大象传媒

What does it mean to be a family?

American actor RJ Mitte found fame in the hit TV series Breaking Bad. Like his character, RJ has cerebral palsy - a neurological condition that affects movement and coordination. But he only took the role to financially support his mother and sister.

27 years ago in Bogota Columbia, two sets of identical twins were born. Somehow, two of the twins were swapped in the hospital, but no-one had any idea about the mistake until a chance encounter decades later.

In Sudan thousands of children known as the Lost Boys were left orphaned and displaced by a Civil War which ended in 2005. But when Ugandan nurse, Cathy Groenendijk moved to Juba she discovered there were many Lost Girls as well.

For many of us the tight knit network of friends and work mates that surround us are often as important as relatives. French Journalist Phillipe Lancon lost eleven of his colleagues when the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were attacked by Islamist extremists one year ago.

Main Image: RJ Mitte (credit: Larry Busacca / Getty Images); Jorge and Carlos Bernal Castro, and William and Wilbur Canas Velasco
(credit: Natalio Cosoy.)