While reporting and journalism have taken a different turn in the modern times than they were before, the concept of ‘photojournalism’ has emerged and boomed phenomenally. A picture speaks a thousand words and yes, they can literally drive the emotions of people and fill your eyes within seconds! I may write a thousand words using all my creativity but what a photograph speaks is brief and deep and can evoke the emotions of practically any person in the world.
There have been countless times that photojournalism proved its worth; from the pictures of people affected by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in Japan way back during the World War, the victims of the fatal Bhopal Gas tragedy in India to the very recent pictures of people and kids affected by droughts and famines are heart wrenching.
Photojournalists in Turkey yet again proved the power of photographs when this heart-wrenching picture of a 3 year old toddler named Aylan Kurdia went viral on the internet. The picture was taken when Aylan’s body was found ashore in Turkey after the boat his family had taken to flee from Syria met with bad weather conditions and drowned. The picture of the cute little boy lying dead on the shores is surely something that made news in the media worldwide and broke the hearts of people. We may not know the atrocities that are done to people in Syria or in any other country across the world for that matter but, this one picture shows the condition of the country and what people and even children are going through. Along with Aylan, his elder brother and mother also got washed away by the tides.
If this wasn’t enough to fill your eyes with tears then here is another picture of a very cute little girl, again from Syria, who surrendered herself after a photographer tried to click her. The child, aware of all the atrocities that go on in the country, thought that the camera was a weapon and that she was going to die. Her expression says everything; she is terrified, sad and helpless and it surely is absolutely heartbreaking to see kids as small as the ones in the pictures suffering pain every day and leading their lives in fear.
We all know what goes on in Syria and the violence that prevails in the country from various terrorist groups. Although this kind of torture does not prevail in India, even India has countless pictures of people and children that are heartbreaking and speak a thousand words. Just go to Google and type malnutritioned children in India and you will get pictures with the power to fill our eyes easily. This is the current situation of the world; if children are subjected to this, can we imagine what is happening with the teens, adults and the parents of these children? (I am happy to mention here that the festival of Janmashtami has been decided to be a low-key affair by some organizers considering the drought prevalent in Maharashtra currently and many of them have also vowed to donate the prize amount to the drought-affected people. A commendable intiative, really!)
There was a news in the media about a month ago where a kid’s mother was brutally kid when the two were fast asleep during the night. The poor kid witnessed the horror of her mother being killed at an age when all she could do was recognize her mother. The kid cried the entire night unless her mother’s body was discovered the next morning. This is what the world is coming up to! Enmity has reached such a stage where people don’t even bother about kids or give a second thought to killing them or their families. SHAME TO HUMANITY!
The power is these pictures is surely huge to even make an emotionless person’s heart break. Photojournalism surely has a long way to go!
Also check out 50 of the world's most iconic photos and the story behind them!
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