HOPE

• Prize
  Bronze in People/Children
• Photographer
  Alexander von Wiedenbeck

"They opened my heart, much more I ever thought it could be" Alexander von Wiedenbeck, Philippinen 2015 Hope dies last – so they say. But is that really the case? Can there be hope, when children live in cemeteries and have to spend the night in graves? Can there be hope, when young girls, barely eight years old, are molested by their uncle or grandfather? Can there be hope, when children search from dawn to dusk in rubbish dumps for usable materials, so that if they are lucky they will get a meal at the end of the day? Can there be hope, when a girl forced into prostitution already has two abortions behind her? The answer – a clear YES – is faith, hope and love, which impel the children. Hope for a better life and the pursuit of happiness drive them and give them their strength. In the midst of all the chaos, poverty and dark shadows, it is this hope and this unswerving faith, which one can see in the children’s eyes and feel in their hearts. They keep on going, they struggle, they never give up, and we shouldn’t either.