The Foreign Service Journal, March 2020

86 MARCH 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LOCAL LENS Please submit your favorite, recent photograph to be considered for Local Lens. Images must be high resolution (at least 300 dpi at 8” x 10”, or 1 MB or larger) and must not be in print elsewhere. Include a short description of the scene/ event, as well as your name, brief biodata and the type of camera used. Send to locallens@afsa.org . V enezuelan refugees crowd into a U.S.-supported feeding center in Cúcuta, Colombia, where they receive two hot meals a day. Many come across the border just for the day—to work, go to school or receive the nourishment that eludes them in their home country. Some are simply overwhelmed and exhausted by the journey, and for some that journey is just starting—they will continue on to Ecuador, Peru or as far as Chile. Worldwide, the number of refugees is at an all-time high—65 million by one count—and this picture is a good reminder that few of them are ever truly comfortable. n BY KEITH MINES n CÚCUTA, COLOMBIA Keith Mines recently retired from the Foreign Service after a full career that took him to three continents and 10 countries. His final assignment was as director of the Venezuela Working Group. His forthcoming book, Why Nation-Building Matters , will be published by the University of Nebraska Press this summer. He took this photo with a Galaxy S7.