Fabio Bucciarelli has been awarded, in the space of two days, two of the world’s most prestigious photojournalism prizes: the World Press Photo (second place in the Spot News category), whose awards ceremony was held in Amsterdam from April 25 to 27, and the Robert Capa Gold Medal, given out in New York by the Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) on April 24. Bucciarelli also recently received 3rd place at the Sony World Photo Awards, in the Current Affairs category.
Both awards were given in recognition of Bucciarelli’s courage in his coverage of the Syrian Civil War, which continues to rage two years after its outbreak. With a head-on style that looks beyond the gory scenes on the streets of Aleppo, Bucciarelli documents the efforts of the rebels fighting the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, and their unwavering, heroic determination. We see the horrors of violence spilling through the streets, the swollen, bloodied flesh of a life cut short by mortar fire, flags wrapped around buildings as if flown at half-mast, incessant killing for no other reason than a disturbed man’s refusal to listen to cries for democracy, a man whose insatiable lust for power has led him wage a disproportionate war against ill-defined enemies. Chaos reigns. Bombs falls at random. For Syrians, the mere act of going out for food is to risk one’s life. Bucciarelli’s photograph of a grandmother resignedly crossing a deadly intersection, shopping bag in hand, illustrates the fragility of a population that, although weighed down by carnage, refuses to give in.
Laurence Cornet
Read the full text on the French version of Le Journal.
