glue sniffing teenage gangs of kathmandu

Sep 29, 2009

huffer

description: Dazed Digital talked to photojournalist Frankie Nazardo about his hardcore portraits of glue sniffing teenage gangs in Kathmandu. Dazed Digital: What an insane project – how did you get involved in actually going out to Nepal and shooting these crazy kids? Frankie Nazardo: My initial plan was to go there and explore their lives, basically live on the sidewalks with them and get the 360º experience, living with them and feel the condition, and write about it, as well as taking pictures. But as soon as I got there, I had this contact with a guy called Doc, who’s been helping a lot of children, and he told me that it wasn’t really a good idea, because Kathmandu can be very dodgy at night – they don’t have electricity basically, they have it for eight hours a day, so at night it’s completely dark as well. I didn’t consider this but when you’re working with children, a big issue is paedophilia, so it’s not very good to live with them and sleep in the same place they do, even if it’s on the streets, so I basically just hung out with them during the day and part of the night, but went to a hostel.

dave

My family is from katmandu and i have spent alot of time there growing up.. I do find this project exploitative and unoriginal. The article lacks substance and depth, the photos are of poor quality. Additionally Mr. Nazardo should have picked a more compelling issue such as human trafficking to india, maoist rebel insurgency or the effects caste system to do his senior project on. I do applaud Mr. Nazardo’s journalistic prowess in finding a subject that has been covered many times in VICE magazine and duplicating it without shame.

Sep 29th, 2009
hi dave

maoist insurgency or the effects of caste system?
You really think the photographic medium is the best option for such issues?

when was this topic covered by Vice magazine?

Sep 30th, 2009
kate

I was unaware of this problem and am now aware, I do not see how that can be a bad thing. If these images in the end help the children I do not find it exploitative. Well done Frankie keep up the good work.

Oct 15th, 2009