Deletions, and Your Additions

I recently received an e-mail from a Mongolian woman who now lives in the United States. She requested that I remove all photographs in the "Home / Ger" photo album because she felt it was an invasion of her privacy and showed a lack of respect for her culture.

You see, her mother Itgel was the first person I home-stayed with upon my arrival to Mongolia in August 2006, and I took photographs of all the rooms in the house, Itgel, the foods we ate, etc. and posted them on the site at that time. My intention was to share with people all over the world, particularly those who might never be able to make the trip to see for themselves, the reality of day-to-day life in Mongolia.

Today I removed all the photos of her mother's house and of her mother. However, I have chosen to leave the remaining "Home / Ger" photographs on the blog. This is where you come in, my dear reader.

I was quite surprised that the writer of the aforementioned e-mail felt the posting of these photographs on the Internet showed a lack of respect for Mongolian culture as I haven't heard this response from any other Mongolians and many have visited the site. And, to be sure, my aim was and is respect. To open up dialogue and information between cultures. To enrich the global cultural perspective. If I have achieved the opposite unwittingly I am sincerely sorry for that.

So I need to know what YOU think? Should I remove the remaining photographs in the "Home / Ger" photo album? Is this showing a lack of respect for Mongolian culture? What are your general thoughts on the question of privacy, cultural content and the Internet? Please do post a comment! And forward this post to others if you like.