them and to you.

I am posting from a cybercafe, found it easy enough to use my harddrive and pick an image.

Photo by Philippe Tarbouriech, Geneva – SWITZERLAND.

Claudelle, street portrait (12.23.05)

2005-12-30T12:43:00.000-02:00

Claudelle, street portrait (12.23.05), originally uploaded by btezra.

I have photographed Claudelle before, great personality, even on a cold day just before Christmas.

Interaction w/the camera is something Claudelle has no shortage of, his smile, optimistic.

Here’s to the holiday, season it w/a bit of time and/or generosity.

Taken with Canon EOS 10D, Canon EF 28-105mm 3.5/4.5 USM

Exposure: 0.011 sec (1/90)
Aperture: f/9.5
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0/2 EV
RAW

Photo by Btezra, Pittsburgh - USA.

Workers sweating...

2005-12-29T09:28:00.000-02:00

Workers sweating..., originally uploaded by .Roald..

Working like coalminers, but actually burning shells to turn into limestone. In Kerala, India.
I especially like the grain of sweat on the back, when seen at high sizes...
My personal fav of 2005

Photo by Roald Sieberath, Louvain-la-Neuve - BELGIUM.

www.roald.com

Blue Chaouen

2005-12-28T09:25:00.000-02:00

Blue Chaouen, originally uploaded by azulchinasky.

Photo by Azulchinasky, Algeciras - SPAIN.

Flowers Sir...?

2005-12-27T02:36:00.000-02:00

Flowers sir...?, originally uploaded by lapidim.

Salvador - Bahia - Brasil

Photo by Mario Lapid, Madrid - SPAIN.

Christmas

2005-12-26T22:12:00.000-02:00

Christmas, originally uploaded by Tous les noms sont déjà pris... pfff....

Photo by Rod, Paris - FRANCE.

A star is born...

2005-12-25T10:52:00.000-02:00

A star is born..., originally uploaded by carf.

In a lifelong search for meaning, I have found the clown to be the best, all-encompassing metaphor for the human condition - an uncompromising mirror to look into for glimpses of the truth. We look at the clown and see ourselves - our hopes, dreams, fears, and virtues, our flaws and our process.

The character of The Fool is an essential ingredient of human society - a universal archetype found in some form in all cultures and in all times. The Clown is the “puer aeternus”, the eternal child in all of us.

Clowning is about the freedom that comes from a state of total, unconditional acceptance of our most authentic selves, warts and all. It offers us respite from our self-doubts and fears, and opens the door to joy. And the best part is, we are all already our clowns. They are here inside us, waiting for us to recognize them so that they can come out and play. – “Philosophy of a Clown” by Jan Henderson

Jason in disguise.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Afrikaans: Gesëende Kersfees
Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees
African / Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
Albanian: Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Argentine: Feliz Navidad
Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri-Azerbaijan: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal
Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo
Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Chile: Feliz Navidad
Chinese (Cantonese): Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese (Mandarin): Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Chinese (Catonese): Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsian: Pace e salute
Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish: Glædelig Jul
Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
Dutch (Netherlands): Prettig Kerstfeest
Eskimo: (Inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian: Ruumsaid juulup|hi
Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French: Joyeux Noel
Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Galician: Bo Nada
Gaelic (Irish): Nolag mhaith Dhuit Agus Bliain Nua Fe Mhaise
Gaelic (Scots): Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German: Froehliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian: Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian: Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik
Maltese: LL Milied Lt-tajjeb
Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
Papiamento: Bon Pasco
Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philipines: Maligayan Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese: Feliz Natal
Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Romanian (in Moldova Republic): La Anul si La Multi Ani
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Serbian: Hristos se rodi
Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serb-Croatian: Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
Serbian: Hristos se rodi.
Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slavey (a Dene Language from the Northwest Territories in Canada): Teyatie Gonezu
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene: Vesele Bozicne. Screcno Novo Leto
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tami: Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Trukeese (Micronesian): Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese: Chung Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic
Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!

Photos by Gregory J. Smith - CARF, São Paulo - BRAZIL.

On the wall

2005-12-24T10:45:00.000-02:00

on the wall, originally uploaded by stoneth.

(San Francisco Civic Center) (taken 12/23/05)

...homeless man sitting on a wall selling sundry items

Photo by Tomas, San Francisco - USA.

Homeless man on Ste-Catherine

2005-12-23T22:35:00.000-02:00

homeless man on Ste-Catherine, originally uploaded by -Ant-.

Photo by Antoine Rouleau, Montréal - CANADA.

Soliedariedade ~ Solidarity

2005-12-22T22:24:00.000-02:00

soliedariedade ~ solidarity, originally uploaded by jcfilizola.

Centro do Rio de Janeiro, hoje pela manhã.

Downtown Rio de Janeiro, this morning.

Photo by Jose Carlos Filizola, Rio de Janeiro - BRASIL.

See my Fotolog

Sorrow

2005-12-21T22:21:00.000-02:00

sorrow, originally uploaded by Agron.

Orphanage Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Photo by Agron Dragaj, Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Please visit my Blog

El viejo pescador

2005-12-20T12:05:00.000-02:00

El viejo pescador, originally uploaded by Ram!.

Photo by Ram Martinez, Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

A María del Carmen le duele el oído

2005-12-19T23:14:00.000-02:00

A María del Carmen le duele el oído, originally uploaded by Memo Vásquez.

El frío llega a la tierra Pima y enferma la piel, la garganta y los oídos.

Photo by Memo Vásquez.

Jinja, Uganda

2005-12-18T00:42:00.000-02:00

Jinja, Uganda, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

One afternoon, a local villager, William, took me and my friend on a
walk around his village, the final destination a primary school where AIDS
and malnutritian are rampant, and students are sent home by hardworking teachers if they don't have a pencil. A teacher myself, I was interested in seeing the school the local children attend. Making our way slowly toward the 10 classroom school, we passed these boys.

Their mother inside husking corn, the boys eyed us first with curiosity, then with delight.

Why weren't these children at school? Good question.

Jinja, Uganda. Afrika.
July, 2005.

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, Tucson - USA.

People from forgotten land

2005-12-17T06:32:00.000-02:00

People from forgotten land, originally uploaded by HORIZON.

She is 75, her origin is from Northern Khorasan Kurdish tribes.
In fact I had planned to take some shots from the Tabaran area, but before any shooting I visited her.
She was very warm and lovely, when shooting at her she asked me why I'm
doing that.
I replied to her that "Tell me how can I find so cute old woman such as you to take their pictures?"
She asked me what I'm going to do with them.
I told her I will put them in my sitting room.
She surprisingly looked at me shooting, she was talking to herself, surely counting me as one of those foolish crazy tourists that look at her as a NICE subject to
shoot.

Now at this age and with serious physical disabilities she is one of the countless DEEPLY FORSAKEN people which has to ask the others for some money.
Nobody cares here, nobody supports them, nobody knows they exist, it seems they are completly deleted from the memories.
They are potentially one of the richest people in the world..........but

THEY ARE PEOPLE FROM THE FORGOTTEN LAND

NOTE: she didn't agree to change her place, this is why we have the chain in foreground which I dislike.

Photo by HORIZON, Iran.

Unadoña

2005-12-16T00:28:00.000-02:00

unadoña, originally uploaded by trepasitos.

Photo by Mario Delgado

Gil - from mexico

2005-12-15T03:28:00.000-02:00

gil from mexico, originally uploaded by stoneth.

Photo by Tomas, San Francisco - USA.

On the Streets

2005-12-14T02:28:00.000-02:00

On the Streets - XIX, originally uploaded by carf.

Robison and Eduardo in 1998, seemingly enjoying themselves on the streets, but the smiles on their faces only hide their dispair and gives them hope of a better future awaiting them.

Today they are both recuperated and live independent lives. Their colleagues, who can be seen in several of the photos in this series, are already dead and gone!

This Video Clip, which includes intervues with former street kid Robison, was made by American teen reporters from Strive Media Institute in the USA during their visit to the Hummingbird Project in São Paulo.

Photo by Gregory J. Smith, Founder, The Children At Risk Foundation - CARF.

Miskito Resettlement Camp, Nicaragua ' 82

2005-12-13T00:44:00.000-02:00

Miskito Resettlement Camp, Nicaragua, 82, jpg., originally uploaded by Marcelo Montecino.

Photo by Marcelo Montecino, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Ciganos (Gypsies)

2005-12-12T00:53:00.000-02:00

ciganos 211003, originally uploaded by mikelegurra.

Photo by Maique Madeira, Portugal.

Glenn with his pot of coffee....

2005-12-11T02:49:00.000-02:00

Glenn with his pot of coffee...., originally uploaded by pondage.

Photo by David Pond, Santa Ana, California - USA.

Hope for The Sun

2005-12-10T01:24:00.000-02:00

Hope for The Sun, originally uploaded by Shavar.

The grass is hardly greener on the "other side". This photo is very interesting to me. At first I dismissed it as another one of my badly washed out photos. But coming across it again by accident, I noticed the contrast between the colorful grass and the subjects' state.

This photograph to me shows the continued struggle of The African-American Experience in America today. Isn't it something how the boy is already perceived to be "behind bars" before he ever truly gets a chance to become a man?

His shorts reveal that he's a soldier in this struggle but in who's army?
He is clearly the next generation in the forefront but what will he do to get out of his current struggle?

He is overshadowed by his father who cannot look on because of the struggles of his own. Stripped of the shirts off they're backs, they are vulnerable in this cruel and dark world.

However, the brightness behind them reveals hope from a source not of this earth.

Photo by Shavar Ross, Los Angeles - USA.

Berimbau

2005-12-09T00:48:00.000-02:00

berimbau, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

That's a heart's piece of the Capoeira's music. If you don't know alredy the beautiful sound of the berimbau, you can hear a bit here.

Here is former street kid Poca (Jefferson) playing to the people from the Morro do Macaco's slum, at the Children's day.
Poca's big dream whilst he lived on the streets of São Paulo for many years, was to one day become a Capoeira instructor. Thanks to CARF's efforts, he has realised that dream now and today he teaches 250 of our kids the Brazilian sporting art of Capoeira.

Fellows, I really hope you'll open your heart to the dreams of this kids, not to give them small Christmas gifts, but to give them the acess, the oportunity. This will make all the difference to a child choose how to act living in such a poverty condition.

Please, join this campaign, this time, we really need you :)

Photo by CARF's volunteer photographer, Tatiana Cardeal, São Paulo - BRASIL.

Primary School

2005-12-08T01:23:00.000-02:00

Primary School, originally uploaded by camera_rwanda.

One student raises his hand.
Up to 107 will be in this classroom on any given day.

Jinja, Uganda. Afrika.
July, 2005.

Photo by Kresta King Cutcher, Tucson - USA.