Reza Deghati

I was listing to NPR this morning and heard an interview with a photojournalist named Reza Deghati. He spoke with such passion and conviction about his photos and everything he'd seen in his life that I felt like crying when I heard it. Here is a man who feels everything around him. He sees it with his heart. It's a rare thing to hear someone on the radio and know that they are the real thing. To hear words being spoken and realize that this man lives the life he was destined to do.

He's written a book. I will have to get it. He is a remarkable person.
In a section of Reza War and Peace titled, "Thoughts of An Exile," he writes:

"Within you remains the memory of your lost country, and you may feel disappointment in the land where you are now living, the country you thought would be your promised land and beyond it your way of being free. There remains, too, a feeling of mourning for your native land.

This grief is always with you below the surface, but the longing for your homeland is called up even more acutely by a tangible reminder of your country — a familiar smell, a food that tastes like a dish back home, a countryside that evokes scenes from your childhood. You feel it as well when you hear someone speak your language and you hear once again the melody of your native tongue. For the exile, the joys of the present are full of memories of the past."

NPR Weekend EditionSince leaving Iran, his work has reflected an extraordinary empathy and intimacy with his subjects, particularly for those longing for home.