My World: No Shoes.

[fahim mohammed]

Many do not have shoes. Really.

It is their world. And one traveler's at least.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Many do not have shoes. Really.

It is their world. And one traveler's at least.

or underwear!

Shoes? Only worn out remnants! Mine came from my neighbor George when he outgrew his. They passed to my older brothers and worked their way down, over the years to me. We had cardboard to cover the huge holes in the soles. Of course, it was a mess going through snow and slush but better, by far, than frozen bare feet!

Cardboard was one of our most precious commodities. Came from Kellogs cornflakes boxes and we'd argue over who gets the next allotment! But our house survived the bombing and songs would come from our home on a friday night when the sun went down, bringing in the sabbath and poor guests we found to share our table.

Asher

 

[fahim mohammed]

The point though is, how many of such kids shall have the same opportunities as you or me?

Is that not more important than what one has to start with?

I shall tell you in a pm the biggest advantage you have, Asher. An advantage denied a significant portion of the human race.

You want to know for how many days I never ate fresh food ( inc. veggies ) when I was young?

But that was not the point of my pic.

 

[Asher Kelman]

T

You want to know for how many days I never ate fresh food ( inc. veggies ) when I was young?

Fahim,

Fresh food? Hardly!

We had boiled dried, outdated bread pap for almost all meals, it was called "Pap". Sometimes we'd have added egg power or raisons, "Gift of the People of The United States of America"

This allows me to understand more fully, just how important the scenes in your pictures are and how great their need must be.

Asher

 

[fahim mohammed]

Fahim,

Fresh food? Hardly!

We had boiled dried, outdated bread pap for almost all meals, it was called "Pap". Sometimes we'd have added egg power or raisons, "Gift of the People of The United States of America"

This allows me to understand more fully, just how important the scenes in your pictures are and how great their need must be.

Asher

The Americans dropped food ( something edible to keep you folks alive ). There was nobody to airlift or drop
anything in the desert to us.

Most did not know and even more did not care if we were there or not. Not until something came out of our sands. Now everyone seems to want to give us food amongst other things. And lend us money, if only we would accept it.

So, my friend, do not go one on one with me on what you had as opposed to what we had in the desert
of yesteryear. You cannot even begin to fathom the meaning of the saying, ' a struggle to survive '.

 

[Asher Kelman]

T
So, my friend, do not go one on one with me on what you had as opposed to what we had in the desert
of yesteryear. You cannot even begin to fathom the meaning of the saying, ' a struggle to survive '.

I was in Pismo beach photographing and as the sun rose, it was so hot and we needed water. So I can't imagine how it must be to survive in a real desert!

The main thing is that such experiences as your family had, give us better understanding of the plight of so many without help on the horizon, that's my point!

Asher

 

[fahim mohammed]

Seeing contrasts, I begin to better appreciate and think of things that I start to take for granted...like my kids having shoes for example. Or me taking holidays in foreign lands.

 

[James Newman]

She seems well hydrated and fed.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Fahim,

I do think that besides art, fashion, industry and other markets, using the camera as a lantern to the world we dominate is a responsibility that does attract some fine people to tell us what's going on. The Whatever project, helps folk use local resources to allow local communities to control their resources and give their families hope and a future and have a vote in their own destiny.

Everyone should spend some time in their youth abroad, volunteering in the developing world, so we take our own demands with more than a pinch of salt. I commend you and Aisha for your work in Africa.

Asher