By Lauren LevyThe Daily Northwestern
Black-and-white photos of crying women, teenage pimps loitering on door steps and children begging for money are a few of the scenes featured in the presentation “The Other Side of the Dream: Sex, AIDS and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia” by photojournalist Nicolas Lainez on Wednesday.
About 35 students attended the event in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum to view the photos Lainez took from 2000 to 2006. The event was sponsored by the Rotaract Club of Northwestern.
Each year, Rotaract chooses a theme to focus its volunteer efforts. This year’s theme is poverty, said Carrie Lam, Rotaract co-president and Weinberg sophomore.
“We wanted to bring something that shows the choices you have to make when you live in poverty,” Lam said.
Lainez was about 25 years old when he decided to explore southeast Asia with his camera, starting with Bombay.
The French photographer began his project in the city’s red light district, where he said he saw many women in bars and brothels – a sight he would continue to witness throughout the rest of his time there.
Lainez said he initially felt scared because of the prevalence of violence and drug dealing in the area.
However, he said, the more he saw, the more he became immersed in the lives of his subjects.
“These young pimps, they lead the same miseries as the women do,” he said, describing how they were desensitized to drugs. “They exploit the women, but they are exploited themselves.”
It is also important to observe situations before making judgments, he said. Many of the prostitutes he photographed were victims of sexual abuse.
Lainez described his experiences with each photo and the stories behind them.
He told the story of meeting a transvestite in Cambodia. She was sick with a tongue infection and asked Lainez if he could take her to the hospital.
“You have a dedicated relationship with any person you photograph, but it’s difficult to maintain,” Lainez said. “I told her that I was just a photographer, not a doctor or anything else, so it wasn’t my job to be more involved.”
But Lainez volunteered to take her and her few belongings, which included a needle in a plastic bag. The needle accidentally punctured his skin, and Lainez said he was worried that he was going to contract HIV – but he didn’t.
“The whole experience posed one of those ethical questions in journalism,” Lainez said. “If there was a bomb, would I put down my camera and help the people or take the photos? I don’t have an answer.”
Many of the attendees said they were moved by the photos.
“The images are incredibly powerful,” said Weinberg senior Rachael Kleinberger, a Rotaract member. “These photos can help approach a solution and show a different side of the issue.”
Reach Lauren Levy at [email protected].
