Photojournalism: A Dangerous Year
Still frame of Lu Guang in an interview with World Press Photo © World Press Photo
by Erik Nielsen and Adam Ethan Berner
“For me, the strength of photography lies in its ability to evoke a sense of humanity. If war is an attempt to negate humanity, then photography can be perceived as the opposite of war and if it is used well it can be a powerful ingredient in the antidote to war.” – James Nachtwey
Photographers and journalists alike have risked their lives in pursuit of truth. There are those who wish they could operate in the shadows. News articles are filled with images that document corruption, war, injustice, brutality, and inhumanity. But these images don’t just appear in the world; they can only exist because people put their lives on the line in order to affirm that these events are not simply swept under the rug. They risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones when they venture out into danger, not only because they work in the crossfires of conflicts, but because they are specifically targeted by governments who will do whatever they can to prevent these images from seeing the light of day.
This year alone, at least 51 photojournalists made the choice to do what was right despite the consequences. To this day they remain missing, in prison, or were killed on assignment for their work. Each name in this article links to the website of the Committee to Protect Journalists; an independent, nonprofit organization that documents the trials and dangers journalists face, calls for the ending of violence against journalists, and defends the rights of journalists everywhere so that truth can be spread without fear.
Wa Lone, one of the two arrested journalists, speaks to reporters in handcuffs © Reuters
Killed
Abadullah Hananzai (Kabul, Afghanistan. April 30th)
Abdullah al-Qadry (Qaniyah, Yemen. April 13th)
Achyutananda Sahu (Chhattisgarh. India, October 30th)
Ahmed Abu Hussein (Jabalia, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. April 25th)
Ahmed Azize (Urum al-Kubra, Syria. August 10th)
Bashar al-Attar (Arbin, Syria. March 12th)
Hamoud al-Jnaid (Kafranbel, Syria. November 23rd)
Kamel abu al-Walid (Afrin, Syria. March 19th)
Mohammad al-Qadasi (al-Khayami, Yemen. January 22nd)
Musa Abdul Kareem (Sabha, Libya. July 31st)
Paúl Rivas (Colombia. April 10th-12th)
Shah Marai (Kabul, Afghanistan. April 30th)
Yaser Murtaja (Khan Yunis, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. April 7th)
Imprisoned
Adel Abdel-Rahman al-Ansari (Egypt. May 8th, 2018)
Abdullah Shousha (Egypt. September 22nd, 2013)
Ahmed al-Sakhawy (Egypt. September 25th, 2017)
Ahmed Humaidan (Bahrain. December 29th, 2012)
Ali Mahmoud Othman (Syria. March 28th, 2012)
Hassan Qambar (Bahrain. June 12th, 2018)
İdris Sayılgan (Turkey. October 17th, 2016)
Islam Gomaa (Egypt. June 29th, 2018)
Jassim al-Safar (Saudi Arabia. July 8th-9th, 2012)
Jesús Medina Ezaine (Venezuela. August 29th, 2018)
Kyaw Soe Oo (Myanmar. December 12th, 2017)
Lu Guang (China. Early November, 2018)
Mahmoud Abou Zeid (Shawkan) (Egypt. August 14th, 2013)
Mehmet Güleş (Turkey | December 06th, 2016)
Meltem Oktay (Turkey. April 3rd, 2017)
Mohamed Abu Zeid (Egypt. June 7th, 2018)
Mohamed al-Hosseiny (Egypt, September 12, 2017)
Mohamed Ibrahim (Mohamed Oxygen) (Egypt, April 6th, 2018)
Momen Hassan (Egypt, June 10th, 2018)
Nedim Türfent (Turkey, May 12th, 2016)
Sadegh Qaisari (Iran, February 19th, 2018)
Sayed Ahmed al-Mosawi (Bahrain, February 10th, 2014)
Seyoum Tsehaye (Eritrea, September 21st, 2001)
Shadi Abu Zeid (Egypt, May 6th, 2018)
Shorouk Amgad (Egypt, April 25th, 2018)
Tsi Conrad (Cameroon, December 8th, 2016)
Ugur Akgul (Turkey, August 8th, 2018)
Wa Lone (Myanmar, December 12th, 2017)
Wael Abbas (Egypt, May 23rd, 2018)
Zehra Dogan (Turkey, June 12th, 2017)
Zeinab Abu Ouna (Egypt August 17th, 2018)
Missing
Austin Tice (Last seen Syria, November 2012)
John Cantile (Last seen Syria, November 2018)
Vladjimir Legagneur (Last seen Haiti March 2018)
Kamaran Najm (Last seen, Iraq 2014)
Kazem Akhavan (Last Seen Lebanon, 1982)
Miguel Morales Estrada (Last seen Mexico, 2012)
British hostage John Cantlie seen in a video published by the ISIS terror group on Dec. 7, 2016.
