Hardship

Work in America's inner city is not mostly about preserving old buildings or regulating tourist traffic. It's more about giving hope to people in desperate circumstances caused by poverty, drug addiction, crime, teen pregnancy, and illiteracy.

These views of my home town, Denver, are seldom seen by tourists: a traumatized mother and son in a shelter for the homeless; three Hispanics standing defiantly in front of a community center they are renovating for their neighborhood; a Mexican immigrant working for tolerance and social justice in a Catholic church that offers services in Spanish and English; and two little feet, peeking out from a blanket at the Head Start program, which provides poor children an educational boost before they enter first grade.

This is the heart of Denver—and not just geographically.

"Resolve" USA "Footsies" USA "Homeless" USA "A Modest Proposal for Peace" USA
"Home" Kenya	"Target Practice" Croatia
"Somebody's Living Room" Croatia	"Refugee Camp Laundry" Croatia
Outside Zagreb is the refugee camp called Gaza. Here, some of Croatia's 500,000 refugees and displaced persons are housed - families whose only fault was to live on territory someone else wanted. Their houses have been either senselessly demolished by soldiers, or occupied by people from the opposition. Many have been in the refugee camps for two years. "May I take your picture?" I asked one beautiful woman. "No. Not here. I don't belong here. Take my picture at home, in Slunj." Eventually, she allowed me to take this portrait. But I have not forgotten her words. Someday I will fulfill her wish and take her picture at home, in Slunj.	"Take My Picture in Slunj" Croatia
"Zagreb Market" Croatia	"Weary" Laos
"Tattered Care" Laos	"Puerto Vallarta" Mexico
"With Mama" Kenya	"Samburu Welcome" Kenya
Muslim women do not appear publicly unveiled in Northern Yemen. So it's not easy for a woman in Western clothes to go out taking pictures. I was yelled at, waved away, hit, and spat upon. But I found great beauty all around me, not only in the people, but also in the sense of color, balance, and design of the most common urban scenes. And so I ventured out.	"Street Scene" Yemen

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