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Click.

The twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower

After the sun goes down.

The breathtaking Great Wall of China

Stretching into the distance.

The mystifying Nazca Lines

Covering the earth below.

All so beautiful and wondrous

To those who have never before

Laid eyes upon these renowned

Monuments

Or traveled to faraway

Places.

This is what they want to see.

This is the image that I should capture.

But this is not why I am here.

I am here

For the young mother

Holding a hungry child in her arms.

I am here

For the old man

Sleeping in the grimy alley.

I am here

For the young boy

Hiding in the shadows,

Afraid to walk alone at night.

I am here to capture

The injustices of the world,

To capture

The fear

That lives in the minds

Of children who should not yet

Know fear,

To capture

The anger

That fuels the rebellion

Of a wronged people.

But I am also here

For the little girls

Smiling and running barefoot through the streets,

For the shopkeepers

Happily greeting and welcoming any passersby,

For the young boys

Asking strangers

To join them in their soccer game.

I am here

To capture hope.

I slowly lift my camera

And view the moment

I am about to freeze in time

For all to see:

Click.