ジョン・スタンメイヤーのインスタグラム(johnstanmeyer) - 11月29日 12時16分

Bearing Witness ~ The Refugee Crisis

Early December 2008 ~ Aisha Barka and her daughter, Mariam, hadn't eaten in days. Aisha and nearly 4000 other Eritreans languish in a makeshift refugee camp in Suolu, Ethiopia, waiting for aid to arrive. Over 4,000 people have fled across the border since mid November 2008, forced by lingering drought in Eritrea, and rising food costs.

I met Aisha and her daughter while working on End of Plenty, a story I proposed to the National Geographic on rising food costs around the globe. Through a friend working for an NGO, I learned a sudden influx of Eritrean refugees had entering into northern Ethiopia. Little was know as aid groups were still trying to organize logistics.

Two day drive via land cruiser, we arrived in the late afternoon at the Ethopian/Eritrean border. I was astonished by the brutal magnitude of the problem; Indeed, thousands had arrived by foot, living in a desert along a dirt road 2k inside Ethiopia. Already 10 had died of starvation, countless children are were a state of severe acute malnutrition.

In utter humility and kindness, Aisha welcomed me, offering the only thing she had -- a cup of unsweetened tea.

This photograph is part of my multi-week series, #BearingWitnesstheRefugeeCrisis, delving deep into my archive of more than 20 years documenting forced migration based upon war, conflict, poverty and oppression around the world.
The events we are witnessing throughout Europe and beyond have haunted humanity for centuries. Today we are seeing the largest mass migration since World War II, the desperate act of tens of thousands fleeing war and oppression.

Throughout the coming weeks I will be putting a human face on this tragedy, illustrating the reality we bear witness today -- our brothers and sisters in the dire act of survival. NO, these are not terrorist. They are mothers, sons. Men, daughters. You and me, all on a journey for hope.

Join me by sharing this project widely, a story that is about all of us.

All my best,

John Stanmeyer

@ナショナルジオグラフィック @natgeocreative @thephotosociety #refugeecrisis #humanizingrefugees #truefaceofrefugees #Eritrea #Ethiopia #humanity #refugees

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