Behind the Scenes
Children of the World
The firm grasp of a baby’s hand on your finger, the smile on a childs face when they finally see someone they’ve longed for. It’s such a beautiful sight, enough to bring a grown man to his knees. Its the purest form of love, the purest form of trust and innocence. Across the world many things change, from religions to faces, but one thing will always remain apparent; that child are the embodiment of innocence and love in its truest form. My travels have opened my eyes to a number of things, but nothing touches my heart more than seeing the beautiful innocence of child. I remember I was in Jerusalem photographing The Dome of the Rock Mosque when I felt a small tug on my shirt.
I searched around before my eyes were met with a young girl with a heart imprinted on her shirt. She pointed to the camera and in the sweetest of voices asked to have her picture taken. I was taken aback by the shear fact that someone so small could have such an impact on me. Without hesitation I squatted down so my lens could meet her eyes, but before I could snap the picture, several other children ran up all asking to be models behind the lens. In the midst of an already beautiful place, such a beautiful moment was created. A moment that would remain forever engraved in my heart. The sweet innocence of these children is impossible to describe.
A similar story happened as I was staying in Pokhara, Nepal. A brother and a sister ran over when they saw my camera and asked to be models and began giving me their best poses. It ended with waving goodbye and blowing kisses. From coast to coast, desert to forest, These are the moments that you search for, moments that touch your heart, moments that last a lifetime.
Thinking and reminiscing about the raw love these children share makes it even more heart wrenching when you see a child, big belled, eyes held shut by the dirt that has been caked on from days of standing in the beating sun. His hand held out asking for money as he cant recall when his last meal was. Or even a child standing in the ruble of where their house once stood, head in their palm trying hard to understand.
These are the children of the world. They are our inspiration, our hope for better days, yet their beautiful laughs are being silenced, muted by the world’s cruel hands. They have the power to change even the sourest of hearts, yet I fear with each waking day, as each child suffers, that very power will be lost. They do not deserve to succumb to the issues this world presents and one day, one day they may taste the beauty this world has to offer. Their suffering will ease and they will run with love and freedom in their hearts. A child should never know anything but happiness for that is all they give and thus that should be all they receive.
Across the world I have seen the beautiful smiles of children, how they are so open and loving to anyone that comes before them. They are our future and our greatest teachers and one day when all the dust settles from the bleakness we have shrouded the world in, we will see it, we will realize it. “Children are the embodiment of innocence. They love without question, they trust without hesitation, yet they are constantly suffering. They are constantly the victims to events they take no part in.” Lets us attempt to bring and keep the smiles on the children of the world by doing all we can.
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