Development Works is a research, evaluation and communications consultancy working on development issues. Their take on Chasing Misery…
Through the essays and photos, different women reflect on their time and experiences in Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malawi and other troubled areas of the world. The essays are incredibly personal and, at times, difficult to read. Police beating protesting refugees in the street, children describing the cannibalism of a rebel group, guilt experienced after hiring a colleague who was executed, being able to accept thanks for simply doing your job.
Chasing Misery’s photo editor and one of the book’s photographers, CC&DW Communications Manager Jenn Warren, shares her insight to the world of humanitarian work from a visual perspective, “It’s not easy to reconcile what you see in a disaster, who you meet and the often traumatizing experiences you document, with life back at home – or with life back on the secure NGO compound. People open up, share their pain and their joy, and it is easy to feel like you are taking what little they have and leaving them behind. You question what good it is doing, and how the work is helping. As a contributor, Chasing Misery has brought us together to share these often unsaid, shared, feelings with one another and with those interested in this work.”
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