Day: April 4, 2017

This photo  had special meaning for me because it showed Ali and another teacher at RISSE (I did not get his name) with their students, and the love of the students for one another, and for their teachers, and the love of their teachers all shines through in this photo. Some of the kids are on Ali’s soccer team, and he teaches in the day care center as well. The spirit of the children was infectious, they loved to ham for the camera, and I loved to see them doing it.

Ali is very proud of them, he invited me to come to a soccer game.  I think I’ll do that.

It is my goal to make RISSE and the people there are part of the Bedlam Farm story. They are planning to visit the farm, and I am planning to visit them regularly, to try to tell their story, to show that refugees and immigrants are people, just like the rest of us.  I hope to help them and support them. They need help and deserve support.

We are an immigrant nation, the immigrant experience has made us strong and free.

It is worth fighting for, and I hope do my part in a positive way to fight for it, not to argue about it.  They are part of my life now, and I will share the experience. Stay tuned and thanks.

BHDRA came to the United States a couple of years ago. I learned early on in my photography that portraits do not lie, they reveal character and purpose, and BHDRA’s face says a great deal about her. RISSE has been of invaluable help in her setting in America, there really is no one else to help her over the long haul.  She very slowly raised her hand and volunteered to be photographed.

And immigrants need some guidance for a good while, America is not a simple place to come to, especially now. I explained to them that pictures are so important for telling the true story of immigration in America, photographs tell the truth. It is easy to hate ideas about people, hard to hate people.

I so admire the strength of the immigrants who raise their hands to be photographed. They are here legally and have broken now laws, but there is much fear in the air for them.

BHDRA is quiet and shy, but also strong, I think. She is from Nepal.

Tawadod came to America a few days ago from the Sudan, she was at RISSE studying English in a class today when I came into the class and was introduced by the teacher. I told them who I was and asked them if I could take their photographs, and there was some hesitation, but many hands came up. Tawadod was one of the first, she asked me for my website name and wrote it down.

She spoke little English, but I know of circumstances in the Sudan, and I saw how grateful she is to be here. I will see her in a week or so and hopefully get to know her. Her beautiful and open face said a lot already. I welcomed her to America and shook her hand.

America is a melting pot, and so are the children at RISSE. They love and support one another, especially now. At first, these two girls were shy about being photographed, but they came up to me and said they would love to be photographed together.