PHOTOS: Despite War And Violence, Kids Still Find 'Moments Of Playfulness'

By Rosemary Misdary / NPR

Published December 6, 2020 at 1:00 AM PST

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Children climb a tree on the grounds of a school in La Rivera Hernandez, a neighborhood in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, that is notorious for high levels of violence in a city that has some of the highest homicide rates in the world.

The photographs portray normal scenes of childhood: kids jumping rope, climbing trees, playing in the street.

But what makes the images striking is the context. These children are living in parts of the world struggling with war, extreme violence and poverty.

That's the theme of Entitlements, a new photo exhibit by the photography group Authority Collective and the nonprofit Atlanta Celebrates Photography. The 14 images capture the hope and strength of teens and children living through incredibly difficult circumstances around the globe. The exhibit is currently on display until the end of the year at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.

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"By depicting children as resilient in the face of insecurity, we are bringing attention to the wrongs they're experiencing and how they find joy in the world despite immense adversity," says Tara Pixley, who co-curated the exhibit with Lauren Baeza.

Half of the images in the show come from American photojournalist Danielle Villasana, who documented women and child refugees in Nigeria, Myanmar and Honduras. The other photographers are Diana Cervantes, Jasmine Clarke, Meghan Dhaliwal, Stephanie Eley and Alexis Hunley.

"These children are growing up in neighborhoods that rob them of opportunity and a childhood," says Villasana. "But they are still having moments of playfulness and doing things that kids do everywhere."

Here is a selection of Villasana's images.