26 7 March 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Photo Stories
ALL IMAGES © PIETER TEN HOOPEN
A
ccording to the UN Refugee
Agency, we are facing an
unprecedented refugee crisis. More
than 70.8 million people around
the world have been forced from home, with
29.5 million of those being refugees, over half
of which are under 18.
Shocking statistics show a person is forcibly
displaced from home because of confl ict or
persecution almost every two seconds.
To that end, the work of photojournalists
such as Dutch photographer Pieter Ten
Hoopen, have never been more important. For
his series The Migrant Caravan he was
awarded the World Press Photo Story of the
Year in 2019. It’s perhaps no coincidence that
the winner of the single image category,
‘Crying Girl on the Border’ by US documentary
photographer John Moore, was also associated
with the migrant crisis. Plenty of other
shortlisted images and stories at the awards
also followed the same theme.
The new Story category was introduced in
2019 with the aim of honouring the skill of
producing a story with excellent editing and
sequencing that captured or represented an
event or issue of great journalistic importance
in the preceding year (2018). The category
holds equal weight to the individual World
Press Photo of the Year prize.
Overcoming stereotypes
Pieter has travelled to Turkey and Mexico with
the aim of showing the ongoing love and
strength of those who have been forced to fl ee
their native countries. He wanted to use his
photography to help overcome stereotypes
and stigmas, showcasing the human side of
those caught up in the crossfi re.
By telling their love stories – something
universally relatable – he shows how these
people have used these relationships to drive
them towards a better future. In short, these
are individuals, not statistics.
Speaking about his work, Pieter says, ‘In
today’s reporting of refugees, people often
become numbers – facts and fi gures. I wanted
to take a different view. What does it mean for
people to fl ee their home and why? How can
we understand what these people have been
through? One of the most fundamental things
we all have is love, and so I wanted to create a
story around that, and how it is the motor in
our lives to feel positive, feel hope and to help
us through the dark times.’
For the work, Pieter uses a Nikon D850 and
a Nikon Z 7. The latter camera, being small and
lightweight, he believes to be particularly
well-suited to situations that require a lot of
walking, running and jumping.
The project documents the lives of migrants
who escaped Syria and found protection in
Istanbul, as well as refugees from the
well-publicised and much-maligned migrant
caravans travelling to the US-Mexico border,
having fl ed from central America. Caravans are
groups of refugees travelling together in large
groups for safety.Safety in numbers
One such caravan seen in Pieter’s photographs
was assembled through a grassroots social
media campaign and left San Pedro Sula,
Honduras, on 12 October 2018. As word
spread, it drew people from Nicaragua, El
Salvador and Guatemala. Those who joined it
were a mix of people facing political repression
and violence, and those fl eeing harsh economic
conditions in the hope of a better life.
By travelling in this way, migrants hope for
some semblance of safety. Previously on the
same route, migrants have disappeared or
been kidnapped – travelling together is a
better alternative than paying high rates to
people smugglers.
This particular caravan was one of the largest
in recent memory. More than 7,000 people
joined it, including at least 2,300 children.
Conditions along the way were nothing short of
gruelling, with people walking around 30km a
day in temperatures exceeding 30°C. It drew
condemnation – like other caravans – from
President Donald Trump, who used the
situation to call for tougher immigration policies
and the building of the famous border wall.
In the images, we see persecuted couples
from opposing gangs, parents hoping to secure
a safe home for their children and everything
in between. The images depict the sometimes
very harsh realities of life as a refugee, while
also showing that affection and human
relationships remain vital.Love stories
Pieter Ten Hoopen’s World Press Photo award-
winning series documents those impacted by the
global refugee crisis, as Amy Davies fi n d s o u t
Migrants cook over an open
fire in a camp just outside
the town of Juchitán, Mexico