Foreclosure Eviction – Photo of the Year
As a sad commentary on our times, the winning entry in the World Press Photo of the Year 2008 award is a post-foreclosure eviction image by photographer Anthony Suau that first appeared in Time magazine. In the photo - which I hope to have permission to post here on KeepMyHouse.com within a day or two see below (photo used with permission from World Press Photo) - Detective Robert Kole enters the vacant home, gun drawn, to ensure residents have moved out of their home in Cleveland, Ohio.
As you can see, the vacant home looks like a war zone with furniture, boxes, and papers strewn about the room. It made me realize that as our men and women of the armed forces are fighting wars overseas, citizens are fighting another war at home – a civil yet uncivil war that threatens the foundation of the American Dream.
Anthony Suau’s photo captures the chaos of foreclosure without even having to show the family that fell victim to it – a family that is, no doubt, in disarray, uprooted from their home, separated from their neighbors, and distanced from their community. This one disheveled room also suggests the chaos outside as neighborhoods and communities crumble under the strain of rampant foreclosures.
Foreclosure may not be quite as devastating as war or natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes. It is a silent disaster, a silent war that silences its victims, but it is devastating for the families and communities that suffer its consequences. It is a war that we must fight with just as much seriousness and determination as any other war we, as a nation, have fought. Surrender is not an option.
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Ralph R. Roberts, GRI, CRS |
