I read this post on the BBC News website about Hilda Clayton’s explosive exit from this world. Featured (and shared below) was a poignant, dramatic photograph, taken by the 22 year old US Army photojournalist in the split second before she died in the blast she captured. Harrowing stuff and I couldn’t read the article without reflecting more generally upon conflict and death; that in turn got me to contemplating this piece.
The story about Hilda came shortly after the BBC published a video news piece about an exhibition entitled “American Faces at War”.
Seeing all these images reminded me of another conflict related photo that I saw years ago that shocked me. Whilst not remembering which civil war it was from, I knew it was published and so took to Google to track it down. It didn’t take long either. Alvaro Ybarra Zavala‘s photo from a series entitled “RDC Any Given Day” taken in the Congo in 2008 is shared here.
Being fairly sure that I originally saw this image in the Guardian magazine, I visited the Guardian’s website and found this article from 2011 – The Shot that Nearly Killed Me.
It was a real shame that Hilda Clayton couldn’t have a “nearly” claim associated with her photo.
Alvaro was quoted as saying “Years after I took this picture, every time I see it I feel scared again.” Seeing how close he was to the butcher he photographed, I am not surprised. The soldier/mercenary featured was an evil bastard fully deserving of the same fate he imposed on his victim. Hopefully he got his comeuppance later in the conflict.
Photos like Clayton’s and Ybarra Zavala’s are stark reminders that (to borrow a phrase from my dad) “war is shit” and we should do all we can to avoid it. Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, please take note!
The story about Hilda came shortly after the BBC published a video news piece about an exhibition entitled “American Faces at War”.
Seeing all these images reminded me of another conflict related photo that I saw years ago that shocked me. Whilst not remembering which civil war it was from, I knew it was published and so took to Google to track it down. It didn’t take long either. Alvaro Ybarra Zavala‘s photo from a series entitled “RDC Any Given Day” taken in the Congo in 2008 is shared here.
Being fairly sure that I originally saw this image in the Guardian magazine, I visited the Guardian’s website and found this article from 2011 – The Shot that Nearly Killed Me.
It was a real shame that Hilda Clayton couldn’t have a “nearly” claim associated with her photo.
Alvaro was quoted as saying “Years after I took this picture, every time I see it I feel scared again.” Seeing how close he was to the butcher he photographed, I am not surprised. The soldier/mercenary featured was an evil bastard fully deserving of the same fate he imposed on his victim. Hopefully he got his comeuppance later in the conflict.
Photos like Clayton’s and Ybarra Zavala’s are stark reminders that (to borrow a phrase from my dad) “war is shit” and we should do all we can to avoid it. Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, please take note!
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