H
umanitarian photographer Lisa
Kristine grew up believing she
could do and be anything she
wanted. Inspired by her Mom’s
bookshelf filled with copies of
National Geographic Magazine
and anthropology books, she knew that some-
day she would go out and meet the people on
those pages and learn from them. Even as a
young child she seemed to grasp a momentous
concept from their faces: the dignity and one-
ness of all life.
In her early twenties, Lisa—with only
a backpack and camera in tow—took off to
discover distant lands she had only previously
seen in books. When asked about what woke
her up to the scourge of human slavery and
other wrenching social issues, Lisa responded,
“My whole life is based on observing others,
yet I hadn’t witnessed slavery. I thought, if I
hadn’t seen it, how many others had not? That
propelled me on my journey. Once people see it
in my photographs, they can believe it!”
It’s almost impossible to grasp the magni-
tude of slavery. Forty million people, many of
them children, are enslaved in our world today.
Lisa is on a mission to raise awareness around
slavery, even though it is a highly dangerous
and life-threatening profession. In her first di-
rect introduction to slavery, she met with brick
workers. “I remember seeing elders, so old,
bent over and struggling to carry these stacks
of bricks, blanketed with dust. Their eyes were
just dead. Everything was mechanical. I started
to cry. I was so overcome. The abolitionist who
accompanied me said Lisa you can’t do that
here. It’s not safe for you and not safe for them.
At that point I knew I had a skill that I could
offer up to help. I really had to be there for that,
to observe, to witness, to not interrupt, not
interfere. The abolitionists are the ones who
save them, they know what to do.”
Slavery can be hidden in plain sight. What appears to be a family fishing is actually a group of enslaved workers. Children as young
as four work 18-hour shifts, often with just one meal a day. Casting heavy nets and hauling them to shore filled with fish weighing
as much as 1000 pounds, they are forced to dive in to untangle nets often drowning in the process. Brong Ahafo, Ghana.
14 IMAGINE l Fall 2017