Both Peter Hessler’s  “What the Garbage Man Knows” and Deborah Amos’s “Dancing for Their Lives” pulled me and other readers into the lives of people doing whatever it takes to survive in tough situations. I was drawn to the author’s ability to pull me into the daily life of the subjects as well as give me an indepth description of who they are without merely listing of features or information but by situating themselves and us into their world.  Hessler follows Sayyid, a garbage collector in Cairo who understands people deeply by sorting through their trash. Meanwhile, Amos explores the lives of Iraqi women in Syria who, as refugees, sometimes have to turn to prostitution to support their families. Both writers dive into worlds far removed from their own, gaining the trust of the people they write about, while also dealing with tough questions about how much they should share and how best to show respect. With issues as big as divorce and traficking, I wonder where the line of journalism is? Are they always okay with the way their life is portrayed? Since Sayyid is illiterate, what are the methods of ensuring that as a reporter you are presenting information correctly? 

Hessler starts with Sayyid’s daily life rather than his personal backstory, letting readers understand him through what he does and what he notices. This approach helped me and  readers see Sayyid as a person with skills and knowledge, rather than just someone who’s “uneducated” or “poor.” For example, even though Sayyid can’t read, he’s learned to pick up on small clues, like how women throw out empty pill packs with days marked on them. This allows for us to know how he views the world rather than merely getting a description of who he is. But Hessler also shows us the challenges Sayyid faces. He doesn’t get paid much, he had to serve longer in the military because he couldn’t read, and there are strict gender roles in his community. By not jumping in with personal facts, Hessler lets us get to know Sayyid through his actions, which builds trust. But this makes you wonder: How can journalists like Hessler build this trust with people who may be hesitant to open up? This piece was written over a long time but what steps and procedures did the author follow to ensure that the relationship had been properly built? How do they gain respect without crossing boundaries?

In Amos’s “Dancing for Their Lives,” she brings us into the world of Iraqi refugee women who sometimes feel they have no other option but to sell their bodies to survive. There was a description of these two young girls about 12 years of age watching the other women dance which showcases how desperation passes from one generation to the next. The idea of dancing is a means of survival that is not only present in the now but in the generations to follow and this description does an amazing job at capturing that.  How does she observe and record without standing out too much or putting herself in danger? And how do reporters handle the tension between wanting to show the real story and respecting the dignity of those involved?Both pieces make us think hard about what journalists should and shouldn’t do when reporting on sensitive issues. How do they respect people’s struggles without making them look like just victims? And when they immerse themselves in these communities, how do they avoid making things worse for the people involved?.