Shawn Baldwin

Portraits

A young boy looks on after receiving medical treatment at the main hospital in Kandahar. According to the United Nations, 20 percent of children in Afghanistan die before their first birthday, mostly from preventable diseases. August 2002.NPPA Best of Photojournalism ContestMagazine Portrait & Personality - Second Place 2002
   
Yousef al Muteiri, 22-years-old, outside his grandfather's house 6km from the village of Najkh, Saudi Arabia. March 2008.
   
Egypt's top archaeologist Zahi Hawass poses for a picture beside the 'Red pyramid' near the Tomb of Sa-Iset at Dashur, Egypt. January 2010.
     
  
Egypt's top archaeologist Zahi Hawass poses for a picture in front of Luxor Temple in Luxor, Egypt. January 2010.
  
Zabbaleen and pig farmer Morgan Girgis, 30-years-old, poses for a picture inside his home. May 2009.
  
Rami Galal, 24, from Egypt. He has lived in Dubai for a year and works in construction. ''When I was in Egypt everything was up in the air. I had no purpose. I would go to work, come home, change, eat and go out with my friends. Now I have a much clearer purpose. Egypt was not good to us.'' August 2008.
     
  
Taj Maarafi, 24, from Tunisia. He has lived in Dubai for almost two years and works as a waiter. ''I got there and spent most of my money in two month - in bars, hanging out. I didn't look for a job until I was out of money. This is how I ended up being a waiter. I don't really like it, and I miss my life in Tunisia - but I'm not going back. I have an independence here that I wouldn't have even if I made more money back home. I'm making my own future. This is one thing in Dubai: you're not part of a family, or a group. You come here as an individual, and this is how people see you.'' August 2008.
   
Hamza Abu Zanad, 27, from Jordan. He has lived in Dubai for 18 months and works as an executive in a real estate development firm.''This guy here, the ruler of Dubai, says if you see my son drunk driving, take him to jail. That is a country I want to live in. People are disciplined. There are rules. There are laws and that’s what we aspire to.'' August 2008.
   
Hani Khaled, 27, from Egypt. He has been living in Dubai for 5 years ands works as a lift operator for Ski Dubai in the Emirates shopping mall. ''I work in the snow all day, on a ski slope in the desert! Me and my friends even learned how to ski, after work. People can hardly believe this back home, the snow, me skiing. “Dubai is about freedom and work - these are the two main ideas here. For that, you have to give up a bit of your personal life, your home, your family, but it is worth it. And things are getting better for me. I just got engaged, and I'm hoping that when I'm married, I can bring her here. She can even work here. No, I wouldn't let her work in Egypt. But here it's different.'' August 2008.
     
  
Mukhtar Sadjadi, 27, from Iran. He has lived in Dubai for 10 years and works in the spice market. ''When I go back home for vacation, I feel like my old classmates and neighbors who stayed are still like children. As if they didn't grow up. They are there sitting in the street, playing with there mobile phones, hanging out with the same people, barely working. We've had much more experience, living with foreigners, learning about other habits, working hard and being rewarded for it.'' August 2008.
   
Emad el Madani, 25, from Libya. He has lived in Dubai for 7 years and works in real estate sales. ''When I went to Dubai, I felt things could go either way, one can choose his group here - do you want to be religious? Or do you want to be liberal? You can be both. In other places, this is not really possible. A guy decides to be religious in the West, he will stand out. A guy decides to be liberal in the Middle East, he will stand out. This doesn't happen in Dubai.'' August 2008.