HKFP Lens: World Press Photo announces regional winners for Asia

The regional winners of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest were announced on Wednesday, honouring the best photojournalism and photography produced over the past year.

Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embraces the body of her five-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. Photo: Mohammed Salem/Reuters.

Palestinian photographer Mohammad Salem’s image of 36-year-old Inas Abu Maamar holding the body of her five-year-old niece Saly, who was killed along with four other family members when an Israeli missile struck their home in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 17, 2023.

Salem described the image, captured soon after his wife had given birth, as a “powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip.”

Stories: Afghanistan on the Edge

Children stare at an apple that their mother brought home after begging, in a camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of the Afghan capital. Kabul, Afghanistan, 2 February 2023. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP.

A poor internally displaced Afghan woman and man take care of their sick child in a camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Feb 9, 2023. They have no money to treat their sick child. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP.

An Afghan refugee rests in the desert next to a camp near the Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Torkham, Afghanistan, on November 17, 2023. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP.

Taliban fighters patrol as Afghan refugees arriving in a camp near the Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Torkham, Afghanistan, on November 17, 2023. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP.

Associated Press photographer Ebrahim Noroozi’s series titled “Afghanistan on the Edge” was awarded in the Stories category.

Noroozi’s images reveal the hard reality of life for many Afghans as they navigate existence in a war-devastated economy on the verge of collapse and impacted by the withdrawal of foreign aid. The jury said they “felt this powerful, human-centered story demonstrates how photographers can show the realities of intersecting crises.”

Long-term Project: I Am Still With You

People often mistake Jiuer for the sister of her three daughters. Jiuer said: “Spend time on beautiful things, and then meet a better self.” Liaoning, China, January 26, 2021. Photo: Wang Naigong.

After surgery and radiotherapy treatment, Jiuer recovers well and the family feels optimistic about the future. Jiuer says: “Life is not long. Do what you want to do, and choose what you love.” Liaoning, China, November 28, 2020. Photo: Wang Naigong.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jiuer ordered a foldable bathtub online. Liaoning, China, March 31, 2022. Photo: Wang Naigong.

Jiuer’s condition deteriorates daily. She suggests a family photo. She says: “I can’t witness you growing up, so let’s take a family photo of how we will look in 20 years.” Liaoning, China, February 5, 2022. Photo: Wang Naigong.

Jiuer worries most about her youngest daughter. Liaoning, China, November 28, 2021. Photo: Wang Naigong.

Jiuer’s youngest daughter comforts her in her own way. Jiuer said: “Am I now a woman with eyes full of stories, but with a face that shows no trace of time?” Liaoning, China, November 9, 2019. Photo: Wang Naigong.

Before going to sleep, Jiuer and her husband usually chant sutras together. This evening, Jiuer is physically unable to join him, so she chants from bed. Liaoning, China, October 30, 2021. Photo: Wang Naigong.

Jiuer’s mother and mother-in-law perform a Buddhist ritual for her. Liaoning, China, April 26, 2023. Photo: Wang Naigong.

Wang Naigong’s “I Am Still With You,” a visual record of the final years of a young mother of three in northern China, Jiuer, won the Long-term Projects category.

Before undergoing surgery for cancer, Jiuer invited Wang to take some family photos, and later, when her condition deteriorated, asked the photographer to record the time she spent with her children.

Open Format: Heartstrings

A window seen from the bedroom of Atsushi’s house: “Is it morning? Afternoon? Or night? I couldn’t figure it out sometimes. I look at the brightness outside my window to check.” Photo: Kazuhiko Matsumura/The Kyoto Shimbun.

Atsushi Shimosaka sits on a futon in his bedroom. At the age of 46, Shimosaka was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Photo: Kazuhiko Matsumura/The Kyoto Shimbun.

An ambiguous sun low in the sky near Atsushi Shimosaka’s home, in Kyoto, Japan. Photo: Kazuhiko Matsumura/The Kyoto Shimbun.

Masaharu Taniguchi recalls how his wife, Kimiko Taniguchi, who was diagnosed with dementia in 1989, would buy sea bream sashimi and store it not only in the refrigerator but also the closet. Photo: Kazuhiko Matsumara/The Kyoto Shimbun.

Masaharu Taniguchi with his wife Kimiko Taniguchi. Photo: Kazuhiko Matsumara/The Kyoto Shimbun.

Masaharu sits in his living room surrounded by photos of his wife Kimiko and caretakers. Photo: Kazuhiko Matsumara/The Kyoto Shimbun.

The winner of the Open Format category was Kazuhiko Matsumara’s story “Heartstrings” for The Kyoto Shimbun, which sought to visualise both the social issues surrounding dementia and the inner lives of those with dementia and their relationships with family members and carers.

Japan’s aging population has one of the highest proportions of elderly people with dementia in the world, with about 7 million citizens expected to be living with symptoms in 2025.

Honourable Mention: The Edge

Bengali Muslim villagers, accustomed to the yearly floods, are ferried by community boats to the mainland from tiny chars, sandbar islands formed by silt deposits on the Brahmaputra, on June 18, 2023. Photo: Zishaan A Latif.

Indigenous villagers construct bamboo “porcupines” to counter the erosion caused by the Brahmaputra River, on April 18, 2023. Photo: Zishaan A Latif.

In Kharbali, a Bengali Muslim woman navigates floodwaters during Assam’s five-month monsoon season, on August 14, 2023. Photo: Zishaan A Latif.

Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims help each other shift shops from the edge of the Brahmaputra river at the Tarabari ferry point, on June 15, 2023. Photo: Zishaan A Latif.

Zishaan A Latif’s project “The Edge,” supported by the Shyama Foundation Shared Ecologies Photo Grant 2022-23, won an Honourable Mention.

Latif captured the Miya community, who depend on land near the transnational Brahmaputra River for their livelihood and their identity in the eyes of the state. As their land erodes due to worsening floods, they face a fight against both nature and nation.

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