Lalibela, Ethiopia
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Lalibela, Ethiopia
They were playing very lovely together, until for some reason he snatched her beloved pink watch from her. Instead of taking her property back, she started crying.
The boy in the center didn't have any connection to their conflict (as much as I understood). The adults left them handle their issues by themselves.
Recently, partly due to the shutdown in IL, I spent too much time in rageful demonstrations, and too little time taking photos of children full of life
The Children, by: Yehuda Amichai
Every day the children run on the playground.
With the movements of their little legs, they rotate
the planet like in a circus,
they want to be acrobats and magicians.
Every night the children thank us for having brought them
into the world. With beautiful politeness, they raise themselves
in their beds and with tiny future arms
they cling on a stiff-neck, the longing
of their parents are their toys.
Then they lie on their backs
like ceiling painters of prayer-houses
and paint for themselves beautiful skies.
I open the window:
All the outer space passes through the room
and I forgive then to my parents that made me.
I sit next to the children until they fall asleep
and I say seven times
as the closing prayer of Yom Kippur:
“I am not God”,
seven times,
I am not God.
For a few months already I hardly take photos at the Ethiopian Church. All the years, when Ethiopia and Eritrea were in war, here in Jerusalem, the people from the two countries got along together well. A few months ago, they had some quarrel among members of two parties in Ethiopia, and the police prohibited them from having prayers and marriage ceremonies on Saturdays. Since then, the church that was full of life on Saturday, is closed on this day.
I long very much the picturesque ceremonies, with the beautiful people and energetic kids.
The photo presents a guest of a wedding.
As some of you may noticed, `siblings' relationship` is a theme that interests me. As a 'sandwich boy' between two sisters these relationships were part of my life from day one, and until today :- )
I think that the interaction between these two energetic lovely boys (these two kids that practice what it means to become a goat) is rather typical of siblings that fight over 'the place', maybe with the exception that here the younger one is 'ruling'
They were celebrating a (modest) wedding at the church. You may notice the groom in the red gown. There weren't many guests. Apparently, most of their families are in Ethiopia/Eritrea, and those that are in Israel must work…
I assume it's better for them to be immigrants in Israel than to stay at their homelands. Yet, it's hard to be an immigrant…
It's impressive to see how fast they (and their children) learn Hebrew (which is not an easy language), especially if you compare it to the acquisition of the language by immigrants from the US, for example, that can live tens of years in Israel, and yet speak a very limited Hebrew.
The Israeli author Amos Oz was also an interesting intellectual. Once he said that though if 'literature' and 'gossip' would meet each other on the street they would not exchange a word, actually they are sisters. In both the 'recipient' is saying herself: "I am exactly like the subject" Or "I am totally different than the hero". In both cases, we are examining ourselves…
He is 76 years old. He is serving in the Ethiopian church of Jerusalem for 40 years. Whenever you reach the church (that is silent and empty most of the time) you would see him there, generally, reading silently in the dark space.
Though he is not one of the more important clergies, along the years, members of the community relate to him like a saint, consult with him, and ask his blessing.
I dedicate a special album for him. He touches my heart. Though we have not exchanged more than 'head nodes' I think he already knows me and knows I shoot him a lot.
p.s.
My impression is that flickr is so much better than fb or Instagram as a place for photographers. It, basically, honors the photos so much more. It is so sad that along time people are leaving it…
The Ethiopian people are generally very calm, polite, gentle. One day, when I came to the church, many were very frantic; rushing from place to place, arguing with each other very emotionally. Even the police were invited. Someone explained to me that they 'imported' to Israel some of the internal conflicts in Ethiopia between the different tribes: the Amhara and the Tigray.
Naturally, though many were taking videos of the event with their phones, a few asked me not to take photos.
P.S.
I must admit I find the woman second to the left, the most interesting one in the photo. In real life, the central one was the most frantic woman in the event.
P.P.S
It often happens to me that I concentrate on one figure and the frame, and hardly notice others. Including, others that are looking at me. Here, I concentrated at the central one, and hardly noticed the others, especially, not the two that are looking at me.
I have a warm (and identifying) 'corner' in my heart to gentle, sensitive fragile boys, that are being offended, and are not offending
Today, takes place the election in Israel. Good chances that, like often, I would end the day like him…
Everybody(?) likes photos of beautiful women. They are a delight to the eye (and maybe not only to the eye). The world is full of beautiful women, and their photos (sometimes undressed, often posing).
I, too, enjoy looking at such photos.
But when it comes to posting such photos on my stream, I am much more ambiguous: I feel that the fact that I got a 'correct' photo of a beautiful woman is not enough. It's like feeding my viewer with cream: it's not a real nutritious food for the soul (unless there is something 'more' in the photo).
I guess the issue goes straight to questions like: Why do we take photos? Why do we share our photos? What is a good photo? What is an interesting photo?
p.s.
I wonder how much time she spent at the beauty salon, and how long would the effect last?...
Heila is the oldest monk at the Ethiopian Church in Jerusalem. A few people I asked, did not know to tell how old he is. In his rank, he is one of the least important clergymen, but due to his age, many relate to him like a saint, asking his blessing, or consulting with him. He sits all day long in the church, most of the time alone, taking care of the place.
In recent years he is one of my 'projects'. I created an album dedicated to his photos.
