There are very few things in this busy world of ours which have the ability to break through the noise, stop us dead in our tracks, and make us re-evaluate our lives.
Born Into Brothels is a documentary I stumbled upon one night while walking through the video store, trying to alleviate the boredom of being home. I’ve always wanted to work in an orphanage, or some sort of program helping at risk children.
So of course I rented it!
What I didn’t expect was to have it change my life as well.
(Below is the bio of the film’s director, Zana Briski.)
ZANA BRISKI
Zana Briski was born in London, England. After earning a master’s degree in theology and religious studies at the University of Cambridge, she studied documentary photography at International Center of Photography in New York. In 1995 she made her first trip to India, producing a story on female infanticide. In 1997 she returned to India and began her project on the prostitutes of Calcutta’s red light district. She has won numerous awards and fellowships including George Soros’ Open Society Institute Fellowship, an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advancement of Photojournalism and first prize at the World Press Photo Foundation Competition. Since 2000 she has conducted a series of photographic workshops with children of prostitutes in Calcutta. The photographs produced by the children were auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York in 2001 and presented in Amnesty International’s 2003 calendar. In 2002 Zana and co-director Ross Kauffman were awarded grants from the Sundance Institute, the Jerome Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts for their film, Born into Brothels, a feature documentary about the children of Calcutta’s prostitutes. In 2002 Zana created Kids with Cameras, a non-profit organization to empower marginalized children through learning the art of photography.
As impressive as Zana and her partner ‘s background is, what truly captivated me was the courage and wisdom of the children in this film. Zana spent years working with the women before she realized the outrageous obstacles these children had to overcome just to survive.
In the red light districts and slums of Calcutta, like many other parts of the world, prostitution, drugs, and crime are a family business … a trade which children are expected to join as early as possible. The governments (like the government in India) make it as hard as possible for these children to receive education, health care, food, and most of all – JUSTICE.
For those of Briski’s students who were interested in leaving the red-light district and attending school, efforts were made over the course of months by several groups in Calcutta to have their forms and paperwork go through the system. In the film you see that no school will accept the children of brothel workers/ prostitutes … none except a small parochial school run by a sister whose Irish accent made you feel the children would be met at the door with some hot chocolate and a big hug!
For most, the stories have happy endings (pretty much) … but for few, Briski’s help could not stop the suffering from losing a parent, becoming a child bride, or being forced into a life of prostitution and abuse.
Too often we forget that not all children are cherished as they should be. Too often we do not do enough to make sure our children know they are loved. Too often we get caught up in our own world and forget that our duty is to make the lives of others better, to make the world a better – more loving place for this generation and those to come.
Sex slavery and sex trafficking are billion dollar industries which thrive because in many parts of the world, children are expendable .. they can be bought and sold, managed and controlled.
The children in Briski’s film were no different … their families planned to sell or marry them off at an early age – but most of them were rescued and given a chance at life thanks to Briski and her partners. Who knew that giving a few kids disposable cameras and sitting down with them to see what their lives were like, would result in the creation of one of the most touching monumental organizations today.
Kids With Cameras, based in Utah has continued the work they started in Calcutta by beginning programs “workshops” in Jerusalem, Cairo, and Haiti. In addition, Briski and the KWC plan to break ground on the development of ‘Hope House’ in Calcutta sometime over the next six months.
If all goes well, Hope House will be a home and school for the marginalized children who have long been neglected by their families, society, and government.
For more information please go to http://www.kids-with-cameras.org.
Photos, postcards, books, and the video can be purchased … you can financially support the construction of ‘hope house’ or even help donate towards the education of the children in KWC’s workshops.
To change laws about human trafficking and work to ensure an end to slavery please visit:
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org
http://www.endhumantrafficking.org
how to change the world 