Tatiana Cardeal
I was resting for a moment, after shooting the opening march of the seventh World Social Forum, the first time it had taken place in Africa. People were arriving at Nairobi’s Uhuru (Freedom) Park, and it was a nice place to celebrate, with music and dance and the beginning of the activities.
Streetkids were playing in the lake beside me, a lake covered with yellow flowers.
They were very absorbed in what they were doing, and I approached them, curious about their movements. I photographed them reaching eagerly for some very tiny fishes.
Their food.
Some kids were fishing with plastic bags, others with their hands. I was especially fascinated by their ability, their hands’ dance, and I started feeling almost hypnotized... Then, for a second, I forgot they were hungry streetkids fishing in the poverty of Africa, and for a few moments, I saw them as strong spirits, sons of the earth, painting the sky in the water.
Another possible world, if you like.
This article is from
the September 2007 issue
of New Internationalist.
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