Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain...

The above image is just a picture in the news. I've written about Romantic Piracy in the past. We human beings romaticize stories that happened in the past. The today piracy misses that romantic thin layer, there is no tension and romance when you see it happen infront of your own eyes. And in today's very small world, caused by media tycoons as television, newspapers and the Internet, it seems like a lot happens very closely. What do you see on the above image?

The pirates on the boat are poor fisherman. In a country, Somalia, that is thorn by the civil war and the lack of leadership, problems occur easily. These pirates are people who have everything to gain from piracy, because they already decided they had nothing to lose taking it up. No goals in life, nothing to live for. It's really sad, and I think there is a role for the international nation to help Somalia, how complicated the situation is. The today piracy in Somalia is a result of the problems in Somalia. You can't solve the consequences, we first need to solve the causes.

The above picture is another photo that made me curious about the whole situation behind the view. The first thing I thought is that it's situated in a warzone. How different it is when I read further. The winner of the World Press Photo 2008 show the harsh consequences of today's credit crisis. Quote: 'Detective Robert Kole of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office enters a home in Cleveland on March 26, following mortgage foreclosure and eviction. He needs to check that the owners have vacated the premises, and that no weapons have been left lying around. Officers go in at gunpoint as a precaution, as many houses have been vandalized or occupied by squatters or drug addicts.'

When looking at the photo's on the site who won the contest, I'm shocked. We read and hear a lot in the news, but in a way we make ourselves less vulnerable. We reinforce ourselves against the weapons we see. Looking behind the images, feeling the images makes me hope we can create a better world...

All copyright for the quoted text and the last photo belongs to the World Press Photo 2008 and the photographer who made the last picture: Anthony Suau.