Born in the early forties, my early life was formed around images of WWII.  Then, as an adolescent, it was the images from the Korean War that shaped my views of world conflict and its consequences.  In the mid-'60s it was my turn to be a participant in Vietnam, where I was able to view those events firsthand.  In all those conflicts, some of the most searing images were those showing the effects of war on the civilian populace.  There are millions of images from those years and those wars recording for posterity the sad plight of all those millions of refugees. But you know what?  I can’t ever recall seeing, either in person or in an image, a fat refugee.  In my remembrance, they have all been gaunt, looking as though their very next step may be into a grave.  These were people dispossessed of their homelands, fleeing political oppression and conflict, seeking the slightest glimmer of hope to regain their freedom and some semblance of...(Read Full Post)