Going Nowhere

 

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The sweet face of the little boy in this picture caught my attention the second I turned the page. Taken in any other scenario this boy would seem like any other boy, but the background of the picture alludes to the boys true identity as a refugee at the Ivankovo camp in Croatia. The abandoned train behind him is his current home and possibly the only home he can remember.

The German humanitarian  organization Cap-Anamur set these railroad cars aside for the living of refugee families who had already fled from their homes. Of the 120 refugees, most of them were Bosnian Muslims, but Serbs and Croats were also included among them. These refugees were often forgotten in the chaos that existed back home. They chose to flee before the atrocities hit their home town and; therefore, were safe from the horrors of rape, torture, or ethnic cleansing. However, their current safety, in many cases, caused them to lose their right to migrate. Instead they sat in trains that went nowhere watching as other trains passed carrying passengers far more fortunate than them.

This story reminds me of my own experiences in evacuating from my home for both hurricane Katrina and Rita. My parents were among those that decided it would be safer for us to evacuate as we could not predict how the storm would affect our little spot in Houston, Texas. Many people stayed behind to weather the storm. Although I had a home to return to, this experience has helped me to understand on a small degree the uncertainty these refugees must have felt when they left their homes behind. It is harder for me to imagine the pain they now feel as they sit and wait for a way out. They do not know if they will be granted the opportunity to migrate and re-create their home in a foreign country or if they will be left there until they die.

Eighteen years after the picture was taken, I wonder where these refugees are now. Are they still waiting, going nowhere? What has become of this little boy?


Salgado, Sebastião. "Migrations: Humanity in Transition". New York: Aperture, 2000. Print.