Girl + Refugee, Camp, Uttar Pradesh, India, December 1, 2013

The intensity with which the girls expressed their thoughts to the lens was undeniable in these camps. Living great distances from their villages, driven away from their lands by the most recent bout of violence in Uttar Pradesh, they have survived.

One by one they took their turn in front of the camera, and almost 100 onlookers. To be provided a chance to tell their story through the photograph is almost unimaginable to them yet here they were doing so. In a most conservative community the men lent their support and made sure that the boys stepped to the side to allow the girls their chance. A half dozen men took on that responsibility with only a few minutes notice, and did so with smiles on their faces. Their gentle touch allowed the environment to be conducive for the task at hand.

What has she seen in her young life? Will those far from her understand her plight? What was going through her mind as she turned slightly to allow the light to strike her distant eye ever so gently? When she woke up this morning, did she ever think that a stranger was going to walk into her camp and wish very much to make her portrait?

I for one am in awe of her ability to express herself so and hope that my work has done justice to her eternal beauty.

www.halimina.org

Note: This portrait was made with a Sony RX100M2, edited for size and contrast only.