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Lost childhood

I'm nothing.

 

 

Não sou nada.

Nunca serei nada.

I'll allways be nothing.

I can't even wish to be something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Não posso querer ser nada.

Aside from that, I've got all the world's dream inside me.

 

À parte isso, tenho em mim todos os sonhos do mundo.

 

 

 

 

 

excerpt from "Tobacco Shop", by ÁLVARO DE CAMPOS, Portuguese poet (1890 - 1935)

 

photos by LEWIS HINE, American photographer  (1874 - 1940)

 

 

 

this tabblo is dedicated to LatentE, who linked me to Hine.
COMMENTS
Experience said at 6:36 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Una composizione eccezionale. E' sempre un piacere leggere ed osservare i tuoi tabblo. Grazie.
Mashpee_Paula said at 6:50 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
I am at a loss for words, Eduardo. These pictures bring tears to my eyes.
Anjad said at 7:20 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Really touching, great tabblo, great pictures, great words. Thanks for sharing.
Mjpileggi said at 8:52 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Very moving.
GryphonHeart said at 8:58 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Very nice pictures Ed. The pictures speaks for themselves and as it says it speaks a thousand words or even greater. Love them all. Thanks for sharing and having a tribute to it too. Great work.
Jillcdunn said at 9:05 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Haunting. Really well done!
LatentE said at 9:16 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
These are powerful images. Photography as social commentary is one of its most noble purposes, but then that probably applies to all art and artistry. The work of Hine greatly facilitated the establishment of laws in America banning child labor which is a form of exploitation of those among us most in need of protection. It's a sad commentary on the times in America when two of the regular op-ed writers for the "liberal" New York Times newspaper, one noted for his work documenting social tragedies, have written of the benefits of child labor. *** *** One of my favorite photographs is by the great photographer W. Eugene Smith taken for his photo essay on corporate pollution of a small town. http://masters-of-photography.com/S/smith/smith_minamata_full.html
Setu said at 9:35 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
This is just so true for the country like ours, child labour is a social evil, everyone must try to stop it and return the best part of life to them.
Cruising said at 9:51 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Very powerful - great job.
Pkeener said at 9:54 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Oh EDUARDO, this is BEAUTIFULLY executed. I am a huge fan of Hine,Walker Evans, Eugene Smith, and of couse my hero Margaret Bourke-White. These images along with Henri Catier-Bresson formed my early B&W photography interest and awareness of thing unjust. I agree with ALL of above comments. Obrigada!
Tanyaspix said at 11:38 a.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Very poigniant words to go with the moving pictures. Good job Eduardo!
Hilah said at 12:16 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Those pictures tear at my heart.
Chetty said at 12:54 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Terrible that little children have to work for us. Very good tabblo to get attention for this. Thanks Greetz
Paolo said at 1:09 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Great Eduardo!
NavyMom said at 4:57 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
i think that your photos of children are just as powerful as these.
Chiloedream said at 6:28 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Un grand tabblo très poignant, bravo.
Lucemiami said at 7:22 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
As I was looking and reading my heart started shrinking ....The boys's eyes are the mirror of their lifes... The feelings are so strong , so presents.
Katkee said at 8:21 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Thank you for the invite, Eduardo. This is very stunning and social impact is heart wretching. Your atrtistic lay out lends irony to the stark and beautifyl images.
Abking said at 8:49 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Wonderful layout of photos and words. I had a postcard once of the last image, left side. Hated to part with it. Very moving portraits.
EMA said at 8:57 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
Bela chamada de atenção para essa chaga social que é o trabalho infantil. Tanto as fotos como as palavras são comoventes e muito belas.
Jasontengco said at 11:37 p.m. on Jan 12, 2007:
awesome pictures. im lost for words.
Engelgrafik said at 8:41 a.m. on Jan 13, 2007:
Children have worked since the beginning of time. It is only recently that we have established laws to eliminate this. The reason is that children are easily exploitable, and they compete against adults. This is one of the reasons why we have a 12 year education system, and then 4+ more years of college are expected here in the States... to keep young people out of the work force and prevent massive unemployment (ask yourself how valuable is the average 4 year degree... it's dropping in value every year as tuition increases!). In other cultures where they work on the farm with their families, etc., I don't know if that's necessarily the case. My grandparents worked as children and they are amazing and beautiful people, successful. I mowed lawns when I was 14. You see, it's never an easy boundary between two sides of an issue and you might find there's a 3rd or 4th side to that issue you thought was black and white. Obviously, I'm not condoning all child labor...LOL. I'm just trying to state that the word "child labor" seems to be loaded with only ONE meaning when that is simply not true. I *am* against exploitation and abuse of childen in child labor situations, obviously. However, if you think there should be an international law against child labor, then I would ask you to look at places where families would starve if everyone didn't pitch in and work.
Engelgrafik said at 8:52 a.m. on Jan 13, 2007:
Imagine after WWII how many people were dead... 3 million male soldiers in Germany (8 million including civilian women and children)... 8 million male and some female soldiers in USSR (23 million including civilian men, women and children total)... women could make up for this to some degree, but I guarantee you there were young kids working as well, because they needed money and food. I remember my Mom even talking about how the Soviets made them live on work camps (they were German refugees from the east, expelled from Poland into the future East Germany) and my Mom was only 5 or 6 at the time. To this day she goes psycho whenever she tastes Carroway seeds because that was some of the only fiber they had and they were constantly getting fed with Carroway seeds. She hates it now. Imagine Rwanda... 1994... 1 MILLION people murdered in 3 months. Who is going to work? I guarantee you widows brought their children to help out. The world is a very dark and cold place for many many people and it is very easy for us to say child labor is wrong (and who am I to not want to agree? I do think it's horrible when a child could be learning and playing) when we live in relative calm and peace and abounding wealth in our respective countries.
LatentE said at 10:58 a.m. on Jan 13, 2007:
Now you've seen the sort of words that get put on the op-ed pages of the New York Times by Nick Kristof and Tom Friedman. Kristof has made a name for himself by describing the massive miseries of African tragedies. He and the New York Times even had a recent series about child prostitution. The problem is that the series on prostitution, and in a sense every one of Kristof's articles, are examples of the very same exploitation. The Times' Kristof child prostitution series was titillation on a mega scale for the profit of The Times and Kristof. Using human tragedy, often generated by the very few humans that pull the strings of the world, to justify exploitation in situations that don't have those tragedies or can avoid or overcome them is a scam that's as old as child labor. Speaking of veneration based merely on longevity, what's the "world's oldest profession?" Does that somehow make it a noble and proud career goal? Is it something to try to foster and nurture, to use the phrasing of raising and caring for children as parents hope they can? The children seen in the pictures of Hine were exploited. They exist in the world today. In many cases they are being exploited by multinational corporations to destroy the status of adult workers in parts of the world where that exploitation has been banned. Tom Friedman and his "flat earth" ilk decry any attempts to "free trade" labor and environmental standards and protections along with the regulations that benefit the multinational businesses. "Globalization" is a race to the bottom for the vast majority of the people in the world. Being required to send your children off to work in giant factories or a mile or more underground to mines is not a standard to be hoped for or justified when there are alternatives and those alternatives have been successful. Successful for generations. Saying that not going to college is an understandable life choice is a gross misrepresentation. Dare I say propaganda? A lie to cover the greater and greater divide between the 2% of the people in the world that own 50% of it and the 98% that may own some of the other half. The changes in society that make college too expensive for more and more people every day don't represent "choice" but rather another exploitation that furthers the divide between the haves and don't haves. What parts of the world are not Old South cotton plantation societies are slowly moving in that direction as if it's some sort of honest and fair ideal to be sought. America is one of those parts of the world. This is Darwin's (reviewer's) "survival of the fittest," venerated when it's suitable. Supply side Jesus evangelism from and for the conveniently devout. In Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" there's a scene of a legless beggar boy "running" from Tsarist bullets when he was part of a group protesting their exploitation. It's hard not to seem like a communist when the ideal world the people in power are seeking is one from the late nineteenth century and worse. (Look up Bush's chief advisor, Karl Rove's, view of the McKinley presidency in America.) "Jayzuhs!" Comparing mowing lawns as a teenager for some extra cash to a life of subsistence survival labor beginning almost as soon as someone can walk is grossly insulting.
DEE-Trow said at 8:31 p.m. on Jan 13, 2007:
What can I say after all these indepth comments. It is so sad that some children have to live their lives this way. It makes me appreciate all that I had as a child. It could have been so different.
Jigs said at 12:36 a.m. on Jan 15, 2007:
A very moving tableau, Eduardo. I am touched in many levels. I have no words to express my tears and indignation and sadness... and, yes, even my gratitude for a happy childhood.
Siagian said at 12:14 p.m. on Jan 17, 2007:
Eduardo, this is powerful. very powerful. putting children to THIS kind of labor pricks at my sense of justice and just makes me so angry, but i am happy that at least in many countries it is illegal. so much to say on the topic, but i think enough has been said here already. peace.
Eduardo.affonso said at 9:39 a.m. on Jan 20, 2007:
Thanks everybody: RETA, WOODY, JIGS (welcome! I miss you so much!), DEE (where have you been??), LATENTE, JEFF, JASON, EMA, ABKING, KATE, LUCI, THIERRY, SHIRL, PAOLO, HETTY, ELIZZY, TANYA, PAM, CRUISING, SETU, JILL, SIMON, MONICA, ANJA, PAULA & EXPERIENCE. These are sad yet necessary photos: as LATENTE mentionet, photos like this made difference, showed that something had to change. They were taken decades ago, but this reality is still part of our world. I agree with JEFF: during wars and catastrophes children, handicapped, aged people are always asked to help with their work. But tehse photos are about explotation, abuse - these children (as well as millions, everyday) have their childhood stollen because they are cheap workers, have no protection. They should be at school - not in factories nor selling candies on the streets. Here, in 3rd world countries, we have to deal also with child prostitution - which is the worst way of explotation. Thank you, all of you, for sharing your opinions.
Vfnaomi said at 8:15 a.m. on Jan 21, 2007:
totally awesome i'm deeply moved...
Eduardo.affonso said at 5:09 p.m. on Jan 23, 2007:
Thanks, VFNAOMI. No matter how old these photos are the impact will be always the same.
Liliana said at 5:58 p.m. on Jan 23, 2007:
Sinceramente, no leí nada anterior (¡excepto el Tabblo...!!)... Estuve observando niños tan diferentes los últimos dias... creo qe lo entiendo más que nunca. Sencillo, simple y profundo.
Eduardo.affonso said at 6:04 p.m. on Jan 23, 2007:
Gracias, LILIANA! Nunca havia pensado antes em juntar o Álvaro de Campos / Fernando Pessoa com esse tipo de imagem, mas gostei do resultado. Ultimamente não penso apenas no trabalho infantil, mas no abuso, na crueldade com os animais. Ter cachorros certamente nos faz ter outra idéia do quão pouco nos separa dos outros animais.
Liliana said at 6:15 p.m. on Jan 23, 2007:
No ensaba sólo en el trabajo infantil sino en la condición de chicos de realidades tan tan tan disimiles .
Nmat said at 7:57 p.m. on Feb 21, 2007:
Reading the "Little House on the Prairie" series to my grandchildren, it is difficult to imagine how hard both the children and the parents worked just to survive back in those days. Just finished Farmer Boy, and learned an incredible amount about working on a farm. Backbreaking work, never completed, somehow engendering pride. But the present is a totally different story, and I agree that all children deserve a childhood.
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