TITLE: The pride of a people

On the most exciting Christmas night of my life, late at night, on the way to the Golden Rock sanctuary in Myanmar, a monk was asking, with a monotone chant, alms to the passers-by, who almost did not notice it.

What I and the unknown man exchanged that night is something unrepeatable. I gave him a smile, showing him his picture on my camera display. He gave me the happiness of learning something about life, which I still wonder about today: the pride of staying motionless, and despite the incredible humility that emanated, with a high and proud look.

This image will accompany me forever, reminding me that in one of the most expensive nights on Earth, somebody spent a whole night standing, asking for a single coin.

AUTHOR: Carmelo Stagnetta (Italy)

I have been photographer since the age of 5, mainly for historical reasons: I always liked to remember the moments that marked my life, imprinting them on the sheets of my memory.
Since I was still a child, I was consuming, over and over, the polaroid cartridges that my aunt, an employee of an insurance agency, used to photograph incidents of car crashes.
Today I photograph mainly because the world, as it is, deserves to be remembered.
Once again, history is witnessing me.