The children
of Zanzibar
Anat Shushan
When the thought of going to Zanzibar first came up, what I had in mind was white sandy beaches, turquoise colored water, palm trees and a perfect opportunity for a calm relaxing vacation.
A vacation in paradise.
Well, it was all there. All of that. What I wasn't ready for were the people of Zanzibar.
The children. There is something so different about this place. In the eyes of a western tourist, they don't have much. Very simple, sometime falling apart houses, very little material stuff, very simple cloths… but when you look dipper and move aside what your mind tells you to see, you see a whole different story.
I went to visit a couple of villages and walked around on the beach. There I met the children of Zanzibar. Their eyes will stay deep in my soul for good.
They have so little, but they know.
They know to appreciate what they have, they know to turn everything to a toy, to a game.
They have such purity, one that we have lost long ago. With no computers, no TV, no technology, it turns out that the world is their playground. I saw such happiness on their faces, something so true and deep.
I was so touched by them, by their hugs and smiles, that I couldn't help crying. Not because I was sad, but because they touched my soul in such a deep place.
So I spent 8 days in paradise. With white sandy beaches, turquoise water and palm trees.
But what I came home with was so much more than that. Something that stayed with me since then.
For me, it was a life changing journey. A journey that reminded me to love, to appreciate and to always look deeper than what the eyes see.
My name is Anat Shushan.
I'm 46 years old from Haifa, Israel.
Been a photographer for the past 30 years of my life.
I'm usually connected to B&W, that's how I see images in my head.
But in Zanzibar I couldn't resist the colors. The life.
