Perspective

I saw this article in the news today and it reminded me of an eye-opening (and emotionally-wrenching) documentary called "Born into brothels." I recently learned this film won an academy award for best documentary feature. If you are a comcast cable subscriber, it is currently in the Independent movie category of Free Movies OnDemand. I would highly recommend watching it. A photographer travels to the red light district of Calcutta, India, where she befriends several children of broken families, torn apart with addiction, verbal and physical abuse, and the cyclic desperation of prostitution. The children affectionately call their teacher "Zana Auntie" and through their pictures you suddenly see their lives from the perspective of a child with unbelievable potential, spirit, and maturity. With all odds against them, it takes the determination of this woman to push for their education - jumping all sorts of legal hurdles - in order to give them a future they might hope for. In a short 84 minutes, I felt like I knew these kids - and hit me with the harsh reality of poverty more than one hundred of the commercials you have seen on TV. What is missing in those commercials is the incredible personalities of these kids - their voices, their humor, creativity, and imagination! These are not just nameless faces, these are human beings, to whom you have more in common than you might think. We must see this connection in order to move past generalities and statistics. God bless people like Zana Briski and Rachel Rosenfeld who've truly shown what it means to love as Christ loved.