Kanyi's Photoblog
Crib series: Washington's Slave Quaters.
Posted by Rags (Plano, United States) on 17 January 2008 in Architecture.
This image reminds me of a song by Johnny Cash called "One." U2 covered the song a few years ago. Click HERE and then tell me whats on your mind. Thank you!
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I stand corrected. Fellow blogger DaveB, pointed out that it was U2 who sang the original song. Thanks Dave!
Mandy from South Africa
Hey rags....reminds me of the sleeping quarters we saw in Berlin when we visited the Sachsenhausen concentration camp - first one built by Hilter!!!! Just checked through your series as I was so busy I haven't had time till now - awesome shots as always! :) Can't wait to see what else you have for us
17 Jan 2008 6:53am
Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia
A real piece of history. Only slightly better than concentration camp quarters. Thanks, Rags.
17 Jan 2008 7:29am
Steven from Montreal, Canada
I agree with Mandy and Michael. It reminds me of the quarters at Breendonk Prison and the concentration camp in Dachau. Not much better. I'd like to see this in B/W as it would remove the warmth of the wood. Nice shot!
17 Jan 2008 7:44am
tyan from Singapore, Singapore
reminds me of the pictures i see of the Jewish Holocaust,the beds looked exactly like these!Thanks for sharing with us this,it really tells a story of hardship,tears and sorrow.
17 Jan 2008 8:16am
DaveB from Exeter, United Kingdom
Interesting slice of history Rags, nice shot. It was actually U2 who did the original version of One, which Johnny Cash covered, I'm never sure which version I prefer!
17 Jan 2008 9:40am
@DaveB: thank you for verifying this fact for me.
Nader Kohansal from Tehran, Iran
The previous commenters mentioned nice words. Well captured.
17 Jan 2008 9:48am
Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States
Not very inviting for overnight stay, but a very good photo-record of the reality of those times. God forgive us.
17 Jan 2008 1:02pm
Wolfgang Prigge from Canada
Thanks for showing us this darker side of George Washington. To think that obvioulsly enlightened persons of that time did not see the discrepancies between their lofty ideals and their daily actions.... It certainly does look like a concentration camp, maybe slightly less harsh. As for Mandy's affirmation about Sachsenhausen, as far as I know Dachau was the first concentration camp built by the nazies.
17 Jan 2008 1:13pm
Laurie from New Jersey, United States
I was going to say it also reminded me of Hitler's concentration camps, at least the depictions of them I've seen, only a little nicer. Very compelling image.
17 Jan 2008 4:23pm
Seraphine from San Francisco, United States
You did a wonderful photograph, especially the lighting.
Trying to imagine living in such a place, however,
under such conditions as slaves were bound to live by,
breaks my heart. Slavery still exists in the world today.
17 Jan 2008 6:23pm
Frankie from Boxmeer, Netherlands
An impressive and striking image of a dark part of our past.
17 Jan 2008 8:43pm
Melissa from Layton, UT, United States
Great image. I love the idea of the image along with the song, it makes the image that much more poignant.
18 Jan 2008 12:18am
Rebecca from Leicester, United Kingdom
I am deeply moved. It reminds me of “All men are equal but some are more equal than others” (from George Orwell’s “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” in ‘Animal Farm’). The grievous contradictions and inconsistencies in our human nature that we ourselves are so often blind to…… My heart breaks at the thought of what these slaves suffered. Looking at your image, I also couldn’t help but remember ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, a book I read in my teenage years. It was so profoundly moving, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and was upset for days, pensive for weeks.
I also agree with Seraphine that slavery still exists in our world today, and in so many different grievous forms, it is heartbreaking to remember. I am ashamed to say in my own home country Singapore, foreign workers/labourers (mainly in the construction industry and domestic household helpers – particularly Indonesians) are treated almost like a different class of people, and are often vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Some live and work in appalling conditions, worse if they have been smuggled in illegally (I think this is the same in many countries), but even the many ones in the country legally are very much at the mercy of their employers, who very often treat them as a class below rather than equals. God have mercy on us all.
18 Jan 2008 1:54am
Amir from ?, Iran
That is a sad that the founder of a nation was a slave owner, shame
18 Jan 2008 3:15am
