Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Misha and His Brothers

Misha, or Mihai Kfitaef, is a 37 year-old Lipovan fisherman in Sulina. Like Misha, there are a number of Lipovans, Russian descendants, in the Delta, and many of them work as fishermen. He and his brothers used to go fishing whenever the wind is mild. But, stricter restrictions on fishing around the Danube Delta, partly caused by Romanian's joing EU, made their life harder. Because of the new rules, the fishermen in the area have to spend certain periods just staying at home until the season starts. Misha said the life is getting harder and harder in the past years, but the government has done nothing for the fishermen. "This is my country," he said. He has a wife and two children, and because of the inflation and stricter restrictions, he barely manages it. Still, he and his brothers, like many men in the Delta, don't have other options but continue fishing. Their thick and rough hands tell you how hard their work is. People called my hands a girl's hands. In fact, their hands are like three times thicker than mine.





















11 comments:

ioana cirlig said...

lovely pictures! congrats on the picture of the week :)

Ikuru said...

thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi Ikuru - You don´t know me, but every once in awhile I check in on your blog via Channing. This is a beautiful story. It´s actually a great contrast to a fishing story I recently viewed at the MON here in Curitiba (I´m travelling), by Robert Linsker, which was a really lovely essay on Brazilian fisherman (http://www.museuoscarniemeyer.org.br/exposicoes/roberto_linsker.html). Anyway! Hope to meet you someday through Channing! Cheers!

Bonnie said...

ikuru--i LOVE these pictures. what beautiful subjects. i hope you're well over there! we miss you!

Ikuru said...

Thanks for the comment megan. I think the link is broken, but I will try to find the story. I like fishermen - they are fun to hang out with. Say hello to Channing.
Bonnie - thanks. I hope you and Jim are doing well in Tennessee, too!

Sheila Johnson said...

Hi Ikuru,
Greetings from Missouri!

Your photographs of the fishermen remind me somehow of Vincent Van Gogh's Potato Eaters (his early work).

You have captured a way of life that in all likelihood is disappearing from this earth, although it is almost as ancient as the moon.

Thanks for the inspiration.

shane said...

makes me want to eat fish tonite!

Brandon Kruse said...

We must be operating on the same wavelength Ikuru; I've just started a similar story. I love this collection of images man. You're really showing your style here. Fabulous stuff dude.

Anonymous said...

great series.

::: Eddie QuiƱones ::: said...

Ikuru, these are really, really beautiful images

Dungha said...

excellent!!!