Child from Everywhere

Caroline Irby's Child from Everywhere project published in The Observer and shown on the UK Channel 4 TV channel last year in which she interviewed children from every country in the world resident in the UK is now going to be an exhibition and a book.

Here's her email to me:

Yes, your Jaime will be in it! It goes to print next week, out 1st May. I'm excited. Here's a link to the book, and the exhib (which will feature only 14 kids, not Jaime, but the films I made for Ch 4 will be shown so he'll be there somehow).

http://www.amazon.com/Child-Everywhere-Photographs-Interviews-Countries/dp/1906155933

http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/whats_on/temporary_exhibitions_and_displays/a_child_from_everywhere/index.html

Sorry you're having a tough time... nothing is permanent, I hope good things are round the corner.

If you happen to be in the UK 6th May, come to the exhib opening at the Museum of Childhood, 6-8pm.

Best,

C

Home from Home

Caroline Irby's original photo-journalism project for the Guardian/Observer newspaper group/Channel 4 TV appeared as four (disappointingly) short (3+ minutes) documentary programmes on television earlier this month under the above title.

Each of the episodes has a theme - Arrival, Finding my Feet, Looking Back, The Future.

Basically, a collage of her still photos - each child (187 nationalities resident in the UK of the 192 nationalities in the world) was shown - with excerpts from her interviews with some of the children. Jaime appeared for about 30 ms as many other children -and only those whose interviews were quoted had their countries of origin named - a shame.

Even though there was not time to produce the audio from all of Caroline's interviews many of the children/young adults, it seems each got a soundbite.

Jaime's, (which I missed the first time round) ... "It was busy and dark and cold".

Another favourite quote from an unidentified source in the first episode "When I first arrived, there were so many white people!"

My favourite interviews from the four episodes are those from the first episode with two Liberian and Mongolian young adults. They are eloquent and intelligent. All these young people have much to offer the UK, their own countries and UK foreign relations.

So many of the soundbites speak with the regional accents of the area of the UK in which the child resides - I have certainly noticed that as Jaime has been learning English it is with a Rochdale accent!

I speak the language of my adopted country fluently, incorrectly and with a decidedly British accent. Speaking English to non-UK colleagues (including Americans), as opposed to drinking companions at the local pub in Rochdale (even though I was brought up in the south rather than the north), I codeswitch (a Linguistics term) to Standard English and "Received Pronunciation" rather than "ain't" and double negatives - "I ain't got no money" - which are perfectly understood in Rochdale.

The nationals of my adopted country codeswitch all the time between the official colonially-imposed language and various creoles (hmm ... another future post on this subject) .

I digress ...

Unfortunately, I cannot show you the programme ... copyright! Nrgggh!