Famili Blong Mi - Nguna Island

On my last afternoon on Nguna Island, I took this photo of my adoptive family. I had thought that the terms 'papa', 'mama' and 'brada' were only a formality - until my mama looked at me with tears in her eyes as I prepared to leave.

My papa's head is bound in a strip of terry cloth. He'd been suffering from a headache brought on by a recurrence of malaria. The local nurse gave him aspirin for the pain.

September, 2003

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