Recently, a couple of my friends have been having problems with their knees. They constantly are telling me just how problematic moving with crutches can be. Day in and day out, they continually rely on the crutches aid. Luckily, their fate is merely a month or two, not a lifetime. The photograph, taken by Salgado, shows a couple of the many who have no knees to hurt. They stand on one leg, and instead, use their crutch as an integral part of their daily life.

These are not birth defects, but the result of landmines. According to Salgado's book, the price to place a landmine in the Kuito area is averaged at a mere $6.5, while the price to remove such explosives is about $650. Those who are handicapped by such weaponry are sent to the Lar do Cangalo, located on the outskirts of Kuito.

Although many are handicapped for life, many are dying. According to a website titled, World Vision, the number of people dying is between "15,000 and 20,000." (One)

"An estimated 80 percent of landmine victims are civilians; one-third of these are children." (One)

Yet, the woman standing on a single leg is embraced by her child, smiling. The background suggests hope, a bright sun shining in the distance. Who that sun might be, they do not know, but they are grateful to be alive.

Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. Aperture. Web. New York, 2000. 229

"One deadly step." World Vision. Building a better world for children, 2010. Web. 6 Mar. 2010