I met the man with no name in 2009 in a town called Narok, Kenya. Dr. Franco Sicuro coined a term,
“Global Misery.” Most people have at some point tasted, if only
for a short moment, misery. Misery might be described as a person beign knocked down, and someone steps on his neck! It is that
moment when someone puts there heals on your head and grinds you into
the ground.
This man could not speak English and I
could not speak Swahili. He talked to me with his hands asking me
to take his picture. So I did. He then wanted to see his image. I turned
the camera and, for the first time, he saw his picture. He was
making signs with his hands and I had no idea what he was telling me.
Joy Mueni, my Kenya boots on the ground
rescued me. She started interpreting his words to me. The man was
saying that he had no birth certificate, no drivers’ license, no wife, no children, and no proof that he had ever lived. He wanted me
to take his picture so there could be a record of his existance. People needed to know that he had been here, he had
lived.
What hope can I give this man? Here
you are my friend.
