A Palestinian child surrounded by other children palms a small bird in the Shati Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Photographer: Roger LeMoyne
Date: 1996
What caught my eye before the bird was the centered V-for-victory sign. Smiling and unworried children, the power pose that is the hand sign, the feat of capturing a small bird with small hands, the background graffiti, the graininess, the blur — to me, these are all signs of strength and grit despite the many efforts to dull and even eliminate life.
When I first came across this photograph many years ago, I thought it was a perfect capture and promised I would one day hang it on my wall. I draw strength from this image. It hangs proudly now.