How Mohamed Amin's lens stirred the world's conscience

Sharjah 24

21-02-2025

The devastating famine in Northern Ethiopia
In the mid-1980s, northern Ethiopia was struck by a devastating famine caused by extreme drought and compounded by political circumstances that had restricted food supplies in an attempt to starve out rebels in the region. The result was a humanitarian catastrophe that turned northern Ethiopia into a land of death and starvation. Over one million lives were lost, more than two million people were displaced within Ethiopia, and half a million fled beyond its borders in a bid for survival.
Mohamed Amin: A voice for humanity
Mohamed Amin's camera was more than a tool for documentation; it became a voice for humanity, a cry that awakened the world, prompting millions to take action in what became the largest humanitarian relief effort in history. When his photographs, alongside those of others, were circulated in global media, the tragedy could no longer be ignored. Campaigns such as Band Aid, USA for Africa, and Live Aid emerged as direct responses to these images that had touched millions of hearts.
Capturing the stark reality
Mohamed Amin, who had previously documented Kenya's independence, was not merely a photojournalist but a witness to a catastrophe that had unfolded in Ethiopia. Through his lens, he captured the stark reality of the famine that many wished to turn away from. Among the images showcased at Xposure 2025, three stand out as profound representations of the tragedy.
Profound representations of tragedy
The first is of an Ethiopian child, his frail body barely holding together, his face marked by disease and starvation, his sorrowful eyes speaking volumes that words fail to express, summarized in a single question: Why?
Another image captures famine victims bending down to pick up food grains that had fallen from relief planes—a scene that encapsulates the sheer desperation for survival in its most basic form. For the suffering masses, the scattered grains symbolized hope; yet through Amin's lens, they also stood out as a stark reminder of the injustices they had long endured.
The harrowing reality of death
Perhaps the most harrowing image is that of a child's lifeless body being carried to a mass grave at the Korem refugee camp in northern Ethiopia. A grim daily occurrence at the time, it served as a painful reminder that death was ever-present, reducing life to mere numbers in the statistics of tragedy.
Global relief efforts and live aid
By June 1985, global relief efforts had reached their peak, accompanied by the Live Aid concerts, organized by Irish singer Bob Geldof. Held in multiple cities worldwide, these concerts raised millions of dollars to save Ethiopia's starving population, fueled by the power of Amin's photographs.
The enduring legacy of Mohamed Amin
At Xposure 2025, these images are displayed not merely as historical documentation or as a remembrance of a painful past, but as an enduring testament to the power of photography to change reality. They serve as a reminder that humanity still has the ability to act when faced with undeniable truth. This is Mohamed Amin's true legacy—a lens that saved millions of lives, images that turned despair into hope, and a story that inspired the world to be better.