May 23: What It's Like Being A Photojournalist In Gaza
📸For Your 👀 Only: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Ashraf Abu Amra lives with his wife and six children in the Palestinian city Deir Al Balah in the Gaza Strip, working as a radio correspondent for Palestinian radio channels and as a photojournalist. He has been covering the recent violence for local and international news outlets, even after his office in Al Jawhara Tower was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike.
The ordinary people in Gaza have lived through horror this last week. Incredibly difficult days. Everywhere there was death and killing. There is a constant scent of burnt things and gunpowder, the bombs drop constantly and randomly. Entire families were killed. I have seen these horrible scenes of innocent dead people pulled from the rubble. It has been incredibly hard to witness. People are fleeing their houses with intense fear. They are running to international agencies and [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees] hoping they will be safe there. These are men, women, children, brothers, relatives. The humanitarian situation is unbearable, and as I write this the war is still continuing.
What have the last few weeks been like for journalists and photographers in Gaza, such as yourself?
Photographers and journalists in Gaza are a part of the Palestinian people. I am one of them, and I have worked in the field of journalism for 16 years. I covered three wars and invasions. I have never seen this before. The Israelis are using unprecedented force against journalists. Three buildings that housed media offices have been bombed by Israel and completely destroyed.
We were very surprised when we received a call from the Israeli intelligence saying we had to leave the tower very fast. We ran on the stairs to leave the building. We couldn't even wait for the elevator. The moment we reached the ground floor, Israeli warplanes bombed the top of the building and soon the building was completely destroyed. I still had lenses in the building, a camera, and hard disks with my archive, I lost all of this material. But still I was so happy that I wasn't killed. Buildings close to my office have been bombed directly, and the Israelis didn't give the people inside enough to leave the building.
Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Can you describe what happened in this photo?
This girl is called Suzy Ishkontana. I was close when her family's house was bombed. The first part I saw of her was her hand first sticking out of the rubble. They searched for her for about 10 hours. I was there after the bombing happened with crews of the civil defense. I didn't expect anyone to come alive out of the rubble. They found her little brothers next to her dead in their mother's lap. She and her father were the only ones who survived. Her father and her were pulled out of the rubble with moderate injuries. But eight people died, the mother and her seven brothers and sisters. The moment they pulled her out of the rubble, I couldn't contain my grief. It was such an unbearable sight. A small innocent child under a completely destroyed building. What are you hoping to share with your work?
I am working as a freelance journalist, and I am seeing crimes that I have never seen in my life, entire families wiped out. This is pushing me to continue my work. I photograph what I see happening in front of me. I don't change anything in my pictures, I only edit to emphasize what is already there. But my photos are having a big impact on the world as they are being published in big newspapers. Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images What are you scared of?
I have covered many wars and I have been outside of Gaza, but I have never seen this kind of cruelty and crimes against civilians. They are bombing simple houses with families inside, we don't understand how they could have any link to Hamas. I see this happening, and I think that this can happen to my children. I am very sad and very tired right now. I don't understand why all this is happening. I am will soon be 35. I am honest with you if I say I have not seen a beautiful day in my 35 years. I feel like all I have seen is rubble and destruction, death, smoke, the smell of gunpowder, electricity cuts, no drinkable water. We live because we are alive, but we don't see beautiful things.
What are your hopes for the future?
I only want a life with dignity. The period before the war I was quite happy because my colleagues helped me get new lenses — now I lost most of the lenses. The war is continuing, but I am hoping that the coming days civilians will be spared. I am hoping for a ceasefire and for the killing to stop. I truly mean it that I want to live in peace. I don't need big riches, just the basic necessities in life. Dignity and freedom.
My oldest daughter is 11 years old and she lived through three wars. What can be expected from a girl who is 11 and has lived through three wars? How can she have hope for the future? This is what I am worried about for my family. I want a beautiful future for her. Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 📸THE WEEK'S PHOTO STORIES FROM BUZZFEED NEWS 📸 As always, here are some of the best photo stories from around the internet, and what we loved from our desk. THESE PHOTOS EXPLORE THE AMAZING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS Robin Schwartz HOW ONE QUEER ASIAN-AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER FROM THE SOUTH IS BALANCING HIS IDENTITY IN HIS WORK Tommy Kha SOME HOPE Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images Biden takes the new electric Ford 150 pickup for a joyride at the factory in Dearborn, Mich., proving the thrill of driving fast, unimpeded, is universal.
"We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us." — Ralph Hattersley That's it for this week! Kate + Pia
📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by the News Photo team. Kate Bubacz is the photo director based in New York and loves dogs. Pia Peterson is a photo editor based in Brooklyn. You can always reach us here.
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