A mother’s sacrifice
By Bobby Yip and Cheryl Ravelo
DATELINE: HONG KONG
Like most of the domestic helpers from the Philippines, Imelda “Susan” Famadula smiles a lot. She has been working in Hong Kong for 15 years, waking early in the morning, dropping the kids off at school, going to the market, bringing the kids back, all along taking care of various household tasks which last until midnight, and for six days a week.
Imelda loves Sunday. She can meet friends in the city’s financial Central district, where bankers and office workers make way for domestic helpers. Imelda also goes to church, but most importantly, she is free to meet her family – via the Internet.
Moments between isolation
By Bobby Yip
Those who have visited Hong Kong know how packed the buildings are, how busy the traffic is and how quickly people walk. When there was a global photo project on the world’s population reaching 7 billion, the first image that came to my mind was Mong Kok – one of the most crowded places in the world. The Guinness World Records lists Mong Kok as having a population density of 130,000 per square km or 340,000 per square mile.
Unlike the two high class shopping districts for tourists, Causeway Bay on the island side and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon Peninsula, complete with world famous fashion brands, Mong Kok has a more authentic feel of the territory. Here you will find older residential buildings, smaller stores of all kinds with tags displaying cheaper prices. It’s packed with people on the pavements, crossing the streets and even sitting on the ground.
I tried to illustrate my feelings by showing many of those walking past, isolated; seeing what happened within a split second of this isolation.
Now that is pretty scary.Makes me feel like if I lived there I would probably just stay indoors.Realy cool pics!:)
from Russell Boyce:
Asia – A week in pictures 03 July 2011
A great news picture has to have the WOW factor and without a doubt the picture of the domb disposal expert being caught in a car bomb blast is amazing. What is even more amazing is that he lived.
A car bomb explodes as a member of a Thai bomb squad checks it in Narathiwat province, south of Bangkok July 1, 2011. The bomb planted by suspected insurgents wounded the squad member, police said. REUTERS/Stringer
This combination photo shows a car bomb exploding as a member of a Thai bomb squad checks it in Narathiwat province, south of Bangkok July 1, 2011. The bomb planted by suspected insurgents wounded the squad member, police said. REUTERS/Stringer
Also in Thailand, opposition leader Yingluck Shinawatra, a political newcomer, prepared to lead her country after a weekend election victory but huge challenges lie ahead, including how quickly to bring home her brother, exiled ex-premier Thaksin who was ousted by a coup. Thailand chief photographer Damir Sagolj and Pakistan Chief photographer Adrees Latif with Sukree Sukpkang and Chaiwat Suprasom chased the story through all its twists and turns.
from Russell Boyce:
Asia – A Week in Pictures, September 19, 2010
This week has seen a dramatic increase in violence and tension throughout much of the Asia region, and the pictures on the wire reflect this mood. It seems that actions by not only nations, armed groups but individuals have all had a dramatic impact on the mood of the region. The weight of the news feels almost claustrophobic as I try to keep on top of what is happening.
U.S. Army soldiers from Delta Company, a part of Task Force 1-66 carry a wounded 7-year-old Afghan boy, a victim of a road side explosion, at their base near the village of Gul Kalacheh, Arghandab River valley, Kandahar province, September 18, 2010. REUTERS/Oleg Popov
On the surface of it the parliament elections can only be good news for the people of Afghanistan, but 16 hours spent live blogging pictures with our team of 18 journalists, watching the minute by minute developments made me wonder about the timing of this election as different groups tried to impose their influence on the outcome through violence and fraud. Attacks by the Taliban killed 14 who were directly involved in the polling process. A radio commentator I was listening to assured his listeners that this death toll was part of normal daily life in Afghanistan and should not be seen to reflect election violence, I was not cheered by this. Oleg's picture above seems to bear this out; does it really matter what the motivation was behind the blast as the boy writhes in agony, his blood stained hands trembling and clawing at his bandaged head. If the election had not gone ahead would he still have been injured? Even Masood's picture below of the election worker and the donkey struggling through the mountains seem to reflect the uphill battle the whole country has to face. Ink being washed off fingers so voters could vote and vote again; fraudulent voting cards printed and who knows what amount of ballot box stuffing will take place before the final count is revealed late October; all of which seem to undermine the democratic process. Who wants to be ruled by leaders who have gained power through corruption - notably the only political point the Taliban make.
An Afghan man and a donkey transport ballot boxes to villages unreachable by vehicles in Panjshir province, north of Kabul September 17, 2010. Afghanistan will hold parliamentary elections on September 18. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood
I salute the camera man who has the insight to show us the human faces in the regions. we may interpret it the way we want, but should be grateful about how he saw the people! Thank you, it is worth so much to visit the Reuters Blog.
Rex Minor
A traditional art with young faces
Cantonese opera, one of the major categories of Chinese opera, targets tens of millions of people speaking the regional dialect, mostly based in the southern Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, including the cities of Hong Kong and Macau.
The United Nations recently proclaimed Cantonese opera, which involves singing, acting and sometimes martial arts, as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Among all such opera groups in the territory, the Hong Kong Young Talent Cantonese Opera Troupe is made up of the youngest professional artists in town, many of them in their 20s. In this opera, a 16-year-old girl, who has studied Cantonese opera for ten years, is cast in the main role of a man, normally performed by older actors.
With younger faces on stage, the troupe hopes to attract a new generation of audiences to this centuries old art form.
Is it ironic to China that majority younger generation in Shanghai cannot speak Shanghai dialect ?
First impressions of a photographer’s life in Hong Kong
Six months ago, after eight years working in Spain I began a new stage in my life as a photographer based in Hong Kong. Here are some of my first impressions.
HK is a cosmopolitan and very modern place with enormous malls full of posh boutiques like Prada, Armani and Chanel; deluxe cars like Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce and Jaguar riding the roads; free WIFI access in the streets… all in stark contrast to the homeless people with cardboard boxes begging for dollars.
For the lucky ones life in this incredible city is easy. It is safe, has amazing buildings, beaches, exciting nightlife, nice restaurants and very low taxes.
As a former British colony one can communicate in English, something not generally possible elsewhere in China.
Organizers of events here love credentials – and business cards. Here, if you don’t have a business card, you don’t exist. With a business card it’s possible to gain access to news conference and many other events.
I just wanted to say, apropos of nothing in this article, that your Beijing Olympics photograph of the woman with a scarf over her face (which I see tonight, 8-2-08, on the NYTimes website) is evocative, telling (of the Chinese pollution problem), and, simply as a photograph, gorgeous. I looked at it for a long time.
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Resident Photographers Blog Expert
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The Wall
I know how it feels like as a mother to be far away from my children. It’s really a hard decision to make. A lot of sacrifices to be made for the sake of the children’s future. There is no greater love than the love of a mother to her children.