photography

Arab Australian photographer Sabra a finalist in the Qantas Spirit of Youth awards

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Gazing at a portrait of Gaza

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Stephanie Zevenbergen

March 5, 2013

Hume Weekly 

HIS photographs portray a silent picture of suffering in Palestine, of people stuck in violent conflict.

Telling the stories of refugees in Palestine through photography is close to Ahmad Sabra’s heart.

For the 27-year-old Broadmeadows resident, a recent trip to the Gaza Strip in Palestine proved memorable in more ways than one. Firstly, it was a trip back to his native land; now the photos he took there are receiving accolades in Australia.

Sabra, a photographer, is one of 13 national finalists in the Qantas spirit of youth awards 365 (SOYA), which offer the first-prize winner $5000 for air travel.

Last year, across 11 categories, SOYA drew more than 20,000 entries from more than 2400 young artists, designers, filmmakers, photographers and musicians.

Sabra is also one of 53 finalists for the National Portrait Gallery’s national photographic portrait prize. The winner takes home $25,000.

He says photographing refugees has personal meaning for him as he migrated to Australia from Lebanon in 1997. ‘‘I have a soft spot for them,’’ he says. ‘‘Growing up in Lebanon we used to see all the refugee camps. Going back to Gaza and seeing their living conditions motivated me to do more with Palestine.’’

Sabra’s work includes portraits of Palestinian orphans, young refugees and fishermen.

The photo he entered in the National Portrait Gallery is of a child whose father was killed by Israel.

‘‘The child in the orphanage has got a quirky smile on his face,’’ he says.

‘‘Most of the people in Gaza are refugees. My whole idea was to document living as a refugee.

‘‘Government policies in Australia should be supporting the Palestinian cause. Another reason I take these photos is to raise awareness of what they go through and to possibly help.’’

The national photographic portrait prize-winner will be announced on Thursday and the SOYA winner on March 11.

This article appeared in Hume Weekly

(A correction was made since this article was first posted, Hume Weekly made an error  Sabra is of  Syrian Arab origin, therefore the title of this posting changed from Palestinian Australian to Arab Australian.  Thanks to Sabra for bringing this to my attention)

The war in Gaza: photographing the conflict

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The Guardian

Associated Press photographer Bernat Armangué tells the story behind some of his images that have featured on front pages around the world in the last week

Palestinians flee their homes after an Israeli forces strike on nearby a sports field

Palestinians flee their homes after an Israeli forces strike on a nearby sports field

During this last Israeli offensive inside the Gaza Strip we were working 18 hours every day, non stop. We usually started at 5am taking pictures of the Israeli air strikes and rockets launched by Palestinian militants. At first light we would cover the direct consequences of these air strikes: destroyed buildings, bodies in the hospital morgues and funerals. In situations like this, there is no fixed agenda; reality changes every minute. It is the experience you have as a photographer and a certain level of improvisation that leads you to tell the story as well as you can and as fast as possible. Our working day finished late at night and then we would attempt to do normal things: eat, take a shower and try to sleep in between the air strikes.

You don’t decide what to photograph, you decide where not to photograph, which is always based on a hypothetical average of risk. There were certain areas that were constantly affected by bombs, which I avoided. My main priority was to show the life of the people in Gaza; I followed them in their houses, on the streets, to the morgues.

The way the people of Gaza face their reality is very different to my life. I guess I tried to transmit some of this through the pictures. In my job, I work with a team of journalists, photojournalists and TV crews. Everyone tells the same story in a different format. But specifically on the street I work with my colleague Majeed Hadman, known as a “fixer”. He helps me in everything; he’s half of my vision and my hearing and most importantly: he’s my friend.

Smoke rises after an Israeli forces strike in Gaza City by Bernat Armangue

Smoke rises after an Israeli forces strike in Gaza CityThis air strike (pictured above) was at around 6 in the morning. It’s just in front of our office building, which is why I had this close view. But due to the proximity of the explosion, it was complicated to shoot: we strongly felt the air-expansion caused by the blast, the extremely loud sound and obviously your heart accelerates a little.

A Palestinian man kisses the hand of a dead relative in the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City

A Palestinian man kisses the hand of a dead relative in the morgue of Shifa hospitalThis was the last picture I took that day. I spent most of the day taking photographs of Palestinian rescue workers recovering people under the rubble of homes – some of them alive, some of them dead. That day 11 members of the al-Dallu family were killed when an Israeli missile struck the two-storey home of the family in a residential area of Gaza City. Some bodies were recovered and brought to the morgue, so I went there to take some pictures. While I was there, another family came to check if it was true that one of their relatives had been killed. They cried, held his body and one of them kissed his hand while saying goodbye. It was a rare tender moment there.

A Palestinian woman is helped after being injured during an Israeli forces strike

A Palestinian woman is helped after being injured during an Israeli forces strike next to her houseIt was early in the morning and we heard an explosion nearby. We arrived at the scene (pictured above) and saw a woman injured by shrapnel. She was being helped to safety.

Palestinian mourners cry during the funeral of Salem Paul Sweliem during his funeral in Gaza City

Palestinian mourners cry during the funeral of Salem Paul SweliemMost of the population in Gaza are Muslim, but there is also a Christian community. A member of the family pictured above died of shrapnel wounds after an air strike. The photograph shows the family members leaving their house to attend the funeral mass.

A Palestinian man rides past a destroyed area after an Israeli airstrike

A Palestinian man rides past a destroyed area after an Israeli airstrikeThis building (pictured above) was destroyed during the night. It was aHamas government complex known as Abu Khadra. It is less than 100m from our office, so we literally jumped from our beds during the air strike due to the loud noise and the shaking of our building. I arrived at the scene at first light and started to take pictures. Donkeys are used a lot as transport in Gaza, and I guess this man was probably on his way to work.

Osama Abdel Aal is rescued after his family house collapsed during an Israeli strike in Tufah, Gaza

Osama Abdel Aal is rescued after his family house collapsed during an Israeli forces strike in the Tufah neighbourhoodThis picture shows Osama Abdel Aal moments after being rescued. His family house collapsed during an Israeli forces strike in the Tufah neighbourhood. The first thing he did was point and tell the rescue team that there were other family members buried beneath the rubble.

This article appeared in The Guardian Photography Blog