ZEKE: Fall 2016

ZEKE 

FALL 2016 VOL.2/NO.2 $8.00 

THE MAGAZINE OF GLOBAL DOCUMENTARY 

FEATURED ARTICLES 

CUBA 

Photographs by Susan S. Bank, 

Fulvio Bugani, Susi Eggenberger, 

Michael McElroy, Carolina 

Sandretto, Rodrigue Zahr 

VINNY & DAVID 

LIFE & INCARCERATION OF A FAMILY 

Photographs by Isadora Kosofsky 

ROHINGYA&STATELESS 

Photographs by Sheikh Rajibul Islam, 

Marta Tucci, & David Verberckt 

Published by Social Documentary Network

A Global Network for Documentary Photography 

Above. Artist and educator 

Shanee Epstein talks with 

New York City public school 

students about SDN’s 

LiveZEKE exhibition at 

Photoville, September 2016, 

Brooklyn, NY. 

2015 SDN Exhibition at the 

Bronx Documentary Center 

on the theme of Visual 

Stories Exploring Global 

Themes. 

We strongly believe in the power of visual 

storytelling to help us understand and 

appreciate the complex ities, nuances, 

wonders, and contradictions that abound 

in the world today. 

SDN is not just for photographers 

SDN is also for editors, curators, 

students, journalists, and others who 

look to SDN as a showcase for talent 

and a source of visual information 

about a complex and continually 

changing world. 

SDN is more than a website 

Today we have grown beyond the boundaries 

of a computer screen and are engaged in exhibitions, 

educational programs, publications, 

call for entries, and providing opportunities for 

photographers. 

Michael Kamber (left), director 

of the Bronx Documentary 

Center, and Glenn Ruga (right) 

SDN director, at opening 

reception for SDN exhibition at 

the Bronx Documentary Center. 

Exhibits: SDN has presented six major 

exhibitions showcasing the work of 

dozens of photographers in New York, 

Chicago, Boston, Portland, Maine, Milan 

and other cities across the world. 

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reaches more than 8,500 global contacts 

that include editors, curators, photographers, 

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ZEKE Magazine: Turn the pages of this 

magazine to see SDN’s newest initiative. 

assignmentLINK: Need a photographer 

in Niger, Uzbekistan, or another hard-toreach 

location? We can find one for you 

fast. 

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in panel discussions, conferences, 

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festivals. 

Photo Fellowship: SDN has partnered 

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offer six Photo Fellowships, providing a 

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document MSH’s public health work in 

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Special Issue and Interviews: SDN 

publishes online Special Issues exploring 

in greater depth themes presented by 

SDN photographers. 

Photograph by Arie 

Kievit from Refugees 

from Syria Making 

Their Way North 

Through Europe, 

on SDN. 

Join us! And become part of the 

Social Documentary Network 

www.SocialDocumentary.net



Published by Social Documentary Network 

Dear ZEKE readers: 

Welcome to the fourth issue of ZEKE magazine! After 

publishing four issues of a print magazine, we are 

now ready for something new and innovative with 

the documentary image. 

From September 22–25 at Photoville in Brooklyn, 

NY, we presented a totally new concept in documentary—LiveZEKE. 

Building on the foundation of a feature article in the spring 2016 

issue of ZEKE, “The Forgotten Caucasus,” we did something that has 

never been done before. We brought the subjects of a documentary 

into live video conversation with the viewers of the exhibition. Why? 

Why not? The technology already exists. We didn’t need to invent a 

new app or device. Rather we invented a new concept whose time is 

ripe. Throughout 175 years of photographic history, the subjects of 

photographs were not in direct conversations with the viewers—until 

last month at Photoville. There is a lot of discussion about documentary 

photography empowering marginalized communities and giving voice to 

the voiceless. Now we are doing exactly that with LiveZEKE. 

LiveZEKE is not meant to cut out the photographer. On the contrary, it 

is essential that the photographer and their work are part of this concept; 

not only to give it a creative and conceptual framework, but also 

because no one is more motivated to bring their subjects into the gallery, 

and no one has greater respect for their subjects than the photographers 

themselves. And it is that sensitivity that is essential for LiveZEKE 

to succeed. Please visit this link for photos and videos from LiveZEKE at 

Photoville. www.zekemagazine.com/livezeke 

It is always an honor to present the feature articles in each issue of 

ZEKE because I am in awe of the power of these images and the stories 

they tell. Isadora Kosofsky’s essay, Vinny & David: Life & Incarceration of 

a Family, was the winner of our last Call for Entries. Kosofsky has been 

exploring the deleterious effects of mass incarceration on family members, 

and in this article she intimately follows a family in New Mexico, 

focusing on two of the children, Vinny and David, and the family that 

keeps them together. The other two features—Cuba and the Rohingya— 

come from work submitted to the SDN website, as do all features in 

ZEKE. We chose these features because of the merit of the work and 

because these themes are relevant to our times and to our readers. The 

Cuba feature is unique because this is the first article where we have 

presented only one image per photographer. I hope you appreciate 

these images and stories as much as I have. 

Glenn Ruga 

Executive Editor 

CONTENTS 

CUBA 

Photographs Susan S. Bank, Fulvio Bugani, 

Susi Eggenberger, Michael McElroy, 

Carolina Sandretto, and Rodrigue Zahr .......... 2 

Text by Margaret Quackenbush 

VINNY & DAVID: 

Life & Incarceration of a Family 

Photographs by Isadora Kosofsky..................16 


ROHINGYA 

&STATELESS 

Photographs by 

Sheikh Rajibul Islam, Marta Tucci, 

& David Verberckt....................................... 28 

Text by Anne Sahler 

FALL 2016 VOL.2/NO.2 

$8.00 US 

What’s Hot: 

Trending photographers on SDN..................44 

Interview with Malin Fezehai...........46 

by Caterina Clerici 

Where is the Still Image Moving?....48 


Award Winners.................................52 

Book Reviews....................................54 

Cover photo by David Verberckt from The Stateless Rohingya. 

Children playing in makeshift refugee camp for Rohingya from 

Myanmar. Shamplapur, Bangladesh, June 2015. 

ZEKE FALL 2016/ 1

CUBA 

Photographs by Susan S. Bank, 

Fulvio Bugani, Susi Eggenberger, 

Michael McElroy, Carolina 

Sandretto, Rodrigue Zahr 


2 / ZEKE APRIL FALL 2016 

2015

Trinidad, Cuba. 2.12.2015. A Cuban man 

carries a cage with birds in the streets of 

Trinidad. Birds are typically kept at home as 

domestic animals. 

Photograph by Fulvio Bugani 

ZEKE APRIL FALL 2015/ 2016/ 3

CUBA 

Most ZEKE articles feature 2-3 photographers, 

allowing us to show at least 

two images from each. But there is 

probably no other subject on SDN that 

has brought in more quality exhibits 

than Cuba and we have felt compelled 

to offer breadth here rather than depth. 

Why has Cuba been such a popular 

subject? It is certainly not because it 

is easy for norteamericanos to travel 

there—the embargo makes sure of 

that. It is beautiful, as these photographs 

attest. But so is Panama, Costa 

Rica, and many other places in the 

Caribbean and Central America that 

have not produced a fraction of the 

submissions to SDN as Cuba. I have not 

been there myself, but I am fascinated 

by the patina of an aging infrastructure 

that is the backdrop to everything. 

But perhaps more than anything, it is 

the Cuban people who have held on 

against the relentless pressure of their 

northern neighbor, and have done so 

with dignity and grace. 

Yes, Cuba has its problems. I am not 

an apologist for the Castro regime, but 

somehow this tiny island nation has 

produced a highly literate population 

that is vibrant, productive, and both 

physically and emotionally healthy. The 

infant mortality rate in Cuba is lower 

than the United States and is among the 

lowest in the world. Cuba ranks #10 in 

world literacy (the U.S. is 45) and has 

avoided the dire poverty, drug abuse, 

gangs, and violence that many of its 

Caribbean neighbors are plagued with. 

All this is a ripe backdrop for a documentary 

photographer to focus their 

attention on. 

Walker Evans has given us some of 

the most memorable images of Cuba 

prior to the revolution in 1959. The 

revolution itself spurred iconic images 

of Castro by Raymond Burri and others. 

And in the intervening 75 years, many 

photographers have produced extraordinary 

work including Alex Webb and 

Ernesto Bazan among the most wellknown. 

I am thrilled to present here the work 

of six SDN photographers, each who 

have documented Cuba in their own 

unique vision. I only regret that we are 

unable to show more work of each and 

I encourage you to visit their full galleries 

on SDN to see the extent of their 

extraordinary work. 

—Glenn Ruga 

Lucia Carmela Gonzales in her home in Havana 

watching the 2014 World Cup soccer match in 

Brazil. 

Photograph by Carolina Sandretto 

4 / ZEKE FALL 2016

A man fills his plastic buckets with water. 

In Myanmar’s Dala township, where an 

unforgiving dry season evaporates most 

inland natural water sources. A decadelong 

population boom has stressed the few 

resources that remain, so a ration system 

allows people to gather two buckets full of 

water once per day. 



“Let’s start with a cliché: A vintage car 

against one of Cuba’s most iconic landmarks: 

Havana’s Malecón. I’ve always considered 

that a scene like the one above, so much seen 

and overly shared, was going to be the last 

thing to capture my attention when I got there. 

I was wrong.” 

Photograph by Rodrigue Zahr 


In 1959 more than 1 million Cubans 

were illiterate and many more sub-literate. 

Today Cuba boasts a 96% literacy rate. 

Photograph by Susi Eggenberger 

8 / ZEKE APRIL FALL 2016 2015



What is the cost of the clothes on your back? For most 

consumers the answer is a simple dollar figure, but for 

the millions of low-income workers fueling the global 

garment industry the cost is often much more: education, 

health, safety, and even lives. 

Guillermo and family from the “Cuba: 

As globalization shrinks the world, consumers become 

Campo Adentro” series, a portrait of 

increasingly distanced tobacco from farmers their in goods’ the Valley origins of Vinales, and 

subsequently from the Pinar woeful del Rio realities Province, Cuba. of garment 

workers, a labor force Photograph subjected by to Susan long S. days Bank for 

low pay in hazardous conditions. By capturing their 

deplorable realities, photographers bring consumers 

face-to-face with the beginning of the global assembly 

line, prompting viewers to question their roles 

as conscious consumers. 

As rising demands of the middle class stress the 

garment industry, factory owners compromise 

worker safety for profit. Never were the consequences 

of this trade-off more clear than the 

April 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, 

the deadliest accident in the history of the garment 

industry, documented here by K.M. Asad. 

Reflecting on its aftermath, Suvri Kanti Das’s 

poignant images chronicle survivors’ recoveries, 

exposing the true cost of cheap apparel. 



Havana has always been a city of many 

contradictions—from its crumbling yet 

graceful colonial and baroque buildings to 

the 1950s-era cars that roam its potholed 

streets. But behind all the contradictions, 

there is a certain vibrancy that the Cuban 

people possess; and despite the best efforts 

of their government and the powers to the 

north, there are traces everywhere that the 

sun will again shine on Cuba. 

Photograph by Michael McElroy 


People at night on the streets of Santiago de Cuba. Photo by Fulvio Bugani from 

“Under the Surface” on SDN. 

CUBA 

Open a typical travel guide 

A NATION 

to Cuba, and you’ll see 

pictures of grandiose 

DEFROSTING 

squares, crumbling 

facades, street dogs sleeping 

in dusty doorways and 

alleys draped with dangling 

electrical wires. Cuba is a 

Text by Margaret 

country frozen in time, or at 

Quackenbush 

least that’s what the guidebooks 

say. It’s a country where, 

according to legend, progress 

stopped in the 1950s, where 

vintage cars bump along 

cobblestone streets in Havana 

and pristine beaches stretch 

along the coasts. 

But since the curtain 

began to lift between the 

United States and Cuba after 

the countries announced a 

renewed relationship in 2014, 

that romantic imagery has 

begun to fade. Guidebooks 

once described how to sneak 

into Cuba through Canada 

and how to skirt fines associated 

with violating the 1963 

Trading with the Enemy Act 

that barred Americans from 

spending money there, now 

they point out shopping malls 

and souvenir shops. Tourists 

can catch a Rolling Stones 

concert, stay in a Starwood 

hotel, fly direct from Chicago 

or float down on Carnival 

Cruises. There’s no denying it: 

Cuba has changed. 

Some say these changes 

are for the better. In his speech 

announcing that the U.S. would 

restore diplomatic relations 

with Cuba, President Obama 

argued that increased engagement 

with Americans through 

commerce, travel and free flow 

of information would improve 

the lives of the Cuban people. 

“Today, the United States 

wants to be a partner in 

making the lives of ordinary 

Cubans a little bit easier, 

more free, more prosperous,” 

Obama said in his December 

17, 2014 speech. 

But many fear that a sudden 

rush of American tourists 

has put a strain on the country 

and its tiny tourist industry. 

Christopher P. Baker, a travel 

writer and Cuba travel expert, 

believes that Cuba as America 

imagines it is already beginning 

to fade. 

“The past two years has 

witnessed a massive surge in 

foreign visitors to Cuba. First, 

U.S. travelers traveling primarily 

on people-to-people group 

tours,” Baker said. “But also 

Europeans—especially young 

adults—flocking to Cuba as 

never before to experience it 

‘before the Americans ruin it.’” 

Baker and others who have 

a long history of traveling to 

Cuba before the restrictions 

were lifted worry that tourist 

towns and historical sites won’t 

be able to withstand the sudden 

influx. 

“Certain core destinations, 

such as Trinidad and Vinales, 

are already beyond the tipping 

point of sustainability due 

to the throng of new visitors. 

In these places, the ‘innocent’ 

Cuba of fame is already fading 

into myth,” Baker said. 

History Matters 

To understand America’s 

romanticization of “innocent” 

Cuba, it’s important to understand 

the nation’s long and tangled 

history with the U.S. Cuba 

became a Spanish colony after 

Christopher Columbus arrived 

in 1492, and continued as one 

until the end of the Spanish- 

American War. In 1898, a 

defeated Spain signed the 

rights to its territories, including 

Guam, Puerto Rico and Cuba, 

over to the U.S. But by 1902, 

Cuba gained independence, 

with the understanding that the 

U.S. could intervene when it 

deemed necessary and that it 

be granted a perpetual lease 

on its Guantánamo Bay naval 

base. 

Following independence, 

Cuba flourished with new 

economic development and 

investment from the U.S. But 

the country suffered from 

political corruption and a 

succession of tyrannical 

leaders until January 1959, 

when Fidel Castro overthrew 

President Fulgencio Batista. 

The U.S. initially recognized 

Castro’s new regime, but his 

communist leanings, nationalization 

of private land and 

companies, and heavy taxation 

of American goods led the 

Eisenhower Administration to 

levy trade restrictions on the 

country. From there, tensions 


In March of this year, 

President Obama became the 

first American president since 

1928, when Calvin Coolidge 

was in office, to visit Cuba. 

escalated; Cuba warmed its 

relationship with the Soviet 

Union and the U.S. cut all 

diplomatic ties, with President 

Kennedy making the embargo 

permanent in 1962. 

Cuba suffered. While its 

economy stalled from the 

sudden removal of Americanmade 

products upon which 

it relied, the U.S. launched 

a series of poorly executed 

missions aimed at toppling the 

government, from the disastrous 

Bay of Pigs to several 

attempts on Castro’s life. In 

1962, tensions peaked during 

the Cuban Missile Crisis when 

U.S. spy planes discovered 

Soviet missiles being built on 

Cuban soil. 

For the next 20 years, relations 

simmered and Cubans 

fled in droves to seek asylum 

in America. When the Soviet 

Union crumbled in the 1990s, 

the Cuban economy began to 

nosedive, subjecting citizens 

to frequent food shortages and 

power outages. But by the time 

Obama took office in 2008, 

America’s stance on Cuba had 

become rapidly outdated and 

unpopular both at home and 

abroad. The embargo had 

failed to change Cuba’s political 

system and caused needless 

hardship for the Cuban 

people. In response, Obama 

slowly shifted the policy on 

Cuba: his administration made 

it easier for Cuban Americans 

to travel and send remittances, 

and he spent months secretly 

negotiating to open relations. 

Finally, in December 2014, 

Obama announced that the 

two countries would restore full 

diplomatic relations. And in 

March of this year, he became 

the first American president 

since 1928, when Calvin 

Coolidge was in office, to visit 

Cuba. 

The benefit of this increased 

engagement between the two 

countries is clear-—American 

travel to Cuba has increased 

54 percent since 2014, 

American companies are 

widening their reach into 

Cuba, and the Cuban government 

has taken steps to expand 

internet access for its people. 

A new middle class of Cubans 

is emerging, with more ready 

cash than ever, spurring spending 

on private enterprise and 

consumer goods. But what isn’t 

clear is the long-term effect this 

will have on Cuban society. 

According to Baker, the 

A neighborhood near El Capitolio, Havana. Photo by Michael McElroy from 

“In the Midst of Ruins” on SDN. 

influx of money and American 

influence will undoubtedly 

chip away at the traditional 

Cuban way of life: “much of 

this money is being invested in 

businesses, but much is now 

being spent on conspicuous 

consumption items—a first for 

Cuba—such as iPhones and 

flashy watches. Values are 

shifting towards a monetized 

consumerist way of thinking 

that is inevitably weakening 

Cuba’s exemplary community 

and family-focused system.” 

Where is the 

Revolution Headed? 

Others worry that the changes 

will undo the gains of the 

revolution by restoring inequality 

and classes of “haves” 

and “have-nots.” But according 

to a report from the Pew 

Research Center, the Cuban 

government remains the source 

of more than 75 percent of 

the country’s economic activity. 

The communist party still 

Certain core destinations, 

such as Trinidad and Vinales, 

are already beyond the 

tipping point of sustainability 

due to the throng of new 

visitors. 

— Christopher P. Baker, 

Travel writer and Cuba travel expert 

rules, headed by General 

Raul Castro, and according to 

Pew, 49 percent of Americans 

believe that exposure to U.S. 

tourists and culture will do 

little to promote democracy 

in Cuba. So while Cubans 

now have better access to 

American consumer goods, 

pop culture and celebrity 

tourists, it is still a communist 

nation that prioritizes common 

effort above individual 

enterprise. 

Havana. Photo by Rodrigue Zahr from 

“Cuba, a Defrosting Nation” on SDN. 

Has Cuba fundamentally 

changed? It’s far too early 

to tell. But we know that 

American attitudes towards 

Cuba fundamentally have: 

a Gallup poll from February 

of this year showed that for 

the first time, a majority of 

Americans have a favorable 

view of Cuba. Seventy-three 

percent of U.S. citizens 

approve of the thaw in 

relations, according to Pew. 

Americans are learning more 

about Cuba than ever before, 

by experiencing it first-hand 

as tourists or by reading about 

it from the flood of journalists 

who have entered the country 

since the restrictions ended. 

As Obama said in his 

December 2014 speech, 

this new outlook on Cuba 

will benefit both countries by 

promoting a better understanding 

of the values and beliefs 

on both sides. “I believe that 

we can do more to support the 

Cuban people, and promote 

our values, through engagement. 

After all, these fifty years 

have shown that isolation has 

not worked. It’s time for a new 

approach.” 


Vinny and David laugh as they decide 

what to order at a restaurant. 


VINNY & DAVID 

LIFE AND INCARCERATION OF A FAMILY 

Photographs by Isadora Kosofsky 

For two young boys living in New Mexico, 

America’s criminal justice system is about 

more than statistics and trends--it’s a 

harrowing tale of love, loss and 

sorrow. 

Overlooking the remnants of Volongo 

wharf where millions of African slaves first 

stepped foot on Brazilian soil, Providencia 

Hill is of particularly significant historical 

importance. The origin of Afro-Brazilian 

culture, the area’s diversity gave way to rich 

musical, dance, and religious traditions. 

Photograph by Dario De Dominicis 


Vinny and David’s story, 

illuminated in Los Angelesbased 

documentary photographer 

Isadora Kosofsky’s 

intimate portraits, begins when 

13-year-old Vinny is sent to 

juvenile detention after stabbing 

his mother’s attacker. 

Before he’s released, his 

beloved 19-year-old brother 

David is also imprisoned for 

aggravated assault. Kosofsky’s 

photographs document Vinny 

and David’s lives through 

several years as they struggle 

to find stability amidst a 

tumultuous criminal history and 

troublesome home life. 

The photos shed light on the 

realities of America’s criminal 

justice system, and how it 

affects the vulnerable population 

of children left behind 

when a loved one goes to 

prison. Vinny and David 

humanize the challenges that 

families and communities 

affected by incarceration 

face—the stigma, poverty, 

instability and inequality. 

Kosofsky captures, in 

heart-wrenching detail, the 

melancholy world of these two 

boys as they struggle to raise 

themselves and search for a 

loving and supportive family 

structure in each other. 

Vinny stands in command call at the 

juvenile detention center. 



Eve places her head on David’s back, 

while he draws a picture of a clown 

in his notebook. Eve confides, “I’m 43 

years old. Why do we hurt the ones we 

love the most? I just want love.” 




Cleyde washes her younger sister’s hair. 

Unfortunately, the training program has faced 

financial setbacks: the salon’s rent was two 

months behind when this photograph was 

taken, David and shaves no funding his dad’s had hair been for secured to 

provide court. students David’s additional dad was incarcerated 

training business 

during management. David’s childhood. 



Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion 

whose origins go back to the first days 

of Brazil’s slave trade, mixes Roman 

Catholic and indigenous African ideologies. 

Meaning “dance in honor of the 

gods,” Candomblé’s customs heavily 

incorporate music and choreographed 

dances. 

Photograph by Dario De Dominicis 

Felicia and their daughter, 

Lily, see David through 

video visitation at the jail. 



Felicia wraps her legs 

around David who holds 

her in an intimate moment 

on their bed at the motel. 


outside--those left waiting at 

home for their father, mother, 

husband, son or daughter to 

come home. 

Incarceration can be a 

vicious cycle, one that affects 

low-income communities more 

than others, and one that can 

spread like a virus within a 

single family or community. 

The problem touches men more 

than women, and has ballooned 

in recent years. In the 

two decades between 1980 

and 2000, the number of 

children with a father in prison 

rose by 500 percent, according 

to the report, A Shared 

Sentence, from the Annie 

E. Casey Foundation. Scot 

Spencer, associate director of 

advocacy and influence at the 

Annie E. Casey Foundation 

MASSINCARCERATION 

THE SIGNIFICANT BURDEN ON THE FAMILIES LEFT BEHIND 

Above: With her infectious optimism 

and self-determination, LaKeisha Burton 

displays almost nothing of her past; she 

lives, works and dates, as any women 

like her. Yet, these things are exceptional 

for someone who had lost, some might 

say had stolen, nearly two decades 

of the most developmental period in 

her life. Photo by Dana Ullman from 

“Another Kind of Prison” on SDN. 

Between 1980 and 2000, the 

number of children with a 

father in prison rose by 500 

percent. 


Text by Margaret 

Quackenbush 

We live in an era of 

mass incarceration in 

America. According 

to the U.S. Bureau of 

Justice Statistics, more 

than 2.2 million individuals are 

currently in jail or prison. That 

amounts to 1 in 110 adults. 

Even more individuals— 4.5 

million-—are currently on 

parole or probation. 

The “war on drugs,” started 

in 1971 by U.S. President 

Richard Nixon, has had a profound 

effect on the American 

population, and disproportionately 

its minority population. 

Policies aimed at eradicating 

the illegal drug trade have 

placed millions of nonviolent 

offenders in prison serving often 

unjust and harsh sentences. 

But today, many are calling 

for reforms. According to a 

2011 report from the Global 

Commission on Drug Policy, 

“the global war on drugs has 

failed, with devastating consequences 

for individuals and 

societies around the world.” 

Now, advocates are promoting 

reforms that would reduce 

mandatory minimum sentences 

and focus on rehabilitation and 

treatment rather than incarceration. 

Politicians are taking up 

the cause--this year, the federal 

government announced it 

would phase out the use of private 

prisons that offer questionable 

benefit to public safety. 

But while politicians and 

advocates confront the complexities 

of mass incarceration, 

often overlooked is its effect 

on those who remain on the 

who has worked in Baltimore 

and similar cities to break the 

incarceration cycle, believes 

that children like Vinny and 

David are placed at a significant 

disadvantage when a 

parent or guardian is incarcerated. 

“Almost two-thirds left 

behind have a difficult time 

meeting their basic needs… 

often this means that family 

policy decisions have to be 

made, like do they pay rent 

and forgo buying necessary 

medicine? Do they not buy 

food in order to pay utilities?” 

In state and federal prisons, 

45 percent of men age 24 

or younger are fathers and 

more than half of incarcerated 

women in the same age 

group are mothers. This places 

a significant financial burden 


The global war on drugs has 

failed, with devastating consequences 

for individuals and 

societies around the world. 

Global Commission on Drug Policy 

on families left behind, and 

is perhaps the largest barrier 

children with a parent in prison 

face to leading happy and 

successful lives. It is even more 

difficult for children whose 

incarcerated parent is the family’s 

breadwinner. According 

to A Shared Sentence, the 

result perpetuates poverty 

“from one generation to the 

next.” When families can’t 

provide basic needs like food 

and healthcare, children are 

less likely to succeed in school 

and grow into productive 

adults. They are more likely to 

experience housing instability, 

and are often sent to live with 

relatives or forced to relocate 

to more affordable homes. 

And this uncertainty in a child’s 

formative years, when they 

need it most, often results in 

longer-term insecurity. 

Spencer expresses specific 

concern for the education of 

these children: “the instability 

in the household and in school 

can be really difficult--just imagine 

being a child and having 

to move from one school to 

another in the middle of the 

school year and how disruptive 

that might be.” 

The emotional toll on 

children whose families 

are broken apart by prison 

sentences is also profound. 

According to the Sentencing 

Project, 59 percent of parents 

in state prisons and 45 percent 

in federal prisons have not had 

a personal visit with their children 

while incarcerated. For a 

child, that can be devastating. 

Even if a child is living in a 

stable environment throughout 

the time his or her family member 

is incarcerated, the stigma 

associated with it can have a 

lasting impact on their success 

in school and access to opportunity. 

Children typically fear 

discussing their anxieties about 

their incarcerated loved one, 

and counselors and teachers 

are often ill-prepared to help, 

according to Spencer. 

Many of the solutions that 

advocates and concerned 

The Yard, Chowchilla State (Women’s) Prison, California. Photo by Ara Oshagan 

from “A Poor Imitation of Death“ on SDN. 

politicians suggest would allow 

children to maintain a connection 

with their loved ones on 

the inside while also receiving 

the support they need on the 

outside. Groups like the Annie 

E. Casey Foundation and the 

Sentencing Project suggest that 

prisons need to better facilitate 

family visitation to allow 

children to see an incarcerated 

family member more regularly 

and in a less intimidating environment. 

Schools need to learn 

basic skills like how to help 

children affected by incarceration 

understand the feelings 

of loss, anger and anxiety 

they often experience. And 

the government could provide 

legal and financial advice, 

and other counseling services, 

to families while a loved one 

is in prison. Spencer believes, 

ultimately, that America has 

reached a critical point in 

its almost 50-year history of 

mass incarcerations brought 

about by the “war on drugs.” 

He therefore calls for a more 

intense focus on the broader 

impact of mass drug incarcerations 

on America’s vulnerable 

populations. “We need to 

learn lessons from what hasn’t 

worked and use other good 

examples from around the 

country to garner greater 

support for communities and 

families,” Spencer said. “That’s 

what’s really important.” 

Candis, 31, and Camryn, 1, on the way home from visiting Wyoming Correctional Facility on this 24-hour round trip to the 

Wyoming Correctional Facility to see Candis’ husband who is Camryn’s father. Photo by Jacobia Dahn from “In Transit: The 

Prison Buses” on SDN. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION 


www.aecf.org 

The Fortune Society 

www.fortunesociety.org 

Global Commission on Drug 

Policy 

globalcommissionondrugs.org 

Justice Policy Institute 

www.justicepolicy.org 

Sentencing Project 

www.sentencingproject.org 

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics 

www.bjs.gov 


ROHINGYA&STA 

Photographs by Sheikh Rajibul Islam, 

Marta Tucci, & David Verberckt 

Text by Anne Sahler 


TELESS 

In his photo essay “The Stateless 

Rohingya” Belgian photographer David 

Verberckt, who is currently based in 

Hungary, captures the dire everyday 

life of the Muslim ethnic minority, the 

Rohingya, in Myanmar, Bangladesh 

and India. He portrays them as human 

beings deprived of the social, civil and 

human rights that are so often taken for 

granted, thereby giving them a face. In 

doing so, Verberckt increases awareness 

and brings to our attention the too often 

unnoticed humanitarian crisis of the 

Rohingya. 

Rohingya women living under inhumane 

conditions inside IDP (internally 

displaced people) camps in Rakhine 

State, Western Myanmar (formerly 

Burma) provide the backdrop for Marta 

Tucci’s powerfully intimate images. 

Approximately 140,000 Rohingya are 

housed in these camps, hoping for the 

chance of a better life. In her photographic 

essay “Acts of Resilience” Tucci 

highlights the alarming living conditions 

these Rohingya women endure and the 

strength, dignity and resilience they 

demonstrate in the face of overwhelming 

despair. 

Dhaka-based videographer and 

photographer Sheikh Rajibul Islam showcases, 

in his photo essay “Waiting to be 

Registered,” the life the Rohingya face 

daily in the Kutupalong camp on the 

border of Myanmar in Bangladesh. In a 

dark and brooding style, he captures the 

inhumane living conditions and the risks 

of seeking employment as undocumented 

migrants without work permits. 

Modina Khatun is waiting for her husband 

because he went to work five days before 

and hasn’t returned. She doesn’t know if he 

is dead or alive. 

Photograph by Sheikh Rajibul Islam 



Thousands of unregistered Rohingya 

refugees living in the Kutupalong 

makeshift camp, Bangladesh, are being 

forcibly displaced from their homes, in 

an act of intimidation and abuse by the 

local authorities. 

Photograph by Sheikh Rajibul 

Islam 


Rohingya girl in Dar Paing camp for 

internally displaced persons, Sittwe 

township, Myanmar, September 2015 

Photograph by David Verberckt 



Rohingya locked up near a military checkpoint 

in Sittwe, Myanmar, September 2015. 

Photograph by David Verberckt 




Noor Haba, 18, from Boomay, Myanmar, 

inside a bamboo shelter she shares with a 

few other families. Rakhine State, Myanmar, 

July 2013. 

Photograph by Marta Tucci 



Aamina, 54, from 

Thandawly, Myanmar, 

arrived at Takebyin 

unregistered IDP camp in 

the outskirts of Sittwe five 

months ago. “I saw how 

Arakan [Rahkine people] 

killed my son and burned 

my village. Protecting our 

children is the most important 

task. I wish that our 

children can go to school 

and learn, so that they can 

fight the prejudice against 

Rohingya and have a better 

future.” Rakhine State, 

Myanmar, July 2013. 

Photograph by 

Marta Tucci 


The parents send their daughter to someone’s house as a servant. Photo by Sheikh 

Rajibul Islam from “Waiting to be Registered” on SDN. 

Rohingya and the Rakhine, 

the state is also home to the 

ethnic minorities Chin, Kaman, 

Mro, Khami, Dainet and 

Maramagyi. The Myanmar 

government estimates 

1,090,000 Rohingya live in 

Rakhine State, most of them in 

the townships of Buthiadaung 

and Maungdaw in the north. 

Historically, the Rohingya trace 

their origins in the region back 

to the fifteenth century, and 

thereby claim a longstanding 

connection to Rakhine State. 

On the basis of their ethnic 

and religious identity however, 

the Rohingya have been 

subjected to long-standing 

Thailand. Myanmar’s 1982 

Citizenship Law officially 

denied citizenship to the ethnic 

Muslim minority, rendering 

most Rohingya stateless. 

The Plight of Being 

Stateless 

Being stateless, the Rohingya 

are vulnerable to abuse and 

exploitation. They have no official 

documents, no possibility 

of living in any country legally, 

and no access to proper 

medical care, education or 

employment. Through arbitrary 

deprivation of nationality, 

threats to life and security, 

sexual violence, forced labor, 

ROHINGYA &STATELESS 

THE PLIGHT OF THE ROHINGYA, MYANMAR’S PERSECUTED MUSLIM ETHNIC MINORITY 

By Anne Sahler 

Being stateless, the 

Rohingya are vulnerable 

to abuse and exploitation. 

The situation is so dire 

that the United Nations 

(UN) calls Myanmar’s 

Rohingya community one 

of the most persecuted 

minorities in the world. 

The freedom to live a 

self-determined life — 

something most people 

take for granted — is not 

available to the Rohingya, 

an ethnic Muslim minority in 

the predominantly Buddhist 

Myanmar. With severe restrictions 

on movement and limited 

access to basic services, social 

and legal discrimination is 

rampant. While there are 

135 government-recognized 

national ethnic groups in 

Myanmar, the approximately 

one million Rohingya are neither 

recognized as an ethnic 

group nor as residents: they 

are stateless. 

An ethnic Muslim minority 

with their own language 

and culture, the Rohingya are 

primarily living in Myanmar’s 

Rakhine State, one of the 

poorest in the country with a 

total population of approximately 

3.2 million. Besides the 

social and legal discrimination. 

Exclusion by state 

officials, Rakhine politicians, 

Buddhist monks and Rakhine 

civil society activists is commonplace. 

Since the independence 

of Myanmar in 1948, 

successive governments have 

rejected the historical claims 

of the Rohingya and have not 

included them in the list of 135 

recognized ethnic groups. 

Despite the fact that the 

Rohingya have lived in the 

country for centuries, many living 

in Rakhine State consider 

them to be illegal immigrants 

with no social, cultural or 

religious ties to Myanmar. 

“Many Rakhine contest the 

Rohingya’s claims of distinct 

ethnic heritage and historic 

links to Rakhine State,” says 

Chris Lewa, Director of The 

Arakan Project, a human 

rights organization based in 

and severe restrictions on 

freedom of movement (including 

a ban on travelling without 

authorization), the state has 

rendered them ”persona non 

grata.” These non-citizens are 

not even permitted to marry 

without permission from the 

authorities who (theoretically) 

restrict the number of babies 

allowed per family to two 

and have not issued birth 

certificates to Rohingyans 

since 1994. The United 

Nations (UN) calls Myanmar’s 

Rohingya community one of 

the most excluded, vulnerable 

and persecuted minorities in 

the world. 

Since 2012, incidents 

of religious intolerance and 

incitement to violence by 

extremists and ultra-nationalist 

Buddhist groups have 

increased across the country. 

This violence broke out 


etween the two communities 

after a group of Rohingya men 

allegedly raped and murdered 

a Buddhist woman, resulting 

in the killing of hundreds 

and leaving approximately 

140,000 displaced and living 

in makeshift camps. 

The latest acts against 

the Rohingya’s human rights 

include their exclusion from a 

UN-backed national census 

in 2014 after Buddhist 

nationalists threatened to 

boycott the census. More 

recently in 2015, they were 

stripped of their voting rights 

in local and national elections. 

Additionally, there was the 

termination of the Rohingya’s 

identification cards -- the so 

called “white cards” that 

many Rohingya in Rakhine 

State carry but do not confirm 

citizenship. A citizenship verification 

process piloted in 2014 

in Rakhine State’s Myebon 

township, where around 200 

Muslims were granted citizenship 

on the basis that they 

registered as “Bengali,” was 

officially suspended following 

resistance from local Buddhist 

Rakhine. A new pilot exercise 

for citizenship verification 

was conducted in June 2016, 

but it lacked transparency in 

terms of process, its expected 

outcome, and trust-building. 

Trying to escape the severe 

restrictions, discrimination, 

and human rights abuses 

perpetrated by the authorities, 

hundreds of thousands 

of Rohingya have fled to 

neighboring Bangladesh over 

the past decades. Others 

have sought refuge in various 

countries including Thailand, 

Malaysia, Indonesia and 

Saudi Arabia. Approximately 

32,000 Rohingya live as 

registered refugees in official 

camps in Bangladesh with 

another 17,000 in nearby 

makeshift camps. An additional 

200,000 denied official 

refugee status are living in 

cities in Bangladesh. But the 

hope of finding a better life in 

Bangladesh is remote at best. 

As in Myanmar, the Rohingya 

are stateless and treated as 

“illegal economic immigrants” 

without the protection of the 

law and legal status. They are 

restricted from regular sources 

of food, income, formal education, 

and reliable health care. 

The Challenging Road 

Ahead 

There is little doubt surrounding 

the vulnerability of the 

Rohingya or the necessity of 

a permanent resolution. It is 

incumbent upon authorities in 

Myanmar to not only address 

the policies of discrimination 

and hatred faced by the 

Rohingya and other minorities, 

but also to implement reforms 

Rohingya boy working as daily labor for Bangladeshi fishing boat owners, 

Shamplapur, Bangladesh, June 2015. Photo by David Verberckt from “The 

Stateless Rohingya” on SDN. 

Noor Nara, 40, from Boomay. “In the beginning of the monsoon season, 

Arakanese police came to remove us from our camp and take us to another 

site that was registered. They wanted me to sign a paper saying I am Bengali. 

Arakan already took my family and my home, but they cannot take my dignity. 

Dead or alive, I am Rohingya.” Rabba Gardens IDP camp. Rakhine State, Burma/ 

Myanmar, July 2013. Photo by Marta Tucci from “Acts of Resilience” on SDN. 

against ethnic and religious 

discrimination. Re-integrating 

the Rohingya into the political, 

social, and economic life of 

the country is a critical step 

forward in Myanmar’s march 

towards democracy. 

Myanmar cannot, from 

an ethnic point of view, be 

considered politically stable as 

the country has yet to manage 

“The road ahead is, however, 

paved with numerous and 

complex challenges, but the 

new government has now an 

important opportunity to 

address ongoing human 

rights abuses in Rakhine 

State with regard to the 

stateless Rohingyas.” 

Chris Lewa 

Director of the Arakan Project 

not only the Rohingya tension, 

but also tensions between 

other minorities which make 

up 40 percent of the country’s 

population. Still, many 

pin their hopes on Myanmar 

leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 

Nobel Peace Prize winner 

known internationally for her 

fight for democracy. To this 

point however, addressing 

the Rohingya tension is not 

a top priority of the nation. 

Nevertheless, there are some 

initial steps being taken by 

the government, including the 

creation of a Ministry of Ethnic 

Affairs, the establishment of a 

central committee on the implementation 

of peace, stability 

and development of Rakhine 

State, and a national peace 

conference held in the autumn 

of 2016. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Council on Foreign Relations 

www.cfr.org 

European Commission 

Humanitarian Aid and Civil 

Protection 

ec.europa.eu/echo 

Fortify Rights 

www.fortifyrights.org 

International State Crime 

Initiative 

statecrime.org 

Minority Rights Group 

International 

minorityrights.org 

Office of the High 

Commissioner for Human 

Rights 

www.ohchr.org 

The Arakan Project 

www.burmalibrary.org 

United Nations High 

Commissioner for Refugees 

www.unhcr.org 


WHAT’S HOT! 

TRENDING 

PHOTOGRAPHERS 

ON SDN 

Of the hundreds of exhibits submitted to SDN 

each year, these four stand out as exemplary 

and deserving of further attention. 

Mandy Glinsbockel: After the War: Portraits of Tamil Women. 

Mandy Glinsbockel is an award-winning documentary photographer 

from Canada. She is driven by storytelling with a focus women's 

social issues, education and empowerment. Publications of her work 

include National Geographic Society, Foundation of Sustainable 

Development, Aura Freedom International and Photo District News 

magazine. 

Elina Kostabi: Thinning Out of Clouds (Estonia). Elina 

Kostabi is an Estonian photographer focusing on long-term 

studies on society and the environment. This project is 

about young people who have chosen an unconventional 

path. They don’t care about fashion, social networks, or 

luxury. Instead they are living in relative seclusion, in remote 

countryside because they are after healthy life, clean air, and 

a sense of freedom. 

Miora Rajaonary: I See You With My Heart (South Africa). 

Miora Rajaonary’s project is a series of intimate portraits 

documenting interracial couples living in the Gauteng province 

of South Africa. It is one of the first documentary projects to 

examine interracial relationships in post-apartheid South Africa, 

and to explore the progress made and the challenges still faced 

by South African society to achieve full reconciliation, through 

the spectrum of interracial relationships. 

Tom Atwood: Kings & Queens in Their Castles. This is the 

most ambitious photo series ever conducted of the LGBT 

experience in the United States. Featuring over 200 people at 

home nationwide, the series includes over 75 luminaries. With 

individuals from Maine to California to Florida to Washington 

State, Atwood offers a window into the lives and homes of 

some of America's most intriguing and eccentric personalities. 


ZEKETHE MAGAZINE OF 

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PHOTOGRAPHY WITH GLOBAL IMPACT 

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the best of global 

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to your door and to 

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twice a year. Each issue 

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Network on topics as diverse as the war in Syria, 

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Subscribe today! 

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includes print and digital 

www.zekemagazine.com 

ZEKE is published by the Social Documentary Network (SDN) 

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Photograph by Daro Sulakauri 

ZEKE is publishing great photography 

about important global issues by both 

established and emerging photographers 

from all corners of the world. 

— Ed Kashi, Photographer 

It's time for a 

new kind of 

men's magazine. 

For men who give a damn 

about being better men. 

stand-magazine.com 


Interview 

WITH MALIN FEZEHAI 


Malin Fezehai is an Eritrean-Swedish photographer 

and filmmaker based in New 

York. She focuses on issues of migration 

and displacement. She is a 2015 World 

Press Photo recipient and regularly collaborates 

with TIME, New Yorker, New York 

Times Magazine and the Malala Fund, 

among others. 

as a photographer I gravitate toward 

displaced communities. The feeling of otherness 

is something I feel very connected 

to. We live in an age where people move 

around a lot — I do it because I choose 

to do it, but for a lot of people it’s not a 

choice. They are forced to because of 

circumstances. What I find interesting is the 

effect being displaced has on families and 

communities. 

CC: One of your long terms projects was 

about African refugees in Israel. How did 

you find that story and what drew you to it? 

MF: I am half-Eritrean, and a lot of the 

refugees in Israel are from Eritrea, and 

the second group is Sudanese. I’ve been 

watching the exodus of Eritreans escaping 

from Eritrea and I’ve been interested 

in Israel for a very long time, but for my 

first trip I wanted to cover something 

other than the conflict between Israelis 

and Palestinians. I thought this story was 

a very interesting third rail in the debate 

about the complications of Israel’s desire 

to maintain its demographics. I wanted 

to see for myself what it was like seeking 

I don’t think migration is really 

going to come to a halt. I think 

it’s going to increase, and how 

photography is used is really 

important because it becomes a 

bridge to understanding “the other.” 

—Malin Fezehai 

refugee status in country that was in large 

part founded by refugees, and at the same 

time, it’s a status they have only given out 

to a handful of people who are not Jewish. 

CC: You mentioned the process of ‘othering’ 

and how you relate to being the odd 

one out. Do you think there is a need to 

rethink the way — even in photography — 

that the refugee is presented as ‘the other’? 

MF: It’s really complicated because you 

have many different groups of people fleeing 

for different reasons. Syrians because 

of the war, then you have Eritreans 

because of government persecution, 

and many other groups that get lumped 

together and called “economic migrants.” I 

Caterina Clerici: How did you get into 

photography? 

Malin Fezehai: I took photography 

in high school. I wasn’t great in school 

because I am dyslexic, and when I took 

this photo class I remember getting really 

good grades without making much of an 

effort, so I felt it was the first thing that I 

was good at. After that I became obsessed 

with it. 

CC: How did you transition into the 

big themes you cover — displacement, 

movement of people, mostly forced 

migration? How did your own background 

and personal history influence that? 

MF: I grew up with a mixed background. 

My mother is Swedish and my father is 

Eritrean and in my family we are five 

kids with four different fathers. I have a 

Swedish brother and a Moroccan brother, 

an Egyptian brother and one full brother. 

So I grew up with a lot of different cultures. 

Also, I grew up in the suburbs in an immigrant 

neighborhood in Stockholm. Never 

having attached to one cultural identity, 

Photo by Malin Fezehai. Eritrean Wedding in Haifa, Israel. The wedding of two Eritreans who came to 

Israel as refugees. They are among about 50,000 African asylum seekers living in Israel, mostly from Eritrea 

and Sudan. In December 2013, the Israeli Knesset added an amendment to the “Anti-Infiltration” law requiring 

asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan to be detained for at least a year and then placed indefinitely in an open 

detention center. 


MF: For me, it’s just a really nice moment. 

Here you have these refugees and they’re 

celebrating a marriage. When people 

think about refugees they think about people 

living in a camp or who are destitute. 

They certainly have their issues, but they 

do their best to live their lives with dignity. 

They made themselves look very beautiful 

that day, and I also like the composition of 

them on the stairs. These people are displaced, 

but in that moment they’re trying to 

reclaim their dignity and live their lives and 

celebrate a marriage, like anybody in the 

world would want to do. 

Photo by Malin Fezehai. Tasneen in her shool uniform in her home in a Syrian refugee camp in Bekaa Valley in 

Lebanon. Malin Fezehai/HUMAN for Malala Fund. 

think it’s challenging for the media to 

depict this issue in a nuanced way, and in 

the long run I don’t think migration is really 

going to come to a halt. I think it’s going 

to increase, and how photography is used 

is really important because it becomes a 

bridge to understanding “the other.” 

In regard to the division between 

refugees and economic migrants — today 

it’s as if it wasn’t enough to just want to 

make a better life for yourself, you have to 

be running from war to justify migrating. 

It’s disheartening because people just want 

the same things you want out of life, and 

whatever your opinions might be on migration, 

I would hope that we could agree that 

people shouldn’t be demonized for that. 

CC: Have you ever thought of covering 

that end of the journey — from Europe, 

or maybe even from Sweden? Given your 

experience but also your background, you 

would definitely have more insight than 

many others on a story about resettlement 

and all the adjustments that requires. 

MF: That’s been eating on me a lot, 

actually. I’ve been working a lot in refugee 

camps and then you go over to Europe 

and you just see the disconnect, people 

don’t understand the reality on the ground. 

I was in Lebanon right before the refugee 

crisis was considered a crisis in Europe, 

and I myself didn’t understand the full 

scope of the problem. 

I have thought about covering the 

refugee crisis and there are some things 

I’m researching, but I’m still trying to 

figure out the angle that I want to focus 

on. I tend to choose stories that nobody 

is covering, and if I were to cover a story 

that’s in the news a lot, I would want to 

find a specific angle. 

My mother right now is taking care 

of six Afghan boys that came to Sweden 

unaccompanied. So it’s something that is 

very present in my life because when I go 

to see my mother, there are refugees in my 

own home. It’s a reality we are going to 

have to deal with. 

I was thinking about that when I 

was growing up too, because [in our 

neighborhood] we had refugees from 

Kurdistan, from Iran. You look at the news 

and then a few years pass and you start 

seeing people from these places showing 

up in your neighborhood and living where 

you live. So it’s in everybody’s interests to 

be concerned and informed with current 

events. 

People are alarmed about the influx of 

refugees to Europe but they should think 

about the fact that, within Africa and the 

Middle East, you’re dealing with migration 

on a much larger scale. You can look at 

Ethiopia, Kenya, or Lebanon, countries that 

have been hosting millions of refugees. So 

it’s important to keep perspective because 

poorer countries have been dealing with a 

mass influx of refugees for years. 

CC: Your Eritrean wedding photo was the 

first Instagram photo to win the World Press 

Photo. What was it about it that made it a 

special picture for you? 

CC: What is your thought process for 

Instagram? How have you, over time, 

realized what works and what doesn’t 

and how do you integrate it with your 

own work? 

MF: I never really put a whole story I’m 

working on up on Instagram, I mostly 

put snippets of my travels. Instagram is a 

home to pictures that otherwise wouldn’t 

have a home. Every day I upload pictures 

that nobody would want to publish, but 

they are still pictures I like. It’s interesting 

because with Instagram you become your 

own outlet and your own editor. 

CC: You have a huge following. What 

does that do to your daily life? Do you 

respond to the comments, are you overwhelmed? 

Now you have a direct connection 

to the audience that you didn’t used to 

have. 

MF: I try to not reflect too much upon it. 

Sometimes when people feel like they’re 

being seen, they start changing and 

becoming a little more self-conscious. 

I want to shy away from that, because 

I think sometimes people do their most 

authentic work when they’re not thinking 

too much about it. 


WHERE IS THE STILL IMAGE MOVING TO? 


In conversation with Fred Ritchin, Dean, the School of the International Center of Photography; Kristen Lubben, 

Executive Director, Magnum Foundation; and Lars Boering, Managing Director, World Press Photo 

The debate about the opportunities and 

challenges of technological change can 

be traced back to the first daguerreotype. 

In an effort to understand where the still 

image is moving to, we decided to open the 

conversation to three personalities behind 

the scenes of the photography world: 

Fred Ritchin, Dean of the School of the 

International Center of Photography; Kristen 

Lubben, a curator and the Executive Director 

of Magnum Foundation; and Lars Boering, 

the Managing Director of World Press 

Photo. All of these institutions have recently 

undergone a makeover, not only to keep up 

with the changing landscape of photography 

but to try and guide that change. 

Photo by Luisa Dörr from the World Press Photo’s Instagram account. Created 

soon after Lars Boering became Managing Director, the account now has 

284,000 followers. 

Over the last few years, the world of photography seems to have 

been literally turned upside down: with unprecedented speed, 

the dynamics revolutionizing the field over the past decade have 

become trends that media companies must not discount — at 

least not the ones that wish to survive. 

To borrow a cliché, vertical is the new horizontal, thanks to platforms 

like Snapchat and Instagram, whose mobile-only audience, 

especially the younger one, dictates the rules of the format. News 

websites as well as social media feeds are dominated by moving 

images, whether GIFS or videos on loop, or anything that can grab 

attention and page views. At the same time, a set of cardboard 

goggles to view virtual reality gets delivered directly to your doorstep, 

with your morning paper. 

New technologies and habits have made photography an invaluable 

tool of documentary and journalism. And the more tangible the 

presence of photography around us, the more questions arise: where 

is the democratization of the medium leading, as far as both the 

creation and the consumption of the product? What audience and 

whose trust are photographers seeking? How do changes in labels 

— from photojournalism to visual journalism, and from multimedia to 

digital storytelling — reflect changes in practice? 

New Names, Same Practices 

Since becoming Managing Director of 

World Press Photo (WPP) in November 

2014, Lars Boering has had one mantra: 

act towards change, instead of reacting 

to it. 

“Hardly anybody is arguing that multimedia 

will go away,” says Boering. “That’s 

the voodoo of photography. This will all 

pass. With photography, in the 175 years 

that it has existed, anyone who has tried to 

battle change has always lost.” 

“World Press Photo originally started the 

multimedia contest because they couldn’t 

avoid it anymore, which is a terrible position 

to be in. You should be out there, you 

should be the first.” 

That’s why Boering decided to set up 

an Instagram account for WPP as soon as 

he started with the institution just over 18 

months ago. By regularly posting winning 

photos from the contest and having 

photographers do “takeovers,” WPP now 

has 284,000 followers. With that same 

mindset, he now is pushing to be the first to 

get rid of the ‘multimedia’ label for one of 

the sections of the contest, and turn it into 

digital storytelling. 

“I don’t believe in analog anymore: the 

chemicals are gone, nobody is producing 

the film anymore, in five years it will 

be gone,” Boering explained in a Skype 

interview. 


Photo from the set of the VR film Collisions about nuclear testing in the Australian 

outback in the 1950s, presented at the 2015 Magnum Photography Expanded 

Rather than photography becoming 

obsolete altogether, the big threat to 

photographers is to be considered image 

makers and thereby completely left out 

of the creative process. 

Lars Boering, Managing Director, World Press Photo 

“Digital photography and digital 

storytelling match up very nicely — and 

digital involves photography, coding, data 

journalism, etc. This is also the reason why 

I stopped using the name photojournalism 

and changed it to visual journalism.” 

A similar approach was adopted by 

the School of the International Center of 

Photography, where the one-year certificate 

in documentary photography and photojournalism 

has become a course in “documentary 

practice and visual journalism,” 

and added another one-year course of study 

in new media narratives to refer to a much 

larger sense of using imagery — from VR 

filmmaking to photographing with drones, 

not just “old school” still photography. 

“We don’t want people to graduate and 

then find out the world is quite different 

from what they thought it was. We can’t 

just teach Eugene Smith at this point and 

expect it to be enough,” said Fred Ritchin, 

the Dean of the School. 

“There is a new generation [of photographers], 

and things are changing fast for 

those who are willing to take on challenges,“ 

agreed Boering. 

“Since everything moves at light-speed, 

there are no boundaries anymore: you 

can be a photographer today, a designer 

tomorrow, a writer in the afternoon, you 

can publish whatever you want. Everybody 

does it, and yet lots of photographers get 

stuck in being just a photographer. And 

they have a hard time cooperating.” 

Working Together 

Innovation is at the heart of most of 

Magnum Foundation’s grants and initiatives, 

in particular “Photography 

Expanded” which started in 2013 with 

a series of fellowships, panel discussions, 

and workshops. Co-produced with 

Columbia’s Brown Institute for Media 

Innovation, the annual symposium is 

taking place for the fourth time this year 

as Magnum Photos celebrates its 70th 

anniversary. 

Aiming to connect documentary photographers 

with technologies, practices, and 

ideas that extend far beyond still photography, 

“Photography Expanded” also tries 

to create a network, highlighting another 

skill photographers must have to be able to 

thrive nowadays: the willingness and ability 

to collaborate. 

“Photographers are out in the field 

and they are deeply in connection with 

the community they are working with but 

don’t always have opportunities to talk to 

one another about their practices,” said 

Kristen Lubben, who joined the Foundation 

as its first full-time Executive Director in 

December 2015 after being a curator at 

the ICP since 1997. 

“So that’s another thing these new tools 

can potentially be used for: to foster a 

sense of community and a network.” 

According to Lubben, since photographers 

can’t be masters of every emerging 

digital tool, it’s necessary for them to 

collaborate with one another. Not necessarily 

to learn new technologies and new 

ways of working, but instead to connect 

with people who have the skills they lack 

in order to work on a particular project, 

and think collaboratively about it, whether 

the other is a filmmaker, a technologist, an 

activist, an advocate, or a writer. 

Rather than photography becoming 

obsolete altogether, Boering argues that 

the big threat to photographers is to be 

considered image makers and thereby 

completely left out of the creative process. 

“All I see is that visuals and images are 

becoming more important than ever. It’s the 

biggest thing of our generation. So how 

come we’re not be able to connect photographers 

or image makers to their success?” 

For Boering, many photographers look 

for answers in old places and old systems 

and get stuck. Hence they are frustrated 

and don’t think a future for photography 

exists. But the people who don’t get stuck 

succeed, Boering argues. Not only do they 

not get stuck, they also manage to do very 

important work. For Ritchin, in a similar 

way, it’s not the platform that dictates the 

work, but the creativity and ultimately the 

message. 

“People in the old days asked what 

kind of camera do you use. Now it’s what 

platform, and how effective is it in terms of 

getting a readership, a viewership,” said 

Ritchin. “To me, the point is not the technology, 

it’s the creativity. You can choose 

between oil or acrylic, whatever works. 

The big issue is: are people delivering a 

vision the way they want to? Are they trying 

to have an impact in the world in the 

way they want?” 

Ritchin cited Matt Black’s Geography of 

Poverty as an example of a social documentary 

project using Instagram effectively. 

Social media is the first tool that comes to 


When it comes to oppressed minorities, 

there is an incredible power in just being 

pictured, showing your image, claiming 

your image. It’s a way of standing up 

and being counted. 

Kristen Lubben, Executive Director, 

Magnum Foundation 

Photo by Eric Gyamfi of the LGBT community in Ghana. Sometimes the most powerful 

tool is still the simplest. 

mind to expand and engage a photographer’s 

audience, as well as increasing his 

or her visibility — hence the chances of 

making it a sustainable profession. 

“I think we are way beyond the 

conversation of the old school versus 

new school,” Ritchin continued. “We just 

assume that there is a hybrid of options 

and people can just choose. But whether 

you do virtual reality or 35mm photography, 

there still are ethical questions, philosophical 

questions, the issue of fact versus 

fiction and so on, that are across platforms 

and we still have to deal with.” 

New Platforms, Old Questions 

At the last “Photography Expanded” 

conference in October 2015, a number 

of virtual reality projects were shown and 

Lubben recalled that it was “very experimental 

for a photography conference,” 

and probably seemed pointless for most 

photographers to be even thinking about 

VR. However, the next day, The New 

York Times sent its subscribers Google 

Cardboard VR goggles packaged with 

their Sunday paper. 

“To me it was a real signal: this is now 

something that we are talking about, and it 

just forces us to consider what the implications 

are,” she continued. 

Among other VR documentaries screened 

at the conference last year, Lubben recalled 

seeing Collisions, a Sundance-selected VR 

film about nuclear testing in the Australian 

outback in the 1950s. 

“It attempts to use VR to describe somebody 

else’s view of the world. It’s a way 

of trying to visualize how these aboriginal 

elders described their experience. For me, 

that was very powerful as a storytelling 

technique.” 

VR has been the most talked-about step 

forward in the field of visual storytelling 

this year, but Lubben rightly points out that 

it comes with a price — in terms of production 

costs, but also in terms of reach, as the 

audience that will be able to see it is very 

limited. 

“It’s good for photographers to know 

what the possibilities are, but also to be 

really rigorous and thoughtful about why 

do a project in a particular way. If you 

are making a choice to do a very expensive, 

very laborious multimedia project, 

is there really a reason to do it that way? 

Is it going to amplify the story, are you 

going to reach an audience you wouldn’t 

otherwise reach?” 

Sometimes the most powerful tool is still 

the simplest, and that’s where the debate 

comes full circle. As an extremely successful 

example of a very straight-forward documentary 

photography project, Lubben mentioned 

the work of ICP graduate and Magnum 

Foundation grantee Evgenia Arbugaeva, 

whose images from the Arctic were published 

in the New Yorker and other publications. 

Arbugaeva, who is from the Arctic, just 

photographed her home and her people. 

“Everyone was blown away because 

the photographs are so surprising and they 

make us aware of a way of life and a place 

that most of us didn’t know about, which is 

one of the most old-fashioned and conventional 

uses of photography,” said Lubben. 

According to her, it’s extremely important 

to have people photograph places 

they know, to photograph from within those 

communities, rather than continuing to see 

photographers coming in from somewhere 

else with a limited understanding of that 

place. 

Another example Lubben picked was 

Eric Gyamfi, who is working in Ghana, 

photographing the LGBT community there: 

he is doing conventional photographs but 

wants to show them in public places, in 

communities, with the goal of displaying 

how the gay community looks just like your 

friends and neighbors. Or Zanele Muholi, 

who does portraiture of the lesbian community 

in South Africa and whose work has 

received significant attention and is also 

extremely important, Lubben pointed out. 

“When it comes to oppressed minorities, 

there is an incredible power in just 

being pictured, showing your image, 

claiming your image. It’s a way of standing 

up and being counted.” 

“The way she does these portraits is just 

extraordinary, she honors their dignity,” 

continued Lubben, “she is cataloging the 

community and celebrating it. And the way 

that she has chosen to do it, through still 

photography, is much more powerful than 

if she had been doing some technologically 

complex version of the project.” 

Making The Still Image Move 

Forward — The Four Corners 

Idea 

The first time Fred Ritchin talked about 

the “four corners” was during his keynote 

speech at World Press Photo in Amsterdam 

in 2004. His idea was simple: digital is 

not the same as paper, so it should not be 


treated the same way. There are layers in 

digital that do not exist on paper, so they 

should be utilized. 

The suggestion was to template a photograph, 

so that each of the four corners 

would have specific information, and the 

reader would know that right corner, left 

corner, top, and bottom, contained different 

kinds of information. 

“People were cheering and thought it 

was extraordinary. And then nothing happened,” 

he recalled.” 

Over the last 12 years, Ritchin gave the 

lecture on the four corners idea all over the 

world, provoking approval and excitement 

but little concrete action. Last October 

though, he showed it again during a talk 

at Columbia University and Boering, who 

was in the audience, said ”let’s do it.” 

“There is a lot of skepticism about photography. 

Is it credible? Who did it? What 

is it really about? And so on,” said Ritchin. 

“In the digital world, the four corners allow 

you to contextualize the image, to author 

The big issue is: are people delivering 

a vision the way they want to? Are they 

trying to have an impact in the world in 

the way they want?” 

Fred Ritchin, Dean, 

School of the International Center of Photography 

the image and to engage the audience, all 

in very important ways.” 

The information contained in digital 

photographs would be divided in the 

following way: the bottom right corner contains 

the caption, the credit, the copyright 

and the code of ethics, which one can 

choose from a list or write a new one. That 

allows the viewer/reader to know right 

away what to expect. 

“The photographer for example says ‘I 

never move elements or change anything 

in my photographs.’ Or, ‘I’m a fashion 

photographer and I never use models that 

are too thin.’ Or, ‘I’m a wildlife photographer 

and I never photograph in the 

zoo and pretend that it’s in the wild,’” 

explained Ritchin. 

The bottom left corner is the back story 

corner, which contains the context surrounding 

what happened, given by the 

photographer, the witness, or the subject, 

Image context 

Back story 

The four corners concept — a collaboration between Fred Ritchin and World Press 

Photo. Each corner of a digital photo will provide context. Photograph by Fulvio Bugani. 

with video, audio or text. 

The upper left corner is the image 

context, which is video or a photograph, 

maybe the one before or after, or the 

person portrayed in another situation, an 

historical image, etc. 

“The one I used was the Eddie Adams 

photo of the Viet Cong execution, and 

I chose for the image context the picture 

right before the [execution] and the 

photograph right after,” said Ritchin. “I 

also added a video of a film cameraman 

talking more broadly about the event. And 

I must say once you see that, it’s a very 

different experience than just seeing the 

iconic emblematic image, because you 

have much more history to it.” 

The upper right corner contains links to 

other articles, Wikipedia, the photographer’s 

website, or other photos and videos 

taken on the same subject, and anything 

else the author wants to link to the work. 

“I have been asked many times what is 

the difference between a professional and 

an amateur, ... The four corners allow the 

professional to give all kinds of context,” 

continued Ritchin. 

“So when somebody says so and so 

event didn’t happen, you just look at the 

corners and you look at the context and 

there’s a certain autonomy and independence 

of seeing and interpretation.” 

The four corners would travel with the 

image on all the websites publishing it, 

Links 

Captions, credits, & code of ethics 

so even with a caption written differently 

according to the point of view of the media 

company, the information would remain 

accurate and consistent. This would help 

photographers to become more of the 

author of the image, similar to filmmakers 

in the ways in which they provide more 

context. 

Ritchin’s hope is that it will be used by 

conventional and alternative publications, 

independent photographers, agencies, 

staff photographers and NGOs alike. 

World Press Photo is probably going to 

require it for at least one category of the 

awards next year, viewing it as almost like 

a bridge between a conventional photograph 

and a multimedia piece. 

“There is a growing skepticism about 

media in general and its credibility all 

across the board, not just photography. 

We have a very odd electoral year, in 

terms of national elections, with people 

making up things, left and right. What’s a 

fact, not a fact, and does that even matter?,” 

said Ritchin. 

“That’s the question. With the four 

corners, you can provide context so the 

image has more weight or, according to 

your stated code of ethics, you can stray 

into fiction and fantasy. What is important 

is that the reader is informed.” 


AWARD WINNERS 

HONORABLE MENTIONS 

FROM SDN’S CALL FOR ENTRIES ON 

THE FINE ART OF DOCUMENTARY 

Annika Haas 

Muslims in Estonia 

“My aim was to photograph 

the Islamic people living in 

Estonia who express their love 

and warmth towards Estonia. I 

intentionally photographed them 

on the backdrop of a grey and 

bleak landscape that is so characteristic 

of Estonia, which, in my 

photos, stands for symbolic representation 

of the masses in Estonia 

who have now taken a negative 

and even hostile attitude towards 

the entire Muslim community.” 

Stan Raucher 

Holy Week in Guatemala 

The burden and beauty of belief 

weighs heavy on the shoulders 

of the faithful as they perform 

the age-old traditions of Holy 

Week that were brought from 

Spain to Guatemala in the 17th 

Century. Throughout the week, 

parishioners from churches in 

and around Antigua partake 

in solemn processions that 

commemorate the last days of 

Jesus. No written description 

can adequately convey the 

spirituality that permeates 

the atmosphere during these 

activities. These photos provide 

a glimpse into the profound 

passion of these celebrations. 

52 / ZEKE 2015 FALL 2016

ZEKE presents these four honorable mention winners from SDN’s Call 

for Entries on The Fine Art of Documentary. The jurors selected Isadora 

Kosofsky as first place winner (see Vinny and David, page 3), and the 

four honorable mentions presented here. 

Keith Harmon Snow 

Inside the Company, Down 

on the Farm 

These photographs are from a 

long-term documentary project 

focused on people engaged 

in agriculture and showcases 

labor and social conditions on 

plantations in the Congo River 

basin (DRC) and on a farm in the 

Connecticut River Valley (USA). 

The Congo selections portray 

diverse aspects of life on rural 

plantations in a war-torn country. 

The Massachusetts selection, in 

contrast, shows labor typical of 

the tobacco and produce farms 

of the Connecticut River valley, 

where most jobs are occupied by 

migrants from central America 

and the Caribbean. 

David Verberckt 

The Stateless Rohingya 

Over a million Rohingya live in 

Myanmar (Burma) where they are 

stateless in their own country. The 

Rohingya are a Muslim minority, 

living mainly in the Northwestern 

Sate of Rakhine. They have been 

discriminated, persecuted and 

deprived of citizenship since 

the end of the seventies by the 

Burmese authorities and are not 

even recognized as a minority. 

As a result, Rohingya have been 

segregated and excluded from 

civil society in places they have 

lived for several generations. 

ZEKE ZEKE FALL 2015/ 2016/ 53


REVIEWS 

AFGHANISTAN BETWEEN 

HOPE AND FEAR 

Paula Bronstein 

University of Texas Press, 2016 

204 pp. 

Herat, Feb. 3, 2006 

From Afghanistan 

Between Hope 

and Fear by Paula 

Bronstein. 

Once in a while a book comes 

along that is so beautiful to look 

at and so painful to contemplate 

that the mind gets entangled somewhere 

between the art of seeing and the subject 

matter being seen. In Paula Bronstein’s 

devastating Afghanistan Between Hope 

and Fear, what is seen is not all about 

beauty. It is often as shameful, criminal, 

and repellent as it is mesmerizing. 

Afghanistan, with its open deserts and 

looming mountains, is stunning. The population, 

comprising approximately 14 ethnic 

groups, would offer a dream casting call 

for any Hollywood movie. Afghanistan’s 

recent history, beginning with the Russian 

invasion of 1978 and continuing through 

the Taliban regime, the US invasion in 

2001, and into an unclear future, presents 

an endless unraveling of despicable 

events. Both Kim Barker’s Foreword to 

the book and the Introduction, “Afghan 

Women,” by Christina Lamb provide some 

much needed context for Bronstein’s heartpiercing 

photographs. 

Kim Barker describes the pictures as 

“arresting,” “inspiring,” “contradictory,” 

“compelling,” and “complicated.” Barker 

also says that photographs “are almost 

the only way to prove the reality of life” 

in Afghanistan. Rather than “reality,” 

Bronstein’s pictures seem more like a fine 

art re-enactment of the aftermath of World 

War III. That is not a criticism. Bronstein’s 

visual effort is the most successful 

illumination of Afghanistan’s ongoing 

circumstances yet published. To quote her 

question from the book’s Afterword, “If 

conflict is all you ever experience, can 

happiness ever be defined without it?” 

Under such circumstances, one could also 

ask, can beauty ever be defined without it? 

—Frank Ward 

OUT OF TIBET 

Albertina d’Urso 

Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2016 

208 pp. 

Is it possible that Tibetan culture is 

China’s accidental gift to the world? 

Would Tibetans have willingly left 

their high mountain sanctuary had they 

not suffered the atrocities inflicted by 

their Chinese colonizers? The world has 

benefitted from the presence of the Dalai 

Lama, and most of us who have spent time 

with any of the more than one hundred 

thousand Tibetan refugees will attest to 

their inspiring qualities. Perhaps we, as a 

global community, owe it to the Tibetans in 

exile to learn from their stories. 

Albertina d’Urso has spent the last 10 

years documenting the stories of Tibetans 

in exile. To gain maximum benefit from her 

pictures, the reader should bring the same 

attention to detail that the author brought 

to the original moment. D’Urso fills her 

frames with telling elements that give 

texture to these lives lived with integrity. 

In contrast to her overall 

photojournalistic approach, Out of Tibet 

opens with five contemplative landscapes 

of the Himalayas and the high plateau. 

The images celebrate Tibet’s vast 

spaciousness of mountains and sky. D’Urso 

closes this series with a graphically jagged 

hilltop view of mani stones. These sacred, 

carved texts are an apt invocation for the 

pictures that follow. Out of Tibet has a big 

story to tell. D’Urso switches between quiet 

landscapes and energetic camera work 

to illuminate the refugee’s plight in eleven 

very different countries. 

Quotes from exiles about China’s 

ruthlessness and their current 

circumstances are interspersed throughout 

the book. At times d’Urso’s camera focuses 

on the refugee’s pain as her pictures tell 

the larger story of Tibetan tenacity. The 

strongest pictures show refugees practicing 

their Buddhism, such as the sand mandala 

at Kalachakra, and enjoying the culture 

of their host countries, as in playing 

basketball or simply participating in life on 

the streets of their adopted cities. 

The last picture in the main body of 

the book is of a Tibetan reflected in his 

motorbike’s rearview mirror driving down 

a busy city street. He is not looking back. 

Tibetan exiles have always dreamt of 

returning to a free Tibet. However, there 

are now three generations of Tibetans born 

in exile. Out of Tibet closes with two more 

Himalayan landscapes. This time they 

appear darker, more distant and fuzzy. 

The implication is of a fading dream. 

—Frank Ward 


THE DREAM 

By Fabio Bucciarelli 

FotoEvidence, 2016 

180 pp. 

Fabio Bucciarelli’s The Dream delivers 

its readers disoriented into the middle 

of the nightmarish reality faced by 

refugees fleeing persecution and violence 

around the world. Marked by both the 

darkness of the unknown and the light 

of hope, Bucciarelli’s black and white 

photographs illuminate the full spectrum 

of the refugee experience. He successfully 

documents, and thus compels his readers 

to feel, what it is to be a human being in 

limbo – the terror, agony, desire, anxiety, 

exhaustion, uncertainty, and above all, the 

hope that remains when nothing else does. 

The Dream begins by plunging us into 

pitch-blackness. A series of blurry, layered 

images reluctantly transition from night to 

day; our eyes adjust and we recognize 

the familiar backdrops which frame many 

images of the so-called refugee crisis: 

the ocean, UNHCR tent villages, health 

inspectors in hazmat suits, and endless 

queues of weary bodies facing indefinite 

wait times. However, The Dream’s triumph 

is that it rejects traditional, essentialist 

representations of refugees and vividly 

illuminates the humanity of its subjects. 

Bucciarelli depicts the individuals he met 

over the course of his five-year long project 

in ways which honor their humanity and 

strength, as well as their dream “to be 

free of war, to recover their dignity and to 

build meaningful lives again.” 

The Dream is a human story. It is 

concerned not with the aesthetics of 

arresting or sensational imagery, but 

rather with the beauty and value of 

each individual human life and dream. 

Bucciarelli befriended many of the people 

in his photographs, and the intimacy 

between the photographer and his subjects 

manifests throughout the book. The most 

important moments in The Dream are 

perhaps the most easily overlooked – they 

are the precious moments, the unguarded 

moments, the unapologetically human 

moments that can only be found and 

photographed by those who care to look 

for and truly see them. 

Fabio Bucciarelli’s book, The Dream, is 

a collection of distilled snapshots of human 

interaction, characterized by the subtlety 

and intimacy that only genuine empathy 

can fully extract. Ultimately, Bucciarelli 

does not shy away from the sobering 

reality of the refugees’ harrowing situation, 

nor does he overlook the universal force 

driving their perilous journey: the dream of 

a better life. 

—Emma Brown 

A WHOLE WORLD BLIND 

By Nish Nalbandian 

Daylight Books, 2016 

150 pp. 

The best photojournalism also serves to 

remind audiences that events occurring in 

distant lands are not happening to some 

strange and unknowable species. They are 

happening to people who could be our 

own sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters. 

—Greg Campbell from Epilogue 

In the introduction to A Whole World 

Blind, photographer Nish Nalbandian 

states, “My vision was to make 

portraits of the people affected by and 

living with [the Syrian] conflict on a daily 

basis.” During the two months Nish spent 

photographing in northwestern Syria in 

early 2014, he succeeded in doing just 

that. Nish is not a conflict reporter in a 

classic sense. While he does photograph 

some fighting, he chooses to focus his 

camera on the life of Syrians going on 

around the war. It is this space of normalcy 

surrounded by chaos and violence that 

makes A Whole World Blind so interesting. 

A quick reading would lead one to think 

that Nish stood back and didn’t photograph 

the daily brutality of war. But a closer 

reading is that Nish wants us to know that 

in war, “these are just people who wanted 

more freedom, freedom to have political 

discourse or dissent, and ended up having 

to fight for it.” And fight for it they did, 

which brought the full wrath of Assad’s 

forces, ISIS, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and 

others against them. 

The other issue about which Nish, like 

so many other humanist photographers, 

feels so deeply and is driven to document 

in his work is that the fighters and civilian 

victims in war are just like us. Before we 

saw these individuals in TIME magazine 

wounded and bloodied and desperate, 

they went to work, to school, they drank 

coffee, played sports, and watched TV. 

The fighters just wanted a prosperous and 

safe life for their families. 

In one of the many poignant photos, 

a street vendor in Idlib Province is grilling 

meat at an outdoor stand, while two 

women (one holding a child) walk by as 

if the war was the furthest thing from their 

thoughts. The smoke from the outdoor grill 

ominously echoes the smoke of shelling 

seen elsewhere in the book, but in this 

case it is to nourish with the scent and 

taste of something else. There is also the 

photograph of a school teacher with a 

class of eager students, now back in their 

classroom following earlier shelling, and 

returning to the task of learning English. 

Yes, there is war, but it will not stop people 

from doing what people do. 

Is A Whole World Blind an anti-war 

statement? In the book’s epilogue, Greg 

Campbell states, “when we see ourselves 

reflected in the eyes of those who have suffered 

unimaginably throughout the years of 

warfare, it becomes immeasurably harder 

to close our own eyes, and our hearts, to 

their plight.” That this book can inspire us 

to demand that our elected leaders forge a 

meaningful end to this war, then yes, it is 

clearly a powerful anti-war statement. 

—Glenn Ruga 


Upcoming Editions 

MIPJ 2016: Refugees, IDP’s, 

and Statelessness 

MIPJ 2016: Indigenous Edition 

Available in Hardcover Print, 

Digital, and Multimedia 

Released September 2016 

http://www.mipj.org 

Photo Courtesy of of Greg Constantine 

MIPJ 

Media, Information, 

International Relations, and Humanitarian Affairs 

Past MIPJ Editions 

For Contributors and Partners Only 

Cover Photo Courtesy of Lynsey Adario 

Cover Photo Courtesy of Sean Gallagher


Fall 


Published by Social Documentary Network 

Photographers and writers featured 

in this issue of ZEKE 

Susan S. Bank 

United States 

Fulvio Bugani 

Italy 

Caterina Clerici 

United States, Italy 

Susi Eggenberger 

United States 

Sheikh Rajibul Islam 

Bangladesh 

Isadora Kosofsky 

United States 

Michael McElroy 

United States 

Margaret Quackenbush 

United States 

Carolina Sandretto 

United States 

Anne Sahler 

Germany and Japan 

Marta Tucci 

England 

David Verberckt 

Belgium 

Rodrigue Zahr 

Lebanon 

2016 Vol. 2/No. 2 

ZEKE is published by Social Documentary Network (SDN), an 

organization promoting visual storytelling about global themes. 

Started as a website in 2008, today SDN works with nearly a 

thousand photographers around the world to tell important stories 

through the visual medium of photography and multimedia. Since 

2008, SDN has featured more than 2,000 exhibits on its website 

and has had gallery exhibitions in major cities around the world. 

All the work featured in ZEKE first appeared on the SDN website, 

www.socialdocumentary.net. 

ZEKE Staff 

Executive Editor: Glenn Ruga 

Editor: Barbara Ayotte 

Copy Editor: John Rak 

Intern: Kelly Kollias 

Social Documentary 

Network Advisory 

Committee 

Barbara Ayotte, Medford, MA 

Senior Director of Strategic 

Communications 

Management Sciences for Health 

Kristen Bernard, Salem, MA 

Marketing Web Director 

EBSCO Information Services 

Lori Grinker, New York, NY 

Independent Photographer and 

Educator 

Steve Horn, Lopez Island, WA 

Independent Photographer 

ZEKE is published twice a year by 


Copyright © 2016 


ISSN 2381-1390 

ZEKE does not accept unsolicited 

submissions. To be considered for 

publication in ZEKE, submit your 

work to the SDN website either as 

a standard exhibit or a submission 

to a Call for Entries. Contributing 

photographers can choose to pay a 

fee for their work to be exhibted on 

SDN for a year or they can choose 

a free trial. Free trials have the same 

opportunity to be published in ZEKE 

as paid exhibits. 

To subscribe: 


Advertising Inquiries: 

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Director, Contact Press Images 

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Concord, MA 01742 USA 

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SDN/ZEKE magazine’s LiveZEKE exhibition at Photoville, Brooklyn, NY, September 

21–25. Gallery attendee talks live with subjects of Ara Oshagans photo in 

Nagorno-Karabakh. 


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network 

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PUBLISHER OF ZEKE MAGAZINE 

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Mark Peterson’s way of looking — with a raucous wit, and an eye for the scary and the absurd — 

is meant for our current political moment. His photographs will stand as a defining portrait of an 

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A regular contributor to many print and digital publications, Mark Peterson’s images can be found 

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