0:00:19.079,0:00:22.205 In August of 2012, I was in a tent 0:00:22.275,0:00:25.695 very near the North-South[br]border between Sudans. 0:00:26.405,0:00:29.322 It was the first time[br]that I'd been in a refugee camp. 0:00:30.882,0:00:32.359 It was a bit past midnight, 0:00:32.419,0:00:34.759 and sitting just to the left[br]of my computer screen 0:00:47.277,0:00:50.338 This was the photograph[br]that I had been sent here to take. 0:00:51.974,0:00:55.134 I'd climbed up onto a pole[br]in order to get to a vantage point 0:00:55.144,0:00:58.384 where you could see the queue of people[br]extending toward the horizon. 0:00:58.394,0:01:02.707 Thousands of faces waiting[br]to take up mosquito nets, 0:01:03.277,0:01:06.107 peanut butter supplements, dried lentils. 0:00:34.779,0:00:38.797 was a half-consumed bottle[br]of very warm vodka, 0:00:39.522,0:00:42.684 and on the screen in front of me[br]was this photograph. 0:01:08.197,0:01:09.752 And looking at that photograph, 0:01:11.142,0:01:12.442 I began to feel nauseous. 0:01:12.442,0:01:15.882 I thought I might throw up into my screen,[br]and maybe it was the vodka. 0:01:16.126,0:01:21.185 But I think it was actually[br]this vast gulf, this huge disconnect 0:01:21.386,0:01:26.297 between everything that I had seen[br]and experienced over that past week 0:01:26.637,0:01:28.838 and that picture[br]that was staring back at me. 0:01:31.008,0:01:35.562 There's a very specific kind of photograph[br]that is a "refugee photo." 0:01:37.242,0:01:39.075 You'll know it if you've seen one, 0:01:39.765,0:01:43.135 and you'll know as a photographer[br]that you've succeeded in taking one 0:01:43.135,0:01:48.679 if it looks exactly like every iconic[br]refugee photograph that came before. 0:01:50.659,0:01:53.887 These pictures are quite clear. 0:01:53.887,0:01:58.327 You can usually tell one[br]by the presence of either dust or rain. 0:01:58.867,0:02:02.527 There are usually tired people[br]carrying bundles. 0:02:02.527,0:02:04.457 Sometimes there are leaky boats, 0:02:05.477,0:02:10.048 and there's usually fences[br]or coils of barbed wire. 0:02:11.318,0:02:14.087 Now these photographs[br]aren't necessarily bad, 0:02:14.087,0:02:16.257 in fact, they can be quite powerful. 0:02:17.487,0:02:20.817 Problem is that these[br]photographs are one sided. 0:02:22.577,0:02:24.387 There is a reason that they exist. 0:02:24.857,0:02:30.487 These photographs can and do posses[br]the power to shock us into attention, 0:02:30.827,0:02:34.668 to illuminate crises that might otherwise[br]continue to be ignored. 0:02:35.436,0:02:37.066 But what they did not do 0:02:37.386,0:02:40.586 is challenge our beliefs[br]and our preconceptions. 0:02:44.166,0:02:47.636 If I were to look at these photographs,[br]these photographs that I've taken, 0:02:47.636,0:02:49.637 what I'd be able to tell you[br]about refugees 0:02:49.637,0:02:54.607 is that they are generally[br]hungry and tired. 0:02:54.607,0:02:57.668 And I don't know if I can tell you[br]much more than that. 0:02:58.288,0:03:02.878 I don't know if I would have any idea[br]that refugees also get married, 0:03:03.858,0:03:06.352 that refugees attend birthday parties 0:03:06.752,0:03:10.012 and refugees, yes,[br]refugees have Facebook accounts. 0:03:12.652,0:03:15.086 Now, the Western narrative of refugees, 0:03:15.086,0:03:20.308 which has become the dominant,[br]the only narrative of refugees, 0:03:20.878,0:03:24.548 has the effect of reducing[br]people into victims 0:03:25.188,0:03:30.917 and reducing stories into mere tales[br]of one dimensional pity and sorrow. 0:03:32.197,0:03:36.666 We're spoon-fed repetitious images[br]that match the stereotypes, 0:03:37.461,0:03:42.001 and as the Nigerian novelist[br]Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says: 0:03:43.081,0:03:46.943 "The problem with stereotypes[br]is not that they are untrue, 0:03:47.593,0:03:49.711 but that they are incomplete." 0:03:52.377,0:03:57.847 The United Nations, various NGO's,[br]and the media also love statistics. 0:03:58.377,0:03:59.857 Statistics exist for a reason. 0:03:59.857,0:04:04.670 They're meant to give weight and gravity[br]to crisis, to help us to understand. 0:04:05.350,0:04:07.419 But how often do we use statistics 0:04:07.419,0:04:11.859 in order to describe the things[br]or the people that we love? 0:04:12.830,0:04:16.027 Now let's say we were in this horrible,[br]horrible parallel universe, 0:04:16.027,0:04:20.010 a universe in which you[br]had no idea what a puppy is, 0:04:21.150,0:04:24.520 and I were to explain to you[br]what a puppy is through statistics. 0:04:24.980,0:04:28.372 So you should know that a puppy[br]has 17 vertebrae in its tail, 0:04:28.372,0:04:30.307 its shoulder height is roughly 28 cm, 0:04:30.307,0:04:34.307 and the circumference[br]of its paws is 34.32 mm. 0:04:34.697,0:04:37.647 Do you now know what a puppy is? 0:04:38.507,0:04:42.793 Now compare that to just playing[br]with a dog for 30 seconds, 0:04:43.463,0:04:45.636 or reading the account of a little girl 0:04:45.636,0:04:49.906 who took her puppy to the park[br]for the very first time, or to the snow. 0:04:51.826,0:04:53.117 My point is this: 0:04:53.507,0:04:57.537 that we learn not so much[br]from data or statistics 0:04:57.537,0:05:00.597 as we do from stories and experiences. 0:05:02.107,0:05:04.846 And yes, in case you're wondering,[br]that's my new puppy. 0:05:04.846,0:05:05.846 (Laughter) 0:05:05.846,0:05:07.736 Her name's Cabbage. She's great. 0:05:09.802,0:05:12.296 The other thing that you[br]should know about statistics 0:05:12.296,0:05:16.456 is that while they're intended[br]to quantify humanity, 0:05:16.781,0:05:18.876 they usually dehumanize 0:05:19.166,0:05:22.388 the people that they are[br]entrusted with and accounting for. 0:05:22.998,0:05:24.022 They already tell you 0:05:24.022,0:05:26.792 that 2.1 million people[br]over the past year 0:05:26.792,0:05:30.982 have fled from South Sudan[br]across the border into Uganda - 0:05:30.982,0:05:32.666 2.1 million. 0:05:32.946,0:05:36.996 Now, maybe your brain is bigger than mine[br]and you can really conceive those numbers, 0:05:36.996,0:05:38.827 but for me, that number gets lost. 0:05:38.847,0:05:43.278 Unless I can attach it to an actual[br]flesh and blood human being, 0:05:43.328,0:05:45.088 it really doesn't have any meaning. 0:05:45.728,0:05:50.287 That's because there's a big difference[br]between knowledge and information. 0:05:52.647,0:05:54.307 And I think that what we need 0:05:54.307,0:05:56.937 in order to understand[br]something of this scale, 0:05:56.937,0:05:58.697 things like the refugee crisis, 0:05:58.697,0:06:01.437 are not statistics; they're not numbers, 0:06:01.757,0:06:05.457 but they're stories,[br]stories of individual people. 0:06:06.647,0:06:08.207 So let's go back to that tent. 0:06:08.207,0:06:09.737 It's two o'clock in the morning, 0:06:09.737,0:06:11.907 the vodka bottle is down[br]to about a third now. 0:06:11.927,0:06:15.347 I'm sitting there plugging in captions[br]to the really dramatic photograph 0:06:15.347,0:06:16.827 that I've just captured. 0:06:17.027,0:06:22.166 I'm saying there are 234,000 people[br]that have crossed that border. 0:06:22.396,0:06:25.489 And while that number is completely[br]factual, it's completely true, 0:06:25.489,0:06:27.869 there's something that rings[br]within me as dishonest 0:06:27.869,0:06:29.849 about what it is that I am doing. 0:06:32.064,0:06:34.718 I think it is because when I was there, 0:06:34.808,0:06:39.928 the thing that was not so impressive[br]was the scale of the number of refugees. 0:06:39.928,0:06:41.378 It wasn't how many there were, 0:06:41.398,0:06:43.498 it wasn't how much they were suffering. 0:06:44.208,0:06:47.878 It was the fact that as I walked around[br]photographing day in and day out, 0:06:47.878,0:06:51.218 I was followed by laughter and smiles - 0:06:51.228,0:06:55.397 in this place which I had no ability[br]to believe that would happen - 0:06:56.427,0:07:00.937 that there were children playing[br]everywhere I went, 0:07:01.087,0:07:02.911 just like anywhere else. 0:07:03.281,0:07:07.101 The kids were finding little bits[br]of sandal and picking up sticks 0:07:07.101,0:07:08.221 in order to make cars 0:07:08.221,0:07:10.221 that they were driving[br]around in the camps, 0:07:10.221,0:07:15.208 or collecting discarded bits of netting [br]in order to make soccer balls and play. 0:07:16.698,0:07:20.797 And the emotion that welled up within me[br]as I interacted with these people, 0:07:20.827,0:07:22.296 it wasn't pity. 0:07:22.916,0:07:24.596 It wasn't even sympathy.[br] 0:07:25.236,0:07:26.686 It was respect. 0:07:27.856,0:07:29.230 I was amazed 0:07:29.230,0:07:32.836 to find that this was not just[br]a one-dimensional horror show 0:07:33.156,0:07:36.187 and that these people[br]were not just mere victims, 0:07:37.377,0:07:40.538 that they were actually[br]dignified individuals. 0:07:41.528,0:07:46.757 I'd only been told one story[br]about refugee camps beforehand, 0:07:47.157,0:07:48.557 and that was one of horror. 0:07:49.752,0:07:52.932 And it wasn't true, wasn't entirely true. 0:07:54.917,0:08:00.646 The greater thing is that in this place[br]where people had lost so much - 0:08:00.646,0:08:04.026 people who had lost their children,[br]lost their homes, lost their flocks, 0:08:04.026,0:08:07.357 lost their fields, and were now living[br]in tents in a foreign country 0:08:07.357,0:08:09.256 surrounded by strangers - 0:08:10.426,0:08:12.756 that not only did they[br]maintain their dignity, 0:08:13.086,0:08:14.567 the human heart is so big 0:08:14.567,0:08:18.027 that these people have maintained[br]the ability to love. 0:08:21.187,0:08:24.597 And at this point, I was[br]quite ashamed with myself. 0:08:24.817,0:08:27.597 I was ashamed of the photographs[br]that I was taking, 0:08:27.807,0:08:30.967 that were reducing[br]these people to stereotypes, 0:08:31.437,0:08:33.727 that were turning them[br]into the exact same things 0:08:33.727,0:08:37.188 that had only evoked fear and pity in me. 0:08:39.068,0:08:41.124 So what did I do? 0:08:41.914,0:08:43.244 I changed. 0:08:47.014,0:08:48.023 I decided 0:08:48.023,0:08:54.043 that rather than telling the story[br]of 234,000 nameless, faceless refugees, 0:08:54.303,0:08:57.802 I would simply tell[br]the story of one person. 0:08:59.142,0:09:01.630 I'd tell it in a way[br]that audiences around the world, 0:09:01.630,0:09:04.288 regardless of what culture[br]they might be from, 0:09:04.778,0:09:06.468 what the color of their skin was, 0:09:06.968,0:09:09.507 would be able to empathize[br]with that person, 0:09:09.557,0:09:11.507 would hopefully be able to put themselves 0:09:11.507,0:09:14.717 into the shoes of a refugee[br]for just one moment. 0:09:15.697,0:09:17.388 And the idea was very, very simple: 0:09:17.388,0:09:20.828 I just asked refugees[br]to tell me their story 0:09:21.498,0:09:24.637 and tell me what was the single,[br]most important object 0:09:24.857,0:09:27.569 that they brought with them[br]when they fled from their home 0:09:27.569,0:09:28.867 and their country. 0:09:29.507,0:09:33.037 The project that evolved out of this[br]is called "The most important thing," 0:09:33.227,0:09:34.348 and I'd like to share 0:09:34.348,0:09:37.494 some of the stories of the people[br]that I met with you through it. 0:09:41.534,0:09:42.996 This is Dowla. 0:09:43.476,0:09:46.116 I met Dowla in South Sudan. 0:09:46.406,0:09:51.146 She'd fled several weeks before this[br]from her home in the village of Gabanit 0:09:51.146,0:09:52.807 after her home was bombed. 0:09:53.537,0:09:55.647 Dowla was the mother of six children, 0:09:55.917,0:09:58.437 and the most important thing[br]that she brought with her 0:09:58.437,0:10:01.457 is the pole you can see draped[br]across her shoulders 0:10:01.527,0:10:02.930 with those two baskets. 0:10:03.440,0:10:06.807 Sometimes she had to carry[br]two children in each basket 0:10:06.807,0:10:09.567 as she was walking with another one[br]dangling from her back 0:10:09.957,0:10:11.684 and then another walking beside her, 0:10:11.684,0:10:14.524 as she made the 10-day journey[br]by mountain trails. 0:10:28.209,0:10:29.407 This is Leila. 0:10:30.307,0:10:34.407 I met Leila in northern Iraq[br]just as winter was beginning to come. 0:10:34.407,0:10:36.788 She, her family and three other families 0:10:36.788,0:10:40.428 were living in a roofless[br]concrete structure. 0:10:41.178,0:10:42.718 And Leila told me 0:10:42.718,0:10:46.128 that the scariest thing in Syria[br]was the voice of the tanks. 0:10:46.523,0:10:48.963 "It was even more scary[br]than the sound of the planes 0:10:48.963,0:10:52.225 because I felt like the tanks[br]were coming specifically for me." 0:10:53.895,0:10:56.353 The most important thing[br]that Leila brought with her 0:10:56.633,0:10:58.537 are the jeans that she is carrying here. 0:10:58.757,0:11:00.712 She says, "I went shopping[br]with my parents 0:11:00.712,0:11:03.706 and look for hours without finding[br]anything that I liked, 0:11:03.856,0:11:07.076 but when I saw these jeans,[br]I instantly knew they were perfect 0:11:07.076,0:11:10.188 because they have flowers,[br]and I love flowers." 0:11:11.578,0:11:14.864 She'd only worn them[br]three times in her life, all in Syria: 0:11:15.344,0:11:19.387 twice at weddings and one time[br]when her grandfather came to visit. 0:11:20.167,0:11:22.618 She told me that she didn't want[br]to wear them again 0:11:22.618,0:11:24.286 until she attended another wedding, 0:11:24.286,0:11:26.866 and she hoped that that one too[br]would be in Syria. 0:11:44.641,0:11:46.397 This is Sebastian. 0:11:47.477,0:11:51.767 Sebastian was seven when his family fled[br]Angola's War of Independence, 0:11:52.117,0:11:54.768 and they crossed into[br]the Democratic Republic of Congo. 0:11:55.288,0:11:57.369 That was more than 60 years ago. 0:11:58.269,0:12:00.894 Sebastian told me,[br]"I remember that it was cold 0:12:01.134,0:12:04.487 and that my father gave me[br]his jacket to keep me warm. 0:12:04.937,0:12:06.965 I was wearing it as we crossed the border, 0:12:06.965,0:12:10.445 and every time that I see it,[br]even now as I'm telling you this story, 0:12:10.905,0:12:13.091 I'm reminded of him and Angola. 0:12:14.121,0:12:17.417 The day that we cross back into Angola,[br]I will have it with me, 0:12:17.657,0:12:19.480 and I will remember my father. 0:12:20.305,0:12:23.295 I will wear it because I'm now[br]a father myself. 0:12:24.370,0:12:27.456 Two weeks later,[br]Sebastian went home to Angola. 0:12:28.466,0:12:31.067 But not everyone is so lucky. 0:12:31.197,0:12:35.197 Today there are 65 plus million people 0:12:35.767,0:12:38.228 who have been forced[br]from their homes by war. 0:12:38.958,0:12:40.467 65 million people. 0:12:40.467,0:12:43.187 That's more than during World War II. 0:12:43.187,0:12:46.958 It's the greatest number[br]at any point in recorded history. 0:12:48.418,0:12:53.519 Put that in other terms, that's nearly one[br]out of 100 people on earth. 0:12:56.039,0:12:58.209 And I'd like to share[br]one more story with you, 0:12:58.489,0:13:01.828 one more story of 65 million people. 0:13:01.938,0:13:04.277 This is the story of my friend Fayiz. 0:13:05.195,0:13:10.595 Fayiz is a person who's not very different[br]from any of the people in this room today, 0:13:10.755,0:13:13.827 and I think that rather than me[br]telling you about Fayiz, 0:13:13.907,0:13:16.927 he should do so in his own words[br]and his own voice. 0:13:20.437,0:13:23.638 [The situation in Syria[br]was very complicated.] 0:13:23.938,0:13:26.358 [They had killed kids.] 0:13:26.758,0:13:32.249 [So just imagine yourself coming[br]to your house, finding your kids ...] 0:13:34.484,0:13:35.924 [I couldn't sleep.] 0:13:37.509,0:13:38.927 [I left everything.] 0:13:41.267,0:13:45.167 [My name is Fayiz. [br]I'm from a small village in Syria.] 0:13:45.297,0:13:47.058 [I'm an English teacher.] 0:13:47.593,0:13:50.593 [KAWERGOSK REFUGEE CAMP, NORTHERN IRAQ] 0:13:52.678,0:13:55.418 [I didn't choose to be a refugee.] 0:13:58.998,0:14:03.078 [Here in this camp[br]I feel safe for my children] 0:14:03.248,0:14:07.187 [because I know that no one[br]will come and kill them.] 0:14:08.717,0:14:12.477 [Before the conflict started in Syria,] 0:14:13.152,0:14:16.442 [we were watching refugees[br]all around the world -] 0:14:16.647,0:14:18.470 [especially in Africa.] 0:14:19.260,0:14:22.450 [But I never thought[br]that I will be a refugee.] 0:14:23.920,0:14:26.136 [A refugee is a person.] 0:14:27.656,0:14:29.276 [He's not from here.] 0:14:29.856,0:14:31.808 [His tradition is different from ours.] 0:14:33.188,0:14:36.028 [A refugee, also he is a human being.] 0:14:36.548,0:14:39.507 [He has friends, he has emotions,] 0:14:40.347,0:14:44.247 [has everything that God gives[br]a human being.] 0:14:45.117,0:14:48.377 [A refugee is just a political name.] 0:14:49.537,0:14:55.468 [We are dreaming every day of our houses[br]or the friends that we left.] 0:14:56.668,0:15:00.698 [The future is completely destroyed[br]for me and my wife.] 0:15:01.018,0:15:02.502 [But my kids,] 0:15:03.337,0:15:09.057 [in five years maybe,[br]we can build a future for them.] 0:15:10.802,0:15:14.474 [And they have time to forget,[br]to prepare themselves,] 0:15:14.694,0:15:17.944 [to rebuild, to, you know, repair.] 0:15:18.824,0:15:20.251 [So their dreams,][br] 0:15:20.701,0:15:23.111 [better to take care of their dreams.] 0:15:25.991,0:15:30.488 The stories that you've heard tonight,[br]this afternoon, have all been ones of war, 0:15:30.768,0:15:34.288 but war isn't the only thing[br]that drives people out of their homes. 0:15:35.728,0:15:40.706 Many of the refugees around the world[br]have fled because of who they love, 0:15:41.246,0:15:43.541 have had to leave their homes[br]and their countries 0:15:43.541,0:15:45.211 because of the color of their skin 0:15:45.211,0:15:47.526 or the ethnic group[br]into which they were born. 0:15:48.416,0:15:50.127 So now, in this age 0:15:50.127,0:15:55.457 where fear and xenophobia[br]can very quickly morph into policy, 0:15:55.837,0:15:57.987 it's more important than ever[br]that we remember 0:15:57.987,0:16:01.877 that it's not only tanks and bombs[br]that can force us from our homes. 0:16:04.047,0:16:06.047 So the next time[br]that you see a photograph, 0:16:06.257,0:16:09.518 a dramatic one[br]of large numbers people 0:16:10.078,0:16:11.697 that are sad and carrying bundles, 0:16:11.697,0:16:13.537 or the next time you hear a story, 0:16:13.537,0:16:16.967 a very simple one[br]full of shocking statistics 0:16:17.067,0:16:20.066 about a group who you[br]may not understand very well, 0:16:20.556,0:16:22.134 ask for more. 0:16:23.024,0:16:25.748 Think of Leila and think of Fayiz. 0:16:26.698,0:16:30.358 And remember, this isn't numbers, 0:16:30.618,0:16:31.928 it's people. 0:16:33.723,0:16:36.003 I'd like to leave you with a question: 0:16:38.408,0:16:42.305 If you had 30 seconds[br]before you had to run, 0:16:42.765,0:16:44.075 carrying whatever you could 0:16:44.075,0:16:46.238 climb out the window[br]at the back of your house 0:16:46.238,0:16:48.668 and go out into the night,[br]perhaps never to return, 0:16:48.668,0:16:51.157 what would you bring with you? 0:16:51.362,0:16:53.752 What's your most important thing? 0:16:58.387,0:16:59.577 Thank you. 0:16:59.618,0:17:02.598 (Applause)