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Al Jazeera
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
From Gaza to Vietnam, what is the value of a photo?
This month, Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year award for her image titled Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine, taken last year for The New York Times. Ajjour had both of his arms blown off by an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip, where Israel's ongoing genocide has now killed at least 52,365 Palestinians since October 2023. In the award-winning photograph, the boy's head and armless torso are cast in partial shadow, his gaze nevertheless intense in its emptiness. Speaking recently to Al Jazeera, Ajjour recalled his reaction when his mother informed him that he had lost his arms: 'I started crying. I was very sad, and my mental state was very bad.' He was then forced to undergo surgery with no anaesthetic, an arrangement that has been par for the course in Gaza on account of Israel's criminal blockade of medical supplies and all other materials necessary for human survival. 'I couldn't bear the pain, I was screaming very loud. My voice filled the hallways.' According to Abu Elouf, the first tortured question the child posed to his mother was: 'How will I be able to hug you?' To be sure, Abu Elouf's portrait of Ajjour encapsulates the cataclysmic suffering Israel has inflicted – with the full backing of the United States – upon the children of the Gaza Strip. In mid-December 2023, just two months after the launch of the genocidal assault, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that some 1,000 children in Gaza had already lost one or both legs. Fast forward to the present moment and the UN's warning, in early April, that at least 100 children were being killed or injured on a daily basis in the besieged territory. They say a picture is worth a thousand words – but how many pictures are needed to depict genocide? Meanwhile, as the slaughter proceeds unabated in Gaza, today – April 30 – marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, another bloody historical episode in which the United States played an outsized role in mass killing. As it so happens, a nine-year-old child also became the face – and body – of that war: Kim Phuc, the victim of a US-supplied napalm attack outside the South Vietnamese village of Trang Bang in June 1972. Nick Ut, a Vietnamese photographer for The Associated Press, snapped the now-iconic image of Phuc as she ran naked down the road, her skin scorched and her face the picture of apocalyptic agony. The photo, which is officially titled The Terror of War but is often known instead as Napalm Girl, won the World Press Photo of the Year award in 1973. In an interview with CNN on the photograph's own 50th anniversary in 2022, Phuc reflected on the moment of the attack: '[S]uddenly, there was the fire everywhere, and my clothes were burned up by the fire … I still remember what I thought. I thought: 'Oh my goodness, I got burned, I will be ugly, and people will see me [in a] different way.'' This, obviously, is nothing any child or adult should have to endure – physically or psychologically – in any remotely civilised world. After spending 14 months in hospital, Phuc continued to suffer from extreme pain, suicidal thoughts and shame over having the photo of her naked and mutilated body exposed for all to see. And yet napalm was but one of many weapons in a US-backed toolkit designed to make the planet safe for capitalism by incinerating and otherwise disfiguring human bodies. To this day, Vietnamese are maimed and killed by the unexploded leftovers of millions of tonnes of ordnance the US dropped on the country during the war. The lethal defoliant Agent Orange, which the US used to saturate swaths of Vietnam, also remains responsible for all manner of incapacitating birth defects and death half a century after the war's end. In her 1977 book On Photography, the late American writer Susan Sontag considered the function of images like Ut's: 'Photographs like the one that made the front page of most newspapers in the world in 1972 – a naked South Vietnamese child just sprayed by American napalm, running down a highway toward the camera, her arms open, screaming with pain – probably did more to increase the public revulsion against the war than a hundred hours of televised barbarities.' Public revulsion aside, of course, US-backed barbarities in Vietnam went on for three more years after Ut published his photo. Now, the fact that pretty much every image out of the Gaza Strip could be labelled The Terror of War simply confirms that barbarity is still a brisk business. And in the current era of social media, in which both still images and videos are reduced to rapid-fire visuals for momentary consumption, the desensitising effect on the public cannot be understated – even when we're talking about nine-year-old children with both of their arms blown off. In an Instagram post on April 18, Abu Elouf wrote: 'I always have, and still do, wish to capture the photo that would stop this war – that would stop the killing, the death, the starvation.' She went on to plead: 'But if our photos can't stop all this tragedy and horror, then what is the value of a photo? What is the image you're waiting to see in order to understand what's happening inside Gaza?' And on that bleak note, I might ask a similar question: What, in the end, is the value of an opinion article? The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
Egypt Independent
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Portrait of a wounded Palestinian boy wins Press Photo of the Year
CNN — A striking portrait of a young Palestinian boy who lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City has been named Press Photo of the Year. Photographer Samar Abu Elouf, who is also from Gaza, met nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour three months after an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. Ajjour and his family were evacuated to Doha, Qatar, where Abu Elouf is based, to receive medical treatment. 'One of the most difficult things Mahmoud's mother explained to me was how, when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, 'How will I be able to hug you?'' Abu Elouf wrote in her accompanying notes on the image, which was taken for and published in The New York Times. The photo is a stark reminder of the long-term costs of the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and led to widespread destruction and displacement of its residents. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates about half of those killed are women and children. Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza was triggered by the deadly October 7 rampage by Hamas militants. 'This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations,' said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, in a press statement. The jury observed three central themes — conflict, migration, and climate change — in the entries this year, says Lucy Conticello, director of photography for Le Monde's M magazine and one of the judges. 'Another way of seeing them is as stories of resilience, family, and community,' Conticello said in a press statement. The contrast in the winning photo — light and dark, beauty and pain — captured the attention of the judges, she added. The winning photo was selected from nearly 60,000 entries submitted by 3,778 photographers across more than 140 countries. Two other works were selected as runners-up: an otherworldly image of Chinese migrants warming themselves by a fire after crossing the US-Mexico border, and a haunting image of a young man walking to his village, once accessible by boat, along a desert-like riverbed in the Amazon. 'Droughts in the Amazon' shows a young man walking along the dry riverbed of the Solimoes River in Brazil. Musuk Nolte/Panos Pictures/Bertha Foundation/World Press Photo 'Life Won't Stop.' A groom poses for a portrait at his wedding in Omdurman, Sudan. Mosab Abushama/World Press Photo Winners were also selected for regional categories, including an ethereal image of a stranded Boeing jet surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport in Brazil, and a groom at his wedding in Sudan. The winning images are currently on display in a traveling exhibition, which opens today (April 18) in Amsterdam at De Nieuwe Kerk, followed by shows around the globe, including in London, Jakarta, Sydney and Mexico City.
Egypt Independent
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Portrait of a wounded Palestinian boy wins Press Photo of the Year
CNN — A striking portrait of a young Palestinian boy who lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City has been named Press Photo of the Year. Photographer Samar Abu Elouf, who is also from Gaza, met nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour three months after an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. Ajjour and his family were evacuated to Doha, Qatar, where Abu Elouf is based, to receive medical treatment. 'One of the most difficult things Mahmoud's mother explained to me was how, when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, 'How will I be able to hug you?'' Abu Elouf wrote in her accompanying notes on the image, which was taken for and published in The New York Times. The photo is a stark reminder of the long-term costs of the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and led to widespread destruction and displacement of its residents. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates about half of those killed are women and children. Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza was triggered by the deadly October 7 rampage by Hamas militants. 'This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations,' said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, in a press statement. The jury observed three central themes — conflict, migration, and climate change — in the entries this year, says Lucy Conticello, director of photography for Le Monde's M magazine and one of the judges. 'Another way of seeing them is as stories of resilience, family, and community,' Conticello said in a press statement. The contrast in the winning photo — light and dark, beauty and pain — captured the attention of the judges, she added. The winning photo was selected from nearly 60,000 entries submitted by 3,778 photographers across more than 140 countries. Two other works were selected as runners-up: an otherworldly image of Chinese migrants warming themselves by a fire after crossing the US-Mexico border, and a haunting image of a young man walking to his village, once accessible by boat, along a desert-like riverbed in the Amazon. 'Droughts in the Amazon' shows a young man walking along the dry riverbed of the Solimoes River in Brazil. Musuk Nolte/Panos Pictures/Bertha Foundation/World Press Photo 'Life Won't Stop.' A groom poses for a portrait at his wedding in Omdurman, Sudan. Mosab Abushama/World Press Photo Winners were also selected for regional categories, including an ethereal image of a stranded Boeing jet surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport in Brazil, and a groom at his wedding in Sudan. The winning images are currently on display in a traveling exhibition, which opens today (April 18) in Amsterdam at De Nieuwe Kerk, followed by shows around the globe, including in London, Jakarta, Sydney and Mexico City.
CBS News
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Picture of Gaza boy who lost both arms in Israeli strike wins 2025 World Press Photo of the year
The Hague, Netherlands — A portrait of a young Palestinian boy who lost both arms as a result of an Israeli attack in Gaza was honored Thursday as World Press Photo of the year . The photo, taken by Qatar-based Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times shows 9-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour with his arms missing just below each shoulder. "One of the most difficult things Mahmoud's mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, 'How will I be able to hug you?'" Abu Elouf said in a statement released by the World Press Photo organization. The winner of the 68th edition of the prestigious photojournalism contest was selected from 59,320 entries submitted by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries. "This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations," said World Press Photo Executive Director Joumana El Zein Khoury. In a statement, the organization said that Ajjour was injured while fleeing an Israeli attack in March 2024. "After he turned back to urge his family onward, an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other," according to the World Press Photo citation. "This young boy's life deserves to be understood, and this picture does what great photojournalism can do: provide a layered entry point into a complex story, and the incentive to prolong one's encounter with that story," said jury chair Lucy Conticello, who is Director of Photography for French newspaper Le Monde's weekend magazine. Winning photographer Abu Elouf was evacuated from Gaza in December 2023 and she now lives in the same apartment complex as Ajjour in Qatar's capital, Doha. Israel launched its devastating war in Gaza in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, in which thousands of militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza says more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants, but says over half of the dead have been women and children, including at least 876 infants under 1. It says over 116,000 people have been wounded. Israel blames Hamas for the heavy civilian toll, accusing the U.S.- and Israeli designated terrorist organization of carrying out attacks and other military activities from within residential areas and civilian buildings. Competition organizers also named two World Press Photo finalists whose work highlighted the issues of migration and climate change. A photo by John Moore for Getty Images shows Chinese migrants warming themselves up after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at night, and a picture by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures, Bertha Foundation, shows a young man carrying food across a dried up river bed in Brazil's Amazon basin region.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Portrait of a wounded Palestinian boy wins Press Photo of the Year
A striking portrait of a young Palestinian boy who lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City has been named Press Photo of the Year. Photographer Samar Abu Elouf, who is also from Gaza, met nine-year-old Mahmoud Ajjour three months after an explosion severed one of his arms and mutilated the other. Ajjour and his family were evacuated to Doha, Qatar, where Abu Elouf is based, to receive medical treatment. 'One of the most difficult things Mahmoud's mother explained to me was how, when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, 'How will I be able to hug you?'' Abu Elouf wrote in her accompanying notes on the image, which was taken for and published in The New York Times. The photo is a stark reminder of the long-term costs of the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and led to widespread destruction and displacement of its residents. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates about half of those killed are women and children. Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza was triggered by the deadly October 7 rampage by Hamas militants. 'This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations,' said Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, in a press statement. The jury observed three central themes — conflict, migration, and climate change — in the entries this year, says Lucy Conticello, director of photography for Le Monde's M magazine and one of the judges. 'Another way of seeing them is as stories of resilience, family, and community,' Conticello said in a press statement. The contrast in the winning photo — light and dark, beauty and pain — captured the attention of the judges, she added. The winning photo was selected from nearly 60,000 entries submitted by 3,778 photographers across more than 140 countries. Two other works were selected as runners-up: an otherworldly image of Chinese migrants warming themselves by a fire after crossing the US-Mexico border, and a haunting image of a young man walking to his village, once accessible by boat, along a desert-like riverbed in the Amazon. Winners were also selected for regional categories, including an ethereal image of a stranded Boeing jet surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport in Brazil, and a groom at his wedding in Sudan. The winning images are currently on display in a traveling exhibition, which opens today (April 18) in Amsterdam at De Nieuwe Kerk, followed by shows around the globe, including in London, Jakarta, Sydney and Mexico City.
