"Modernization"

          While in Brazil, Salgado visited a tribe of indigenous people in Roraima, Brazil. These people lived near an army base that had been constructed near an airstrip, so they had been coming into closer contact with the outside world than ever before. Rather than being nomadic and moving from place to place, the Yanomami built a communal hut and settled down. Instead of making hammocks from forest materials, they trade with the soldiers to get synthetic hammocks. Salgado writes that, "these Indians are becoming beggars on their own land" (Salgado 255).
          While having access to some of the things that come from industrialization, such as better hammocks, is a good thing, being in contact with the outside world has dramatically changed these peoples' way of life. They are no longer nomadic, so they cannot live off the land as they used to and are now dependent on trading with the soldiers. I think that it is tragic that these people have lost a large part of their culture and way of life. Their lives are definitely easier and safer now, but they have lost out on many other important things that life has to offer. Our culture helps us to connect with each other and to find a lot of joy in life.

From page 255

Work Cited

Salgado, Sebastião. Migrations. 1st ed. New York, NY: Aperture Foundation, Inc., 2000. Print.

Starving

         In the aftermath of the genocide and war in Rwanda, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes, and ended up in refugee camps in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). Many of these refugees waited in large groups near the train tracks to wait for food to arrive on trains. A train came--but did not deliver much food per person. Nobody was sure of how where or how many refugees there were, so each family was given only one pound of corn and peas. This resulted in mass starvation among the refugees (Salgado 213).
        The image I chose from this week's pages depicts two men, a woman, and a small child who are all starving. These people are almost literally skin and bones, especially the child. It is scary to see what happened to these people. They were completely dependent on outside aid for food, and were let down. This meant not only discouragement, but many deaths as well. Looking at the pamphlet's description of the photo, is says it was taken on March 31st of 1997. This means that the starving child is just about the same age as me at the time. This really makes me think about what these people went through, how it really did happen, and could have potentially been me, if I had been born into a different family. These starving people are just like you and me.

(From page 213)

Work Cited

Salgado, Sebastião. Migrations. 1st ed. New York, NY: Aperture Foundation, Inc., 2000. Print.

Salgado Post #4: The Product of Hate

          Salgado was once visiting Tanzania and Rwanda during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He witnessed many of the tragedies and horrors that occurred during this event. One of the things he saw was the dumping of the bodies of murdered Tutsis and moderate Hutus into the Akagera River. He writes, "In just 30 minutes, I saw 20 corpses swept over the waterfalls" (Salgado 172).
          It is so horrifying to think of what people are capable of doing when they are persuaded into thinking that a group of people is inferior. The perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide were not only Hutu extremist militia, but also the government and even many average citizens. People were hunting down their own neighbors just because of the race printed on their ID card.
          Although many may believe that such a thing can only happen in faraway countries, we need to be on the lookout to keep similar atrocities from happening within our communities. The genocide did not just suddenly happen--it was the product of years of segregation and racism. It is the responsibility of each of us to make sure these things do not happen around us. If we can stop the small acts of hate, then the huge acts can never happen.

From Migrations page 172

Work Cited

Salgado, Sebastião. Migrations. 1st ed. New York, NY: Aperture Foundation, Inc., 2000. Print.

Salgado Post #3: Plastic Windows

          Refugees fleeing the Balkans found themselves forced to stay in a camp called Turanj, a town that had been torn apart in a battle between the Croats and the Serbs several years earlier. Some refugees were able to pay off the guards to let them continue on their journey to get out of the country. The rest had to do the best they could with what was left of the town, using plastic sheets as windows in an attempt to keep out the winter cold (Salgado 119).
          As if this wasn't enough, the town had many landmines left over from the earlier conflict, and several refugees were killed by these deadly devices. Most of the victims were children (Salgado 119). This whole situation just seems unimaginable to me. These people had to leave their homes, and then they have to live in the shells of war-torn houses and try to survive the winter. Before looking at Salgado's book, I never realized that there have been and still are so many people who have faced hardships like this. It is very sad but eye-opening to realize such things have happened.

From http://www.lannan.org/art/artist/sebastiao-salgado/

Work Cited

          Salgado, Sebastião. Migrations. 1st ed. New York, NY: Aperture Foundation, Inc., 2000. Print.

Waste Land Review

          The film Waste Land depicted many acts of service and care that are amazing to see. Often times there are people who are very poor and work in a dangerous and gross dump who are offering help to friends or family who need it. They could very well use a lot of help themselves, and yet they are trying to be of service to those around them.
          The artist, Vik, first went to Brazil believing that he'd just shoot some pictures, maybe meet a few locals, and then go home and resume his normal life again. What ended up happening was quite different. Vik got the opportunity to work very closely with a lot of the pickers from the landfill, he learned their stories and showed kindness to all of them. 131
          Vik got to know these people very well, and saw how they all kept going on strongly through life despite many terrible hardships. It seemed like all of the pickers he worked with had turned down opportunities to work in the drug trade or similar jobs where they could have made more money. They all wanted to be honest and hard-working people who earned their money, even if it was not very much.
          These people were all going through hard times, and then Vik showed up and gave them an opportunity to do work that was outside the landfill and that allowed them to really accomplish something where they could see the results. Vik's encouragement and kindness helped all of the pickers to see that they are important, that they are cared about and that they can be beautiful. He changed their whole outlook on who they were and what they could do. 
          Watching this movie has shown me that working with and serving people really can change lives. It is too easy to dismiss a service experience as just doing work or another thing to check off on a class requirements list. Giving true service and caring about those you serve can help to make a huge impact on their lives as well as your own.