Rasheed Lanka
Humanity in War: from the mid-19th century
American Civil War,
1861-1865 “It’s been said that one picture is worth a
thousand words. For a photographer, the saying can be reversed: one word is
sometimes worth a thousand pictures. “Genocide”, “famine”, “war”, “epidemic”:
words like these have brought about the creation of the ICRC and dozens of
other humanitarian organizations, have inspired photographers to take risks and
endure hardships. Although it has not always been regarded like this, the fact
is that documentary photography and humanitarian work exist symbiotically: one
of the primary functions of photography is to complement and support the work
of humanitarian agencies.”The comments accompanying this series of photos are
by the photographer James Nachtwey and are taken from the introduction to
Humanity in war: frontline photography since 1860.
First World War. Sweden. First World War. Sweden. Disabled German and Austrian servicemen released from captivity in Russia gather at Hallsberg station for a prisoner-of-war exchange under the auspices of the Swedish Red Cross.
Greco-Turkish War, 1923. A group of refugees board a ship on the Samanli-Dag peninsula with the help of the Turkish Red Crescent Society.
Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1936. Surgeons operating in a field hospital. “One of the few things that allows one to take heart is that these photographs also show people coming to the aid of those who are suffering. These people have left their homes, risked lives and limbs, overcome extraordinary obstacles. They have not given up.”
Spanish Civil War,
1937. Families gathered in the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza surrender
to Republican troops after 150 days of siege.
Second World War.
Germany. Men in a concentration-camp dormitory. “Widen the lens of history
and you see many different places, but many similar images: the scattered dead,
skeletal figures, eyes shining with horror and a trace of desperate hope,
columns of refugees, destroyed cities and villages, rows of the sick, mass
graves, shackles and chains, crying children, grieving mothers. This raises
more, perhaps unanswerable, questions about the nature of human progress.”
ICRC doctor examines
a child.
Humanity in War: from the mid-19th century
A selection of photos from the book Humanity
in War. These images illustrate the history of armed conflict from the
second half of the 19th century to the present. They bear witness not only to
the brutality of war and the suffering inflicted on combatants and civilians
but also to the efforts that have been made to relieve this suffering. The
photos are accompanied by an extract from the introduction to the book, written
by photographer James Nachtwey.
First World War. Sweden. First World War. Sweden. Disabled German and Austrian servicemen released from captivity in Russia gather at Hallsberg station for a prisoner-of-war exchange under the auspices of the Swedish Red Cross.
Greco-Turkish War, 1923. A group of refugees board a ship on the Samanli-Dag peninsula with the help of the Turkish Red Crescent Society.
Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1936. Surgeons operating in a field hospital. “One of the few things that allows one to take heart is that these photographs also show people coming to the aid of those who are suffering. These people have left their homes, risked lives and limbs, overcome extraordinary obstacles. They have not given up.”
Korean War, 1950. South Korean military police interrogate
North Korean prisoners of war in Pyongyang.
Japan, 1952. A woman reads the first letter received from
her husband who remained imprisoned in the Soviet Union after the end of the
Second World War.
Yemen conflict, 1964. Prisoners during an ICRC visit. “The
ICRC’s delegates, and those from other humanitarian organizations, share the
same hope as the people they’re helping, and they act on it, despite the
hardships they endure and the risks they face. When I look at the pictures in
this book, I can’t help but think how much worse things would have been if they
hadn’t been there”.
Biafra conflict,
Nigeria, 1968. A child waits for milk and fish vouchers in a feeding centre. “Photographs
are not cold documents that merely prove something happened. They put a human
face on events that might otherwise appear to be abstract or ideological, a
matter of statistics or monumental in their global impact. No matter how
overwhelming an event, what happens to people at ground level happens to them
individually, and photography has a unique ability to portray events from their
point of view. Photography gives a voice to the voiceless. It’s a call to
action.”
Viet Nam War, South Viet Nam, 1975. Following the fall of
Saigon to the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese military personnel and their
families seek desperately to be airlifted out of the area.
Afghanistan, 1998. Military cemetery in Kabul. “When
people are suffering, it doesn’t mean they are without dignity. When people are
afraid, it doesn’t mean they lack courage. When people are in pain, it does not
mean they have no hope. It’s very difficult to witness suffering, even more so
when you have to concentrate on it in order to make an effective photograph. What
an honest, sensitive and conscientious photographer would work very hard to
perceive and to capture is that moment when all of those things coexist.
Whatever else one might see or feel when looking at a picture of human
suffering – outrage, sadness, disbelief – I think an essential reaction is a
sense of compassion. Compassion humanizes issues, helps us identify with
others, and requires us to correct that which is unacceptable.”
Peru 2004. Members of the national association of families
of persons missing, detained or held hostage in areas under a state of
emergency demonstrate in Ayacucho. “Photographers are many things –
historians, dramatists, artists – and humanitarians. As journalists, one of
their tasks is to reveal the unjust and the unacceptable, so that their images
become an element in the process of change. In this way, photography is an
important complement to the work of humanitarian organizations.”
Graffiti on the West Bank Barrier. Territories occupied by
Israel, 2007.
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