For New York-born photographer-activist Fazal Sheikh, the portrait is an important tool. For more than two decades, as he has worked in different communities around the world, the invitation to sit for a portrait has been one of the principle means by which he has established a link with his subjects and been allowed to enter and document their lives. This volume contains the full range of Sheikh's work, from his earliest portraits taken in African refugee camps, through long-term projects in Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan, Somalia and Kenya, to more recent work in South America and India. Many of his subjects have been displaced from their homes or their countries, and their lives have been lived under the threat of violence, poverty and discrimination. With a text by writer and theorist Eduardo Cadava, this book tackles difficult issues, raising the moral dilemma of documenting the lives of disadvantaged people within the context of contemporary art.