Young Arbore Boy, Ethiopia, 2010, Limited Edition (50), 11x14 Handmade Silver Gelatin Print Toned in Selenium, Printed by the Photographer

The last 25 years of my life photographically are finally being printed in the darkroom, and the prints are being sold to support the sewing centers we will soon reopen in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Presently we have six sewing centers in two states of India, serving both the Hindu and the Muslim communities. 

In these sewing centers, young women learn a trade while also making clothing for their families. The centers are located in the rural areas, where young women have only one option normally, marriage and a family. At this moment, due to COVID-19, the work is on hold. However, we plan to restart the centers in 2022 and the funds from the sale of these portraits will be applied to the work in India. 

This print may be purchased through the Etsy link below.

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Earthquake + Home, Managua, Nicaragua, 1972

Last month I also put forth an effort to find the location of our home before the earthquake of 1972. The first woman we met made my trip this year after a minute of conversation. It turned out that she had visited my parent's store and also remembered our apartment building. She was so elegant and exuded the past, while bringing everything into the present. We spoke for a while then followed her directions. Upon arriving we met the second woman of our morning. She had lived in our neighborhood since her birth and remembered our building perfectly as well. The thought that both woman had been in my life unknowingly took my breath away, made my year on the first day!

El mes pasado hice un esfuerzo por encontrar la ubicación de nuestra casa antes del terremoto de 1972. La primera mujer que conocimos hizo mi viaje este año después de un minuto de conversación. Resultó que ella había visitado la tienda de mis padres y también recordaba nuestro edificio de apartamentos. Ella era tan elegante y exudaba el pasado, mientras traía todo al presente. Hablamos un rato y luego seguimos sus instrucciones. Al llegar nos encontramos con la segunda mujer de nuestra mañana. Ella había vivido en nuestro bbarrio desde su nacimiento y también recordaba perfectamente nuestro edificio. La idea de que ambas mujeres habían estado en mi vida sin saberlo me dejó sin aliento, ¡hizo mi año el primer día!

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Our Home + Earthquake, Managua, Nicaragua, December 23, 1972

The green light to go forward came in today, and so plans are being made for the first trip to my birthplace since the week this photograph was made almost 45 years ago. The fact that we have this photograph is a miracle, for my Father was walking around buying photographs of the earthquake before we flew to Lebanon to reconstruct our lives. I hope to be able to find the exact spot of this photograph, and to make a portrait of the site of our now long-gone home.

According to Wikipedia:

The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake occurred at 12:29:44 a.m. local time (06:29:44 UTC) on December 23 near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive). The epicenter was 28 kilometers northeast of the city centre and a depth of about 10 kilometers. The earthquake caused widespread casualties among Managua's residents: 4,000–11,000 were killed, 20,000 were injured and over 300,000 were left homeless.

(Photographer unknown, 12/1972)

Young Student, Humana India, Madhya Pradesh, India, 2016

This past year the chance was taken to visit a new state, and one quite a distance from my usual travels. The part of Madhya Pradesh which we were able to visit had the most surreal landscape. It looked like some god had created the most beautiful hills, raked them with a fine tool and then laid some trees and colors here and there.

The place looked like it was planned out, rather than a natural setting. It was the most beautiful setting my eyes had witnessed, while my mind knew that the lives of the people in this region was certainly made more difficult.

People lived far apart from each other, and the remoteness of the place made governmental services much less accessible. Agriculture was certainly a most difficult task, although the community did its best.

This girl was a student of a school sponsored by Humana India, as part of their Step Up Initiative. At that time she was attending classes in the program, and my hope is that she has now joined the government school system as planned from the beginning.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.