“My parents didn’t teach me anything except how to be a shepard”, a man from Algeria reckons in front of the video, laughing after he finishes his sentence. For an old man the biggest dream today is “to succeed in growing, in our freezing Siberia, delicious tomatoes and garlic as big as my fist”…and looking at global warming reports he may see his dream fulfilled before he dies. 

6 Billion Others is a project by French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Created at the beginning of 2003, 6 Billion Others aims to create a “sensitive and human portrait of the planet’s inhabitants”. Together with 6 directors, he drew a questionnaire to be answered by thousands of people, as “every single person has got something interesting to say. And every single person has the right to say it, even if they don’t know it”.

While taking shots for his “Earth from above” exhibit in Mali and waiting for the pilot of the helicopter, Bertrand stayed in a village where he started a discussion with someone, which lasted the whole day. “In the evening, by the fireside, that man I’d been talking to told me his entire life, his desires, his wishes, his ambitions – they could be summed up in four words – “to feed my family”. In spite of the poverty, the drought, I still thought I understood the whole situation. But in fact I didn’t have a clue until that man put it to me, just like that, looking me straight in the eye, not complaining, not asking me for anything. That meeting changed me, it changed the whole way I see the world.”

The site features snapshots of people from throughout the world. Clicking on the snapshots it is possible to catch a glimpse of their life and to hear them talk about their family, their dreams, what makes them laugh and cry. There are stories of love “I am married to my wife for 24 years and we fell in love two years ago”, of nature “sometimes I think it is possible for nature to fulfil our need, but it is difficult to fulfil our greed” and god “I think I am my own goddess, everything in your life is under your control”.

By clicking on “Making of”, a map shows the locations of the interviews, and Japan has already its “Road Book” that proves how difficult it was at the beginning to have Japanese people talking freely about themselves. “In a society reserved as the Japanese, the challenge consisted in finding people who would agree to speak – housewives, employees, executives, young people and still active retired people – and it was sometimes necessary to request the help of charities to succeed. The famous Japanese reserve didn’t take kindly to the very personal style of question the project was asking”. 

The testimonials are catchy, passing from one to another the statements are so different that it is hard to remember that the people questioned are actually talking about the same subjects. It is inevitable to start to question yourself and reflect upon them, becoming melancholic. But the smiling woman from Kyrgyzstan will help remember that “a good laugh makes life longer. Crying is useless”.

E. Delaini

Published: June 16, 2007