Resilience

I went to teach photography to Ukrainian war orphans who had taken refuge in NGOs with Moldovan social orphans, in the autonomous territory of Gagauzia, and in the capital Chisinau. It was an enriching and very moving experience. In this photo, 2 Ukrainian orphan brothers and 2 Moldovan orphans in Gagauzia. They live in a refugee camp.
In this work, I captured the essence of human resilience, and of children of war in particular.
The determined looks, the new-found smiles and the dynamic movement of young people running with hope and strength through the forest.

They sit in the quiet, carrying the weight of countless untold stories. They are the keepers of a strength that doesn’t shout, that doesn’t seek validation. Their silence is not emptiness; it is filled with the echoes of lives lived through struggle, love, loss, and endurance. In their eyes rests the wisdom of survival, of knowing that the world is often harsh, yet they endure without complaint. They have seen dreams weathered and hopes rebuilt, and through it all, they remain—steady, grounded, refusing to yield.