They had cool archive of Andy Warhol's films at the Southbank Centre....for the low fare of 10 pounds, but I had the visual pleasure of checking out some very interesting and provocative photo exhibitions in the main hall.

Each wall showcased a particular village or area of the world where indentured servitude still runs rampant, despite its supposed extinction. Photojournalists immerse themselves into these little-known, and little-cared for areas where a group of people are held captive not by force, but by an economic struggle.

The first black&white portion is taken from a small fishing village in Africa, where children and families are stuck on an island due to outstanding debts or the infertility of their native lands, forced into their shackles of 14-16 hour days of physical labor: From drying fish, processing livestock, or to using the tiny hands of children to roll cigarettes.

Another island is actually known for kidnapping children and bringing them to a remote island that serves as a processing point for commercial fishers; they are fooled onto ferrys and boats with the promise of a salary, but end up without pay and without hope of escape or freedom.





I thought the photo of the young male in the "50 Cent" tee shirt was very appropriate, and a nice jab to US media. although also very reflective of just how much power it has on impressionable youngsters in developing nations. Young kids in africa will aspire to "get rich or die trying," and "never hesitate to pull the trigger,"just as much as italian kids might look up to classic mob films, playing out and idealising Scarface's lines to the Gorgio Moroder soundtrack.



There were a lot of portraits as well, including an entire wall of aging "soldier girls" from South East Asia who were kidnapped and forced into prositution to service soldiers, the majority of whom were American. However, the last one above really conveys a powerful feeling of struggle to my eyes; a boy who is trapped in accelerated maturation; who never had a chance to be a child but also will very unlikely have a chance to grow more; given his very strict, limited and routine lifestyle that he was born into. He's only 13 but his tired expression and body language says that he's endured more labor than an average 25 year old American.