This visual essay is a response to the process of expatriation and application for U.S. citizenship, and explores early representations of Filipinos as viewed in the United States.

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Francis Estrada

Across South Africa, children of traditional families participate in initiation school. Although the duration and content of the programs differ based on regional and tribal beliefs, students wanting to learn more about bush survival and their ancestral traditions attend ngoma. In a rural village in the Northeast, 60 girls prepare for the conclusion of their three-month education — and prepare to return to their communities as women.

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In The Fray Contributor

Vietnamese culture dictates that when a man and a woman get married, the wife leaves her own family behind and relies on her husband for security and support. If the husband no longer is able to provide shelter and food for his wife, his extended family is responsible for taking her in.

But cultural norms can be malleable depending on circumstance. When Ly Thi Mui’s husband went into psychiatric treatment, her in-laws blamed her for their son’s mental problems. Instead of supporting Mui, her husband’s family kicked her out of their home.

Mui and her son, Pha, have been living on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam since 2002.

Even though Mui and Pha face many difficulties and have very little means to survive, they try to keep a positive outlook on their life together. They find happiness in the love and companionship they offer each other.

Photographer Ehrin Macksey followed Mui and Pha in June, 2007, capturing their lives on the streets. The following photo essay documents their moments of happiness and struggle.

In 2009, Mui reunited with her husband, and the family now lives in a house near the Red River. Mui and Pha continue to play in the river, and are much happier and healthier than they were before.

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Ehrin Macksey

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The Bernstein family schedules their week around hockey practice, Hebrew school, gymnastics, basketball, and trips to Target. Parents Cindy and Gregg work in tandem to ensure daily routines run as planned for their three young sons and golden retriever, Cain. But Cain isn’t your average house dog; the Bernstein’s sons — Gage, six, Cooper, four, and Reilly, three — have all been diagnosed with autism, and Cain is the service dog they adopted in April of 2008 to help the boys navigate the world around them.

Cain spent 15 months in training that has prepared him to work with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), a set of developmental disabilities characterized by difficulties in social interaction, communication, and unusual or repetitive behaviors. ASDs can impact all aspects of life and vary from person to person. Connecting with others and reading social cues and body language is often difficult, and the development of verbal abilities may be delayed. Everyday sensory experiences (such as eating foods with different textures or getting a haircut) can be overwhelming, while other sensory inputs (such as deep pressure contact) might have a calming effect.

The relationship between a child and his service dog is unique and takes time to develop. Cain works mainly with Cooper and provides a sense of constancy as he accompanies Cooper throughout the day. Cain was trained to remain near Cooper when the boy’s behavior and stress level escalates.

“You can tell that Cain knows he’s here for Cooper,” says Gregg. “When [Cain] has his working vest on, he knows the deal.”

Autism service dogs also assist with social skills and communication. When other children have questions about Cain, the Bernsteins direct them to Cooper, encouraging their son to interact.

Adopting Cain was just one of the ways the Bernsteins work to provide services for their three sons. By the time each boy was two years old, they were all attending the Margaret Murphy Center, where they receive specialized education and support (Gage has since transitioned to public school). Additionally, Cindy and Gregg coordinate in-home therapy, and they use tools to help their sons navigate everyday social interactions and learn to express themselves appropriately. Regular team meetings with teachers, case managers, occupational therapists, and other professionals keep everyone up-to-date with the boys’ struggles and achievements.

Jennifer Marie Leahy

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Tricia Binette, 26, has been waiting for this moment for over 36 months. Waiting to put on different clothes, waiting to take a bath, waiting to smoke a cigarette, waiting to eat at Pizza Hut — most of all, just waiting. Tricia has served a three-year sentence for robbery and for selling crack cocaine. Today she will be released.

Tricia grasps the handle of a Maine Correctional Center van door and slides it open. With a huge smile across her delicately featured face — and a hint of fear in her eyes — she steps down and looks back at a fence that she has not been outside of in three years. She made it. But this is just the beginning.

Life outside the prison walls won’t be easy as Trish tries to stay clean and piece together her life after five years of serious drug use. She was raised in foster homes and has been on and off the streets since she was 10 years old. The apartment that Tricia secured is next door to a crack house. Every time she goes to pick up food stamps, she will see old friends from when she was homeless, and customers in search of drugs will still recognize her — even after the 100 pounds she gained in prison.

But Trish is strong and determined, and she is in a promising position as she prepares for re-entry into what could be a difficult world: She has an apartment and a job lined up, and she is saving money to get the tools she needs to start her stained-glass projects again, to keep herself busy and away from temptation. Trish has sober friends. She has resolve. And she has hope. In a strange way, Trish says, prison saved her life; more than one of her friends overdosed while she was incarcerated. With her infectious warmth, Tricia affirms, "Every day, I feel lucky."

Photo essay by Anna Mackenzie Weaver; images courtesy of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
 

Anna Mackenzie Weaver

Nine months later, she and her partner, Lori, welcomed Jack into their Brooklyn home. Photographer and neighbor Claire Houston documents the couple’s first months of motherhood.

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Ivan S White

Under Vladimir Putin’s rule, Russia has reclaimed its position among the superpowers of the world. In the past eight years, the economic recession of the tumultuous 90s is seemingly all but forgotten. Thanks to the country’s abundance of raw materials, such as oil and natural gas, the Russian economy is flourishing as never before. After a mere 18 years of capitalism, the January 2008 issue of Finans Magazine reported that there are currently 101 billionaires in Russia.

It is difficult to detect much prosperity in the book 101 Billionaires, which portrays an entirely different segment of the Russian population.  In this excerpt, Hornstra depicts the impoverished Russians: victims of the ”tough-as-nails” capitalism with which Russia made its name immediately after the fall of communism."  Hornstra’s new book, 101 Billionaires, is available through his website, www.borotov.com.

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In The Fray Contributor

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Calee Allen

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Adam D Marksteiner