Ahaza Desta Giving Birth, Korem, Ethiopia, 1985
(catalog number 201N-004-007)

IN 1985 John Loengard, photo editor at Life magazine, sent me to Ethiopia to photograph the famine. Once in Addis Ababa, the writer and I got our permits and flew to Korem. We stayed in Korem, the city about a mile from a refugee camp, for about one week. We had initially thought we would go to several other camps, but we got to know the people in this camp well, and the area was so interesting that we decided to go back to Addis Ababa, renew our permits, and return.

We hired two men in the camp to help us. Every day, early in the morning, we would meet them and walk to the camp. They were our guides and would also help me carry my equipment. We became friends. They were waiting for us when we came back on our second visit; I felt like I was seeing old friends.

Most of the refugee families lived in huge communal tents and slept on cots. Some of the families had smaller individual tents. There was also a large tent that served as a morgue. The recently dead were brought there, washed, and wrapped in a shroud. It was an extremely emotional and very sad experience for everyone.

Every day I would walk around the camp, visiting tent after tent. After the second week, I knew many of the families. It made it even more painful when a family member died. I saw children who three days earlier had been smiling and very much alive suddenly fall ill and die. Because many of the families knew me, I felt like less of an intruder when I photographed them, even during the most difficult and emotional situations.

The camp was enormous, and in the evenings it had an eerie atmosphere, full of smoke and sounds. Late one day, I discovered a tent that I never knew existed. It was a place for women who were about to give birth. I saw a woman lying on the floor, covered with a blanket. She was delivering her baby. What struck me was how much the event was totally devoid of emotion. She didn't cry in pain or smile when the baby was born. She just lay there passively. It was as if all of her emotions and energy were drained by her terrible plight. There was nothing left anymore. It was a scene I will never forget.