Sebastiao Salgado is a Brazilian artist who was born in 1994.  Salgado’s pictures are all in black and white so he can portray the greater meaning of the people in the world who are in neglect and in poverty.  He believes strongly in humanity.  His photographs display that he is against war, poverty, and people’s human rights being stripped away from them.  This is seen in this particular picture by Salgado: Rwandan Refugee Camp Mother and Child, Tanzania. This photograph that he took displayed how he wants the world to know about the genocide occurring in Africa and this can reveal that he is against the war and poverty in Rwanda. Salgado’s vision for these pictures is that it will draw his broad audience to action to help stop these problems.[i]

As a UNICEF special ambassador, Salgado visited over a 100 countries to photograph the dispossessed, those communities whose ancestral traditions and cultures have been taken away from them.[ii] In one of these projects, Genesis, Salgado focused his lens on orphaned and neglected young children from a number of different countries.[iii] The seemingly limitless expanse of the refugee camp from this perspective allows the viewer to an idea of just how many people in Africa were displaced trying to escape the 1994 Rwandan genocide . Taken in 1994 after thousands of Rwandans fled to Tanzania to escape the trauma and genocide killings, by year’s end, there were around 2 million Rwandan refugees, of which some100,000 were children separated from their families, and sadly 700,00 dead.[iv]

In this gelatin print picture, Salgado portrayed the domestic life in a Rwandan refugee camp based in Tanzania, the black and white photograph creates an effect on how we perceive the sadness of life in the way in which they are living.  Salgado does this by taking a picture of a massive group of people who have been torn away from their homes.  Within the picture, you can see all kinds of different emotions of people. In the front of the picture is a mother holding her young baby who is looking up at her smiling.  It is obvious by tents, clothing, pots, and pans in the picture that they have travelled many times to different refugee camps to escape the persecution and genocide in Rwanda. The black and white photograph portrays the darkness and sadness of the people in the refugee camp because they have probably lost loved ones on their journey to different refugee camps.  In the distance, you see people sitting or standing alone of all ages.  This could show that these people are separated away from their family and are trying to find a new family unit to join.

There is not only black and white in this picture, but there is also a grey gradient in between parts of this photo.  In the distance, the sky’s vast, puffy clouds could reveal the overhanging problem of genocide that will not leave the people of Rwanda.  The clouds that hang in the sky could represent the problem that is occurring in Africa, but there has been no action taken to stop it.  In order for this genocide to stop and the clouds to move away, there must be action taken.  The trees with its tops ripped off could show the violence of the genocide and how even the trees themselves are ripped away from their own life.  The nature that is seen in this photograph displays the same feelings as the people in the refugee camp; struggle, sadness, and darkness are all hovered over them.

This photograph of the community in the refugee camp shows that even though they are displaced and their human rights have been taken away they are still trying to live their traditions from their ancestors in their new environment.  This shows through with their clothing that they are wearing and their body language. As you look in the picture you can see some men wearing shirts that are cut up or wearing shirts tied around their head to keep them cool from the heat. This picture portrays numerous and sometimes conflicting emotions. Some people look happy, like the baby smiling at her mother in the foreground of the photograph.  But beyond this happy scene, men on the ground with slumped shoulders are looking tired and aimless.  You can interpret that they have been working all day trying to provide not only for themselves, but for the women and children that are in the refugee camp.

We shouldn’t sit back and let the number of genocides rise, but we should do something to help these people have a better and more hopeful life. Salgado is very involved with UNICEF.  You can also join UNICEF to help get involved.  It is a great, world-wide organization that helps gender equality, child protection, and much more.  Many celebrities (such as Orlando Bloom, David Beckham, Ricky Martin, Whoopi Goldberg, Mia Farrow, and Jackie Chan) are involved with UNICEF as Ambassadors as well.  Ishmael Beah is another advocate who wrote a popular book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. This explained about his life in Rwanda whose family was separated from him and how he was a soldier for the rebels for a short time.  UNICEF is a wonderful organization to help stop child neglect.[v]

K.B.R


[i] “Sabastiao Salgado,” Accueil, Amazonas Images.  accessed April 10, 2011, www.amazonasimages.com.

[ii] “Sabastiao Salgado,” Accueil, Amazonas Images. accessed April 10,  2011, www.amazonasimages.com,

[iii] “Sabastiao Salgado,” Accueil, Amazonas Images.  accessed April 10, 2011, www.amazonasimages.com.

[iv] “UNICEF Special Representative Sebastiao Salgado”, Sebastiao Salgado Biography, accessed April 10, 2011. www.unicef.org/salgado/bio.htm.

[v] Ishmael Beah: Advocate for Children Affected by War”,UNICEF: Unite for the Children, accessed April 25, 2011, http://www.unicef.org/people/people_47890.html