The body of a suspected coronavirus victim, wrapped in yellow infectious waste plastic bags and wrappers, lies on the patient's deathbed awaiting a body bag in a hospital in Indonesia. Wrapping the patient, which takes two nurses a full hour to complete through three layers of plastic and nine disinfection procedures, is intended to suppress the spread of the coronavirus. As mandated by the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the wrapping of the body is standard procedure for every suspected, comorbid, and confirmed positive COVID-19 death. This process is ongoing today. As with most victims, family members were not allowed to say goodbye. After the image was published by National Geographic, it sparked denial and uproar across social media. Many who saw the image claimed it was staged to spread fear. By the end of the year, Indonesia’s coronavirus toll had reached over 800,000 cases and 20,000 deaths.

The human cost of COVID-19

Refugees and migrants burn garbage bins and chant slogans as they demonstrate outside the Moria camp following the stabbing death of a 20-year-old man from Yemen on the Greek island of Lesbos, Friday, Jan, 17, 2020. Authorities arrested a 27 year-old Afghan migrant in connection with the incident. Overcrowding at Moria has steadily worsened over the past year as the number of immigrants and refugees using clandestine routes from Turkey to the Greek islands remains high totaling nearly 60,000 in 2019.

Chaos on the Greek island of Lesbos over the killing of a 20 year-old refugee

View of the damaged Dhauliganga hydroelectric power project in Chamoli District, Uttarakhand, India. At least 70 people died and nearly 130 are still missing after part of the Nanda Devi glacier fell into the river, triggering a flood that burst a dam in the Tapovan area on 07 February 2021.

India, Uttarakhand Glacier flooding

A fire broke out in an edible oils warehouse in Kolkata, West Bengal. It spread at an alarming rate to the adjoining neighborhood, causing alarm among the locals. About 11 fire engines reached the fire immediately after being called in an effort to control the fire. Soon the entire area was covered by heavy smoke. Amidst the chaos, and surprising even the professionals, a local was seen trying to extinguish the fire. Unconcerned about the heat and smoke, risking his own life, he carried bucket after bucket of water in an attempt to save what little was left. Irrespective of how minor his part was that day, his valiant effort left us in awe.

Endless effort

Protesters demonstrate against police brutality and racism in Montreal, Canada, on June 7, 2020.

Black Lives Matter

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

A protester stands in front of a burning building during a demonstration in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 29, 2020, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Violent protests erupted across the United States in response, with the murder charges brought against the arresting officer failing to quell the seething anger.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

Police use tear gas to disperse protesters during a demonstration in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 29, 2020, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Violent protests erupted across the United States in response, with the murder charges brought against the arresting officer failing to quell the seething anger.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

Police surround a protester during a demonstration in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 29, 2020, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Violent protests erupted across the United States in response, with the murder charges brought against the arresting officer failing to quell the seething anger.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

NBC News journalist Ed Ou was wounded after police started firing tear gas and rubber bullets near the 5th police precinct following a demonstration on May 30, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to demand justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Clashes broke out and major cities imposed curfews as America entered another night of unrest Saturday with angry demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop violent protests over police brutality "cold."

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

A protestor embraces his friend as they receive first aid after being hit by tear gas near the 5th police precinct during a demonstration on May 30, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to demand justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Clashes broke out and major cities imposed curfews as America entered another night of unrest Saturday with angry demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop violent protests over police brutality "cold."

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

A police officer stands guard during a protest over the death of George Floyd on May 31, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after five consecutive nights of protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. On Monday the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis ignited this latest wave of outrage in the US over law enforcement's repeated use of lethal force against African Americans, captured once again by a cellphone camera.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

A demonstrator lies on the highway in front of the police line during a protest over the death of George Floyd on May 31, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. - Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after five consecutive nights of protests over racism and police brutality that descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. On Monday the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, at the hands of police in Minneapolis ignited this latest wave of outrage in the US over law enforcement's repeated use of lethal force against African Americans, captured once again by a cellphone camera.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

George Floyd’s niece Angel Buechner speaks during a protest outside the residence of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on June 1, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after five consecutive nights of protests over racism and police brutality that descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis ignited this latest wave of outrage in the US over law enforcement's repeated use of lethal force against African Americans, captured once again by a cellphone camera.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

Aerial view of protestors gathered near the makeshift memorial in honor of George Floyd marking the one week anniversary of his death, on June 1, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Convulsed by protests, clashes with police, and looting since Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody, US cities braced Monday for another night of unrest. More than 40 cities imposed curfews after consecutive nights of disorder that included looting and the destructionof parked cars.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

Demonstrators raise fists and shout slogans at the makeshift memorial in honor of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

Demonstrators raise fists at the makeshift memorial in honor of George Floyd, on June 4, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On May 25, 2020, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, died in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes. Thousands of National Guard troops patrolled major US cities after protests over racism and police brutality descended into arson and looting, sending shock waves through the country. Curfews were imposed as clashes with police escalated across America, with demonstrators ignoring warnings from President Donald Trump that his government would stop the violent protests "cold."

Michael Jones (R) and Tim Higgins (L) clasp hands as they protest on June 16, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia, four days afterRayshard Brooks was shot and killed by police in a Wendy's restaurant parking lot. The fatal shooting of Brooks, a black man, by a white police officer in Atlanta poured more fuel on the raging US debate over racism, prompting another round of street protests and the resignation of the southern city's police chief. The death of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner's office on June 14, 2020, a day after the Wendy's restaurant where he died was set on fire and hundreds of people marched to denounce the killing.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

A local woman surveys the damage to her house, which was almost totally destroyed by shelling in the fighting between Ukrainian troops and militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, January 30, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

Local residents replace a window shattered by the same explosion that killed the man lying in the street, following artillery exchanges between Ukrainian troops and militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, January 30, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

Militia members of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) together with OSCE observers walk through the territory of Donetsk International Airport, which was destroyed in the heaviest shelling of 2014-15 between Ukrainian troops and DPR militia . Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, April 4, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

A militia member of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) feeds a cat in front of destroyed buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Uglegorsk, not far from Debaltsevo, Donetsk area, Ukraine/DPR, February 19, 2015. The battle for Debaltsevo was one of the bloodiest between the DPR militia and Ukrainian troops during the war in Eastern Ukraine.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

A local resident cries beside the body of a family member, who was killed by shrapnel as a result of artillery fire between Ukrainian troops and militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, February 14, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

A local woman surveys the damage to her house, which was almost totally destroyed by artillery fire between Ukrainian troops and militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, February 2, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

Local people stand beside a column of tanks of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) on the outskirts of Lugansk, Ukraine/LPR, October 20, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

Mother and child throw soil during the funeral of five fighters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), killed in battle with the Ukrainian armed forces in the town of Maryinka, at the cemetery in Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, June 6, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

A militia member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) stands next to a woman’s house, which was damaged by shelling, in Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, July 31, 2016.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

Militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic exhume the body of a Ukrainian soldier, who was abandoned during the retreat of Ukrainian troops from Debaltsevo. Donetsk region, Ukraine/DPR, April3, 2016.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

A mother helps clean the hand of her son Andrey, 12, who lost his other hand in a landmine explosion, at the Traumatology Hospital in rebel-held Donetsk, Ukraine/DPR, August 15, 2015.

The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is the bloodiest in Europe since the Balkan wars. According to the United Nations, civilian and military deaths standat almost 14,000, with more than 25,000 injured. According to unofficial sources, the numbers are much higher. The war in the Donbass region, caused by national, economic, political, language and other issues, is calling into doubt Ukraine’s continued viability as a country. It is becoming a frozen conflict with periodic surges in violence. The people living there are the war’s real victims, even as events in the war zone can have global political reverberations.

Local resident Katerina Izvekova, 77, shows the damage done to her house in the fighting between militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Ukrainian armed forces near the separation line in the rebel-controlled village of Vesele (Veseloye) in the Donetsk region, Ukraine/DPR, July 27, 2020.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

A municipal police officer in Mexico's Zacatecas city holds up caution tape at the scene of a shooting. During decades of authoritarian rule, senior federal officials quietly refereed between cartels. State and local authorities fell in line, accepting bribes to look the other way as heroin or marijuana flowed through their states. Mexico’s democratization has changed the equation. Now local governments are more autonomous. Criminal groups increasingly are seeking influence at the municipal and state level, through threats or bribery. The country’s precarious justice system has proved incapable of checking such graft.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

Ricardo Mendoza, a community police officer, carries the coffin of his fifteen-year-old nephew, Israel Mendoza, in a church of Alcozacán, Guerrero State, Mexico. In January, the drug cartel Los Ardillos brutally murdered 10 indigenous musicians playing at a party on their turf.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

Bullet holes riddle a house and grocery store in Juan Aldama, in Zacatecas, after an attack. In northern Zacatecas, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada has moved in. Gunmen in pickups have been seen roaming freely through the area, “MZ” emblazoned on their helmets or guns.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

A child cries during a birthday photoshoot inthe historical center of Zacatecas. Four cartels are battling for control of fentanyl routes through Zacatecas, while smaller groups rob and extort money from ordinary Mexicans.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

A family sits in a truck parked by a road in Guadalupe, Zacatecas, Mexico. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to escape the violence; the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

A drunk man passes by a newspaper stand carrying the censored picture of a member of a criminal organization arrested by the state police of Nayarit, in Tepic. The arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister and the state attorney general of Nayarit in the U.S, both accused of pocketing bribes from the H-2 cartel, demonstrate the intricate ties between organized crime and Mexican law enforcement.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

A member of the municipal police patrols a public housing complex in Guadalupe, Zacatecas state, Mexico, on August 8, 2020. In Mexico, municipal police are some of the lowest paid law enforcement officers, which, analysts believe has contributed to their accepting bribes from criminal groups.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

A family that unsuccessfully sought asylum in the U.S. poses for a portrait in their home on the outskirts of Juan Aldama, Zacatecas, Mexico. Their neighborhood was plagued by robberies, disappearances, and street-corner drug dealing. Then, one night in July 2019, gunmen ambushed and killed the police chief. Officers vanished from the streets. “My husband told me, ‘We have to get out of here,’ ” she said. “He told me, ‘Don’t you see there are no police? Don’t you see they’re frightened? Who will protect us?’ ”She had heard that the United States was offering asylum to Mexicans in danger. The family stuffed some clothes into backpacks and boarded a bus for the 600-mile trip to the Texas border. They returned home after they were asked to wait in Mexico while their application was considered.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

View of Zacatecas from a hill. Shortly before López Obrador took office in December 2018, the CIA concluded that drug groups controlled about 20 percent of Mexican territory. The Mexican government denies it has lost control of any part of the country. But in a little-noticed passage in its security plan last year, it likened crime groups to insurgents, with “a level of organization, firepower and territorial control comparable to what armed political groups have had in other places.”

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

Family members demand justice at a protest outside the attorney general’s office, holding up photos of their loved ones, who were disappeared by the attorney general’s masked police. “A criminal group took over the institutions of the state of Nayarit for six years,” said Rodrigo González Barrios, spokesman for the truth commission.Требующие справедливости родственники пропавших без вести граждан проводят акцию протеста перед зданием генеральной прокуратуры. Они поднимают вверх фотографии своих близких, которых, по их словам, схватили полицейские в масках, подчиняющиеся лично генеральному прокурору. «Преступная группировка на шесть лет захватила государственные учреждения штата Наярит», - заявил пресс-секретарь комиссии по установлению истины Родриго Гонсалес Барриос.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

Santiago Pérez, leader of a local group search, fixes the bricks holding a cross marking the mass grave in Nayarit, where he found the remains of his son along with other 11 disappeared people. Disappearances became known as a unique kind of evil, denying families closure, leaving them forever tortured by the mystery of their loved ones’ fates.

As Mexico’s homicide rate reached its highest level in six decades, the government released an even more alarming statistic: 80,517 people have disappeared since 2006. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled their homes to escape violence, and the Mexican Congress is poised to pass the country’s first law to help the internally displaced. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has emphasized social programs to address the poverty at the root of the crime wave. Abrazos no balazos, he says: Hugs, not bullets. At the same time, he has created a 100,000-member national guard to reclaim areas with little state presence. It’s not clear that will make a significant difference. Kids learning how to defend their small town in the mountains and the arrest of Mexico’s former defense minister in the U.S. illustrate the complexity of the situation. It is the greatest crisis in Latin America since the “dirty wars” of the 1970s and 1980s.

Alex (13), right, and other children stand during a Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities (CRAC-PF) community police force gun training in the town of Ayahualtempa, Guerrero state, Mexico. Alex had to stop attending high school in the neighboring town of Hueycantenango due to the presence of drug cartel Los Ardillos. He then joined the community police along with his father.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

Asylum seekers walk with their families to the border. A large number from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne.They come from many cities of Anatolia to cross into Europe.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

Asylum seekers gathering at Vatan Street get on buses to head toward Turkey's border with Greece, in Istanbul, Turkey. Asylum seekers, including women and children, have been travelling to border villages of the country’s western provinces of Edirne and Canakkale to reach Greece.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

Asylum seekers trying to reach Greece walk from Tuna River towards the border in Edirne, Turkey. A great number of asylum seekers, including Syrians, Afghans, Iranians and Uzbekistanis gather from all over Turkey in Edirne to enter Europe.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

Asylum seekers walk from Tuna River towards the border, in Edirne, Turkey to reach Greece. A great number of asylum seekers, including Syrians, Afghans, Iranians and Uzbekistanis, who comefrom all over Turkey, gather in Edirne to make their way into Europe.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

An injured asylum seeker lies on the ground after being apprehended by Greek border guards at the land border between Greece and Turkey, in the Karaagac neighborhood of Edirne, Turkey. The number of asylum seekers travelling through Turkey to Europe has reached 100,577 as of Sunday evening.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

An asylum seeker crosses Evros River in Edirne, Turkey in an attempt to reach Europe. Theboatappears to be deflated.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

An injured asylum seeker lies on the ground after being apprehended by Greek border guards at the land border between Greece and Turkey, in the Karaagac neighborhood of Edirne, Turkey. The number of asylum seekers travelling through Turkey to Europe reached 100,577 as of Sunday evening.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

On Turkey’s border with Syria. Children have been waiting a long time in a camp in Greece after being tear gassed. Other refugees in the camp blow smoke from burning wood in their eyes, which is supposed to help alleviate the burning.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

Asylum seekers run from tear gas fired by Greek border guards at the land border between Greece and Turkey, in the Karaagac neighborhood of Edirne, Turkey.

A large number of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and elsewhere gather in Turkey’s Edirne hoping to cross into Europe. They make their way there from many cities in Anatolia and especially from Istanbul.

Asylum seekers huddle around the fire as they continue to wait at the Pazarkule Border Gate in the Karaagac neighborhood of Edirne, Turkey, to reach Greece. An injured Asylum seekers lies on the floor following the intervention of Greek border guards at the land border between Greece and Turkey, in the Karaagac neighborhood of Edirne, Turkey. The number of asylum seekers travelling through Turkey to Europe reached 100,577 as of Sunday evening.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

A man stands with an old national flag, now the opposition’s main symbol, in front of a police cordon. Several thousand protesters took to the streets in the evening following presidential elections, with law enforcement officers violently dispersing them. Police brutality soon triggered new protests.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

The silhouettes of law enforcement officers during an evening protest in the city’s central districts. At that time, the internet was switched off completely all over Belarus, and many people were unable to get updates on national developments.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

Young women in white clothes form the first solidarity chain near the Victory Monument. This new type of street protests came as a response to the police crackdown on protesters.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

A young woman in white clothes presents flowers to an Interior Troops soldier. The soldiers cordoned off the Government House during another protest. Women later played a major part in the Belarusian protest movement, they held street marches, and flowers acquired their own symbolic meaning.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

A young woman shows a poster to soldiers standing near the Hero-City Minsk Stele. This place became one of the main rallying points for those involved in Sunday protest marches.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

Tens of thousands of people gathered for the already traditional Sunday protest march. The marches continued for over three months in a row, and they had different names and routes.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

A young woman involved in a Sunday protest march drew red-and-green and white-and-red stripes above her eyes. Her makeup symbolizes the indivisible Belarusian nation.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

Arresting students during a student protest march marking Knowledge Day. Many professors and students were fired and expelled from universities for political motives.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

Protesters stand in front of a police cordon guarding Independence Palace, the official residence of the President of Belarus.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

Tens of thousands of people turned on their telephone lights during a Sunday protest march. Many famous people involved in the protests were later detained and sentenced under Article 23.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus. In fact, local courts punished most protesters under this clause.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

A man wears a face mask with the colors of the old national flag. According to specialists, protest marches turned into carnivals at a certain point. Apart from flags, posters, suits and streamers, people started bringing various props. Moving platforms with drummers, television frames with fixed images, huge moving flies, etc. also appeared.

On August 9, 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, followed by a wave of nationwide protests that continue unabated. The protesters mostly demand new fair elections, an end to police brutality and repressions and the release of political prisoners. Human rights organizations report numerous human rights violations. Over 1,000 detainees said they had been tortured during and after arrests, as well as at police stations and pre-trial detention centers. Seven people are reported killed.

Public transport passengers show victory signs to protesters. Victory signs and raised fists became the most popular gestures with Belarusian protesters.

A group of young people play parkour in the ruins. Because of the war they can’t train professionally in designated places.

Parkour on rubble

Villages in deprived areas of Qaleh Ganj, a city in the south of the Kerman Province, Iran have benefited from a football field where young people can enjoy sports.

Green rectangle in the desert

On Martyrs' Day, young wrestlers participate in a state level competition to mark the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 2020, in Kolkata, India.

Pinned Down

Turkish swimmer Nil Sahin, who has won 180 medals, 95 of them gold, training in Istanbul, Turkey. She wants to win the world championship and Paralympic Games in 2021.

Turkish national swimmer Nil Sahin

Darya Pavlyuchenko and Denis Khodykin perform a short program during the open skating of the Russian national figure skating team.

Figure grabbing

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Yury Postrigai.Olympic canoeing champion at home in Moscow during lockdown.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Marina Golyadkina.Five-time world champion in synchronized swimming at home in the Moscow Region during lockdown.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Gleb Bakshi.World boxing champion at home in Simferopol during lockdown.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Gulnaz Gubaidullina.World champion in modern pentathlon at home in the Moscow Region during lockdown.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Angelina Melnikova.Olympic silver medalist in artistic gymnastics at home in Voronezh.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Ksenia Maricheva.Russian champion in skateboarding in her grandmother’s home in the Moscow Region.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.Winner of 17 WTA tournaments in her parents’ house in the Moscow Region.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Sergei Shubenkov.World champion and three-time European champion in hurdling at home in Barnaul.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Vyacheslav Krasilnikov.World champion in beach volleyball at home in the Leningrad Region.

Athletes from all over the world were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics but the COVID-19 outbreak changed the plans of the entire humankind. Instead of training sessions and qualifying events, athletes found themselves stuck at home. I managed to arrange remote photo shoots via video calls and photographed athletes in their homes where they were still hoping to go to Tokyo and making sure to stay in shape. I took all the photos via FaceTime. The athletes’ friends and family members helped by holding up their phones while I positioned the frame remotely. This series is about the Olympic champions and Russia’s first-time representatives in Tokyo who had to hide from the pandemic at home.

Gulnaz Gubaidullina.World champion in modern pentathlon at home in the Moscow Region during lockdown.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob has won two gold medals in the 400-meter sprint and a silver in the group stage.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob and his trainer have no access to sports equipment, so they use what they find in nature – trees, for example.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Coach Torab Farzin gives Ayuob his only property, his car, which doesn’t always start, and drives him to the stadium, pool, village and various other places. Ayuob always starts the car by giving it a push first.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Because there is no suitable sports fcentre, Ayuob exercises in the open air.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Unlike other athletes, Ayoub has no access to a pool, so he trains in the hot water springs.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob hasn't exercised in a long time. Now he is inspired by the words of his coach and is hoping to win the Beijing 2021 Paralympic quota.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob sets a record.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob runs back to the village with the support of his coach.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob, who has a heartfelt belief in the first Imam of the Shiites, Imam Ali (as), always has a medal with his name around his neck and has to participate in class A in 400 meters with his eyes covered, due to his poor vision.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayub practices only in the border mountains of Chaldoran.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob washes his artificial eyes with soap and water twice a day.

He hasn’t run for eight months. Ayuob’s impatience got the better of him one day. Not because he had been kicked out. Because they stole Iran’s gold from his neck. Ayuob won the Jakarta Para-Asian 2018 quota but was not selected for the tournament. The federation withdrew its quota for 400 meters and handed it over to a weightlifter. They thanked Ayuob for taking part and said that according to their calculations, if he went to the tournament, he would come in sixth, whereas the weightlifter would get the gold. So goodbye. Ayuob also said, God willing. He closed his mouth and said goodbye to Tehran. At his father's house, he turned on the TV and saw that, ironically, the opposite had happened. The athlete who took Ayuob's place finished sixth in weightlifting, and the runner-up record for the gold medal in 400 meters was just two seconds better than Ayuob's last record two months before the start of the Jakarta Games.

Ayuob takes a selfie with his parents and sister.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

Pulling the bowstring.Preparing to shoot a bow.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

In the kitchen.Drinking water before a training session.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

A friend helps Alexander get ready for a training session.A friend helps Alexander put on a special bandage for shooting.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

Alexander’s coach hangs targets.Archery coach Tsydenbal Tsyrenzhapov in the gym at the center for people with disabilities.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

A moment before a shot.Concentrating on the target.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

With one foot.Alexander fixates the bow with one foot while supporting it with his torso.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

Alexander’s coach points to a target.Alexander must hit the mark.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

Driving.Alexander can drive and occasionally works as a taxi driver.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

At the swimming pool.Alexander gets ready for a swimming session.

Alexander Gombozhapov is a master of sports in archery. He achieved this title despite having no arms and only one leg. It’s been 17 years since the horrible tragedy that made Alexander an amputee. He is well adjusted to his new life now. He can handle housework, exercise, swim and even drive a car.

Backstroke swimming.Swimming session.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Alevtina and her team Unicorns before a match.The Unicorns are based with the men’s team United and share their uniform and gear to save costs. While men started playing American football in Russia in late 1980s, the first women’s team was formed in 2011 in St. Petersburg.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Seizing the opponent who has the ball.The gear costs several average wages but it is necessary to protect the players from injuries when they clash with each other. The gear is usually bought in the United States or from former players.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

The Dragonflies before a match.Moscow has three women’s American football teams so they hold their own championship by inviting players from other cities. Two more teams are based in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. There are also two teams in the Russian Far East.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

The Mighty Ducks during a training session in Voronezh.In Voronezh, the women’s team does not have a full roster so they train with the men’s team, the Mighty Ducks, and play for Moscow teams.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Voronezh players in their locker room before a training session.Once a year, the Valkyries (St. Petersburg) organize a training camp for players from all over the country, with coaches from the US women’s national American football team.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Alla braids her hair before a game.Teams arrive in the field at least two hours before a game to mark up the field, put on their gear and warm up.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Tanya helps Lyuda tape her knee.Before each game, the women tape their joints to reduce the risk of injury.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Dragonflies vs. Unicorns.The young women get to play only six or seven games a year. They cover all related costs.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Liza takes a break on the sideline during a game.Most teams can’t get a full roster so experienced players have to take up several different positions, which is physically challenging.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Travelling for playing experience.Nadezhda travels from Voronezh to a training camp in St. Petersburg.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Late training sessions.Training sessions in Voronezh are usually scheduled for late at night because that’s when renting the field is cheaper.

There are only seven women’s American football teams in Russia. It is a non-professional sport so anyone can join. It’s all about personal enthusiasm so players often have to learn the rules and moves by themselves while coaching is simply done by more experienced players. Some women start playing American football because their friends invited them. Some are drawn by the exotic sport. Others simply want to become more athletic. Many drop out after the first training session: after all, it’s not only about strength and endurance but also about the ability to understand and remember formations. Those who stay find themselves a new family and a safe place for expressing emotions, including aggression. Young women admit that American football has made them braver and more decisive. They leave their comfort zone and broaden the boundaries of their usual routine. The sound of shoulder pads smashing against each other becomes their favorite sound.

Victory.The Unicorns defeat the Dragonflies. This year, they came in second in the Moscow League.

According to a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), plastic waste equivalent to 33,880 plastic bottles enters the Mediterranean each minute. Most of the plastic waste washes up on the shores of Italy and Turkey. The medical waste from the pandemic reached the seas due to the human factor and wind. While the world’s plastic and garbage pose a great danger to our seas, medical waste, a new concern, points to bigger problems and irreversible environmental pollution. Turkish national free diver Şahika Ercümen dives into the Bosphorus after becoming a UNDP aquatic life advocate.

New Danger to Life Below Water: COVID-19 Wastes

Every year on January 4, the Chinese city of Changchun hosts the opening ceremony of the Vasaloppet China cross-county ski race. In 2020, more than 1,000 athletes from 30 countries took part in the competition.

Ski into spring

Lake Baikal is not only one of the most beautiful but also most mystic and sacred places on Earth. There are many natural, holy places on Lake Baikal connected to the locals’ beliefs in shaman spirits, where people worshipped them and made sacrifices. This lake is shrouded in legends and myths.Lake Baikal is full of mysteries. Its many natural “places of power” are closely linked to shamanism and spirit worship. This year I went on an expedition to Lake Baikal but was met only by cold, wind and conjunctivitis.

Place of power

Circus elephants are bathing in murky river water.

It's bath time

Bangladesh is a country with six distinct seasons. Winter is one of such seasons. During winter, the temperature remains between 10°C and 12°C in many places, especially in the countryside where there is not much urbanization or human population. Because of this, winter comes in a variety of colors in Bangladesh. The fresh produce markets in rural areas get filled with colorful vegetables. Here a farmer shows off his harvest.

Happy Farmer

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

A farmer examines desert locusts at an infested farm in Nakukulas, Turkana County, Kenya on June 7, 2020. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Horn of Africa faced the worst desert locust crisis in over 25 years, and the most serious in 70 years for Kenya. The situation represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the region.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

Hundreds of thousands of desert locusts infest a grazing area in Nakukulas, Turkana County, Kenya on June 7, 2020. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Horn of Africa faced the worst desert locust crisis in over 25 years, and the most serious in 70 years for Kenya. The situation represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihood in the region.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

A truck with a worker in back on a road completely surrounded by a massive swarm of locust in an area near Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020. A locust plague fueled by unpredictable weather patterns devastated parts of East Africa. Voracious swarms - some billions strong - of insects ravaged big areas of land just as the coronavirus outbreak had begun to disrupt livelihoods. In spite of coronavirus-related travel restrictions, international experts are in place to support efforts to eradicate the pest with measures including ground and aerial spraying. The Covid-19 pandemic has competed for funding, hampered movement and delayed the import of critical materials, including insecticides and pesticides.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

Henry Lenayasa, a Samburu man, chief of the Archers Post settlement, tries to scare away a massive swarm of locusts as they ravage a grazing area next to Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020. A locust plague fueled by unpredictable weather patterns devastated parts of East Africa. Voracious swarms - some billions strong - ravaged big areas of land just as the coronavirus outbreak had begun to disrupt livelihoods. In spite of coronavirus-related travel restrictions, international experts are in place to support efforts to eradicate the pest with measures including ground and aerial spraying. The Covid-19 pandemic has competed for funding, hampered movement and delayed the import of critical materials, including insecticides and pesticides.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

A massive swarm of locust is seen ravaging the trees in a remote area next to Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Horn of Africa faced the worst desert locust crisis in over 25 years, and the most serious in 70 years for Kenya. The situation represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihood in the region.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

A member of Kenya’s NYS -National Youth Service- sprays pesticides in an area infested with hopper bands of desert locust near Lokichar, Turkana County, Kenya on June 10, 2020. The National Youth Service (NYS) is an organization under the government of Kenya with the purpose of mentoring Kenya's youth through national programs as well as technical and vocational training. The NYS has been active in the fight against the desert locust in the region. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has competed for funding, hampered movement and delayed the import of critical materials, including insecticides and pesticides.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

A desert locust, part of a massive swarm, on a branch in a remote grazing area near Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has competed for funding, hampered movement and delayed the import of critical materials, including insecticides and pesticides.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

Lochom Ekiru, 65, a Turkana farmer, assesses the severe damage of his maize crop after hopper bands of desert locust ravaged it in Kalemngorok, Turkana County, Kenya on June 3, 2020. Lochom Ekiru is a farmer and father of 10 children. He is a former pastoralist that lost his cattle due to cattle raiding. As a result, he decided to invest his savings in becoming a farmer. Now, he has tragically lost much of his maize crop due to hopper bands of locusts ravaging the region. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

A plane taking part of an aerial survey and control operation sprays insecticide while surrounded by a massive swarm of locusts near Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has competed for funding, hampered movement and delayed the import of critical materials, including insecticides and pesticides.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

Turkana girls walking a road covered by desert locust in an infested area of Ngamia One, Nakukulas, Turkana County, Kenya on June 6, 2020. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Horn of Africa faced the worst desert locust crisis in over 25 years, and the most serious in 70 years for Kenya. The situation represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihood in the region.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

A motorcyclist wearing a face mask on a road surrounded by a massive swarm of locusts ravaging a grazing area near Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020. A locust plague fueled by unpredictable weather patterns devastated parts of East Africa. Voracious swarms -some billions strong- of insects ravaged big areas of land and just as the coronavirus outbreak had begun to disrupt livelihoods. In spite of coronavirus-related travel restrictions, international experts are in place to support efforts to eradicate the pest including ground and aerial spraying. The Covid-19 pandemic has competed for funding, hampered movement and delayed the import of critical materials, including insecticides and pesticides.

Desert locusts are the most destructive migratory pests in the world. Thriving in moist conditions in semi-arid to-arid environments, billions of locusts have been feeding throughout East Africa, devouring everything in their path, posing an unprecedented and serious threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. The plague was fueled by severe weather anomalies, linked to a climate-change driven event in the Indian Ocean, that created ideal conditions for locust breeding and turned East Africa into a buffet for locusts. The crisis reached historical proportions since some areas in the region like Kenya had not seen such severe desert locust outbreaks in more than 70 years. The desert locust invasion had devastating consequences, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by drought, conflict, high food prices, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly slowed efforts to fight the infestation.

Lisa, Chris and Celine, three young pastoralists in Samburu, tending their families’ cattle, look at a swarm of locusts in a grazing area near Archers Post, Samburu County, Kenya on April 24, 2020. Some herders in the region have seen their rangelands stripped bare before their eyes, and before their livestock can get to them. A locust plague fueled by unpredictable weather patterns devastated parts of East Africa. Voracious swarms - some billions strong - ravaged big areas of land just as the coronavirus outbreak had begun to disrupt livelihoods. In spite of coronavirus-related travel restrictions, international experts are in place to support efforts to eradicate the pest including ground and aerial spraying.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

This is first day of Nowruz (the New Year), Bahram is wearing a mask at home and watching his grandson, Bardia, who pasted his toy to the window. To follow social distancing guidelines, Bardia wants his grandfather to kiss his toy from the other side of the window for him. According to the World Health Organization, grandparents should remain at a distance from their grandchildren. Under these conditions he might have Bahram quarantined himself and use a mask even at home. He felt shortness of breath and sometimes coughed. He said, it was the strangest Nowruz (new year) of his life, even stranger than Nowruz during the war. We arranged my son’s wedding during Nowruz, but now we are keeping away from each other and wearing masks and thinking about the value of life. I miss my grandchildren, and I would like to see them even through a window, he said.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

A view from our court during the coronavirus quarantine. In the corner with slippers and disinfectants. When someone comes inside, they have to remove their shoes and put on clean slipper and wipe their hands with disinfectant. Eucalyptus leaves are used for eliminating shortness of breath. My uncle picked eucalyptus leaves from the nearby plain, and put them behind the door. I was walking in the yard by myself and thinking about the effects of the coronavirus on our lives. It even changed our corner of the court. So, in a sense, I am not alone the effect is with me in the corner.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

Volunteer women at the mosque, sewing. Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the shortage of medical equipment, for example, masks and covers, has made the situation worse. Somayeh Ahani, the supervisor of the women, suffers from Fibromyalgia. One of the seamstresses said that during the war they used to gather at the mosque to help people, and this pandemic situation is similar to that (the war period).

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

Mashti Karim is a 66 year-old vendor who sells potatoes and fruits on the sidewalk. Due to the virus many jobs have faded away.Karim talks about his job: he says he earns less money since the virus. It seems that people do not eat fruit. Maybe they think our fruit is infected with the virus. I take the risk and come out to earn money for my family, but nobody buys. I stay here beside my car without selling anything. I go around the street and collect grass for my cow and my neighbor’s cows. I keep myself busy and work for the cows; time passes faster, and I do not think about the coronavirus.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

Because of the spreading coronavirus and the rising fatality rate in Rostamkola and the Gorjimahalle villages in April, the authorities decided to put some restrictions on the major roads, especially roads to cemeteries. Road entrances were blocked, and commuting was limited. Every day I use this route to go to the gym, but today it was blocked. So I took the opportunity to look at the trees along the road and think about people who have died.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Roghayeh and her family are in quarantine for about a month. She has suffered from a few chronic diseases and also experienced a heart attack. She started baking bread at home after 18 years. It makes her feel content, and she starts dancing. She says: I’m worried about my children rather than myself and they are worried about me, but I try to keep my spirits up.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

This was the 7th day of the ritual for Rezvan Hashemi, 54 year-old women. She died from the virus, and she had respiratory disease. Rezvan was hospitalized in the ICU at Khatam for one month. After a long course of the disease she died in the hospital. Her husband and her family were in the 7th day of the ritual for the dead (a ritual held a week after the death of a person). At the end of the ritual when people left the cemetery, her husband went near the grave and said “now, it is my turn” and started crying; his son-in-low hugged him.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

My 36 years old brother, Borzoo, was doing a bodybuilding course when the coronavirus pandemic started. He continued his exercises at home during the quarantine. During the first days, because of cold weather, he exercised inside the house, but after a while when the weather got warmer (during the spring) he continued to exercise in the garden. There is a garden next to his house and they played in that garden when they were young. He said that doing the exercise in the courtyard was strange because it was hard to believe that my bodybuilding equipment in a garden not in a gym. I see the quarantine as an opportunity, but honestly, I think I have no choice.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

Hossein Droudy, 17, is waiting for the body of someone who died because of the coronavirus. He is a religion student. After the death of his grandfather, who was also a mullah, he started taking care of his responsibilities (funeral related duties) at Behshahr Cemetery. Although the coronavirus has raised the fatality rate over the past few weeks, he was the only mullah who worked in cemetery for months. He said at first he was frightened but thinking about the martyrs who went to war calmed him down. They must have been afraid to go and were worried about their families, but they went to war anyway.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

Niloofar, 29, is a doctor. She is standing in our alley because of my birthday. She is celebrating my birthday during the quarantine. She volunteered to help during heavy outbreaks. After working in the medical center and helping coronavirus patients she goes to people’s homes just to help them. She brings me a little cake and a gift while social distancing. She said even these stressful days cannot make me forget your birthday.

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

Yazdan Mortazavi’s family and relatives at the washing house for a last visit. Yazdan Mortazavi, 53, passed away from the virus infection in the hospital. Yazdan and his daughter were hospitalized with the virus. The doctor told Yazdan’s wife to take their daughter home, because Yazdan was too worried about her, and his body was getting weaker. After his wife took his daughter home, Yazdan passed away in the hospital. When they entered the washing place, the mother said he loved his children and he always laughed with them. I must keep my children happy now. I will live with his memories. How can I continue without him?

The coronavirus pandemic: a crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. It has changed everything in my environment from my father’s face to my city. The garden next door is like a cemetery. Micro or macro many things have changed taking on new meanings. In February 2020, Iran reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The coronavirus has spread quickly to other cities. My city, Mazandеran, has become one of the most dangerous areas, a virus red zone. As a photographer with many concerns, I was confronted by strange and unexpected moments, decisive and indecisive moments like in a transitional state. It feels like a tunnel in a transition between life before the coronavirus and after it. Facing our mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives; I see a reevaluation of life in my environment. The pandemic has forced a reevaluation of life in detail. I started taking photos in my house to record my family; then I saw the risk and decided to leave.

My brother‘s wife (in center) with a cake she bought for me. It is my birthday during the pandemic and social distancing. After months, my brother and his family went into our yard for my birthday.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

The Iranian-Kurdish town of Piranshahr, one of the most important cities near the country’s border with Iraq.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

A Kurdish man carries goods on his back through the mountains on the Iran-Iraq border.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

Kurdish men carry goods on their backs through the mountains of the Iran-Iraq border.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

Kurdish men carry goods on their backs through the mountains of the Iran-Iraq border.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

Ahmad, 41,from Mariwan, lost his fingers to frostbite when he became lost in the mountains nearthe Iran-Iraq border while smuggling goods.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

A Kurdish man eats snow for hydration after eight hours of carrying heavy goods on his back throughthe mountains of the Iran-Iraq border.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

Kurdish men carry goods on their backs through the mountains of the Iran-Iraq border.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

A woman shows a photo of her son, Fakher, a young Kurdish man who was killed by police with a gunshot to the head. He had been carrying goods across the border from Iraq two days prior.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

Shafi, 30, lays paralyzed in bed with family and friends, after having been shot by Iranian border police while smuggling goods from Iraq three years prior.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

A family weeps as they show a photo of their loved one, Fakher, a young Kurdish man who was killed by police with a gunshot to the head. He had been carrying goods across the border from Iraq two days prior.

The 1458-kilometer border with Iraq is Iran’s longest land border with its neighbors. For a long time, this border has been comprised of the most important transaction and commercial ports Iran has with Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, importers still use the border to import goods. In so doing they hire local people, called porters (Koolbar in Kurdish), to transport goods from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iranian Kurdistan. According to estimates, 300 Koolbars die annually, 71 percent of whom are shot to death by border patrols. Mostly ranging in age from 13 to 65, Koolbars cross the border with heavy loads, taking an average of 8 to 12 hours — the routes running through life-risking locations including winding mountain trails, valleys, steep hills and other obstacle courses. The risk of being shot by a border patrol adds to the hazards Koolbars have to face in pursuit of a living.

Shafi, 30, lays paralyzed in a hospital in Tehran, after having been shot by Iranian border police while smuggling goods from Iraq three years prior.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Harvest gypsies.In Huehuetenango, Northwestern Guatemala, the seasonal coffee harvest workers are housed in large wooden buildings called `galeras.´ They are paid far below the minimum wage and many of them must put their children to work in order to feed them.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Last ears of corn.Dora and her daughter peel the last remaining ears of corn. Drought and shifting weather are making it difficult for many small-scale farmers to feed their families, fueling a human crisis.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Chronic malnutrition.Guatemala has the sixth-highest malnutrition rate in the world with at least 47% of children suffering from chronic malnourishment. Malnutrition rates are even higher among the country’s 24 indigenous communities, rising to over 80% in some villages of the dry corridor.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Travel north."We grew up hungry, but the past four years have been very hard. We have to find a way to travel north, or else our children will suffer even more”, says Israel, a father of nine from a Ch’orti’ community in the highlands of Chiquimula.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Coffee.A global price crash and the deadly rust fungus known locally as la rolla have wiped out about 80% of the region’s coffee in the past five years. This has led to less work, lower pay and more hunger among the indigenous people.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Sugar cane workers.Five sugar cane workers stretching before the long journey ahead. Guatemala's economy rests on the long-suffering shoulders of the countless thousands of indigenous men, women and children who travel the distances that separate the small holdings of the highlands from the large plantations that hire them in the south each year.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Bathing.An indigenous child swimming in the river.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Heading north.Two families leaving their community in Huehuetenango in search of work. There is nothing left at home: no food, no money, no work.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Reading at home.Three siblings from the Mayan Chorti ethnic group learning to read at home. The school is too far to walk to and the malnourished children are too weak to go everyday without food.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Our Lady of Guadalupe.Most houses in the indigenous communities have an altar full of Christian icons.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Resting.Daniel rests on a wooden bench before starting a new journey during the coffee harvest.

"Until the corn grows back" is a visual story about the roots of climate migration in Guatemala. In the indigenous communities of the highlands, the question is no longer if someone will leave, but when. Increasingly erratic climate patterns have produced year after year of failed harvests and dwindling work opportunities across the country, forcing thousands of people to try to escape skyrocketing levels of food insecurity and poverty. Over the last year, I worked with two Mayan families to create a record of daily life — their beliefs, hopes and struggles. I developed an intimate relationship with its people and I documented how malnutrition is not only widespread in Guatemala, which has the highest rates in Latin America, but has enormous consequences for individual and collective survival. Children suffering from malnutrition experience physical and cognitive constraints, which leads to perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Climate migration.Mario´s family walking with all their belongings in search of work. During this season, when Guatemala’s great crops are coming into harvest, its roads swarm with the migrant workers, that shifting group of nomadic, poverty-stricken harvesters driven by hunger and the threat of hunger, from harvest to harvest, up and down the country.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

Aerial photo taken on July 29, 2020 shows the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform and its supply ship in the northern waters of the South China Sea.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

Workers arrive at the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform by a support ship in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 10, 2020.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

Workers fulfill a well-drilling task which requires a lot of physical strength on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 26, 2020.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

A worker drops to the sea by cable to fulfill a well-drilling task on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 25, 2020.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

A worker fulfills a well-drilling task, which requires great physical strength, on a platform dozens of meters high on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 26, 2020.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

Workers try to stabilize drilling equipment weighing many tons to fulfill a well-drilling task on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 27, 2020.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

A worker on duty takes a short break on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 27, 2020. Many workers are engaged in heavy physical work day and night on the offshore oil platform.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

The deck of the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea on July 21, 2020.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

Workers watch TV and chat after work on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 23, 2020. The life of the workers is so boring that watching TV and chatting are the few ways to rest after work.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

A worker exercises, which is almost his only sport after work, on the helicopter deck of the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 26, 2020.

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

A worker calls his family via satellite phone on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 27, 2020

This group of pictures about workers on offshore drilling platforms was taken in July 2020 in the northern part of the South China Sea. The Kantan No.3 is a semi-submersible oil platform developed domestically by China in 1983. Its 18 member well-drilling team works 12-hour shifts non-stop to find marine oil and gas resources, which are often found in sea beds 5,000 to 6,000 meters underwater. Life on the oil platform is characterized by toil and boredom, as the weather is scorching hot and there is no mobile phone signal. Typically, the drilling platform’s laborers work 28 consecutive days offshore before they can go onshore on a holiday of equal time. In over three decades since operations began, the Kantan No.3 has rigged more than 160 oil and gas wells.

A worker’s face is bathed in sweat while working on the Kantan No.3 offshore oil platform in the northern waters of the South China Sea, July 22, 2020.

A surgeon in an OR at a temporary medical facility for COVID-19 patients at Moscow City Hospital No. 15 (Filatov Hospital).

Faces of The Time

A portrait of Hassiba and her daughter “Wihad,” who was sexually harassed on her way back from school, even though Hassiba chose a safe area to live in Cairo after she fled Sudan and came to Egypt as a refugee. Since the incident, Wihad has refused to go to school without her mother, which is difficult because of Hassiba's work, so Wihad has skipped some days of school.

Wihad

Tasnim (11), Medhi (6), and their grandfather Shukur Mia. Family members with an unusual pigmentation show off their shockingly bright, blue eyes. Eyes of this color are rare for people of a darker skin tone, and the cause is a lack of melanin pigment in the iris of the eye. Lower levels of melanin are more commonly found in people with lighter skin tones, meaning they are more likely to have lighter colored eyes. The grandfather's name is Shukur Mia, who is photographed with his granddaughter Tasnim and grandson Medhi.

Beauty of eyes

A group of men, including Patrick Hutchinson (carrying the man), help an injured counter-protester away after he was attacked by a crowd of Black Lives Matter supporters on the Southbank on June 13, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. The man, later identified as Bryn Male, was, according to witnesses, “visibly inebriated” and told a BLM protester to “[expletive] off, nobody cares” before he was attacked and fell to the ground. In an interview, Male said, “They beat me senseless, and then two or three of them, including Patrick, came to rescue me. Patrick put me on his shoulder because he realized I was going to get killed.” Following a social media post by the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson, members of far-right linked groups gathered around statues in London that were targeted by Black Lives Matter protesters for their links to racism and the slave trade. Bryn said his decision to travel to the protests was motivated by his desire to protect these historic statues.

Patrick Hutchinson

A portrait of Maria Elena Rios in a field of marigolds, the symbolic flower of Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. After surviving an attempted femicide – an acid attack by her ex-boyfriend in September 2019 – the 27-year-old saxophonist is now fighting for justice. Disfigured, it is through music and her instrument that she succeeded in being reborn and in finding the strength to continue her fight.

Maria Elena

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Tatyana.Tatyana is the most independent person with Down syndrome living in Svetlana. She took care of her mother and planned her funeral, and can handle life’s most difficult tasks.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Minya and Tanya.Tanya consoles Minya as he recalls the death of his mother.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Minya and Tanya after Bible study.Minya and Tanya after Bible study. Svetlana residents get dressed up and spend time together discussing a chapter from the Bible, and sharing their impressions of the week.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Tanya.Tanya washes the dishes after baking bread together with other residents of Svetlana.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Tanya and Minya.Tanya and Minya dance at a birthday party.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Minya.Minya hugs Natasha, one of his best friends. The couple call her their sister.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Minya and Tanya kissing in their room.They speak about love every day. They wear rings and call each other husband and wife. They dream about having a wedding.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Minya and Tanya’s hands.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Play rehears.Minya as the King and Tanya as the Rose during a rehearsal of the play The Little Prince.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Chapel.Each Sunday, Svetlana residents go for a walk and often visit this chapel.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Tanya and Minya before bed.Minya and Tanya share a room.

This is an intimate story about the love of an elderly couple with Down syndrome in the unique social village of Svetlana, which is home to people with various mental and physical disorders, as well as their mentors and volunteers. It is not an asylum or a clinic. Every resident is valued as a person, and everyone works for the common good. Minya and Tatyana met each other in this village and fell in love in 2015. They are over 50 years old. I witnessed this couple get to know each other and can see how happy they have been ever since. They take care of each other, spend their free time together and worry about each other’s health. They cherish every minute of their time together. Love for them is not something ordinary, but a rare stroke of luck. Minya and Tatyana work as bakers, and also help with cooking and cleaning. They also act in plays and paint. Many believe that people with Down syndrome are incapable of love, but it is not true. Love knows no bounds.

Minya.Minya has lived in Svetlana for almost 20 years. His beloved mother recently passed away. He likes to work and calls himself the director of the village.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

The relic of Prophet Muhammad is displayed before thousands of believers on the eve of Eid-i-Milad, the birth anniversary of the prophet, at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, Kashmir. Faith is viewed as a significant source of healing for those directly and indirectly impacted by decades of violence in Kashmir.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Indian forces advance on young demonstrators in clashes following Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid, Srinagar’s largest mosque. The mosque has been a hub of resistance for decades and an inspiration behind intermittent clashes between protesters and paramilitary soldiers.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Kashmiri mourners brave the bitter cold to chant pro-freedom, anti-India slogans and wave Pakistani flags while carrying the dead body of Adil Sheikh, a Hizbul Mujhahideen fighter.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Kashmir-based photojournalist Xuhaib Maqbool Humzaended up losing vision in his left eye after being shot with a pellet while covering a protest in the old city of Srinagar during the 2016 uprising. That year over 350 people were partially or totally blinded by the indiscriminate use of pellet guns by Indian soldiers. In June 2016 following the killing of top rebel commander Burhan Muzzafar Wani of Hizbul Mujahideen, a massive uprising ensued in Kashmir resulting in the deaths of over 100 young people, mostly teenagers, when police opened fire. More than 18,000 were injured, many by pellet guns.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

On the first day of Eid, Kashmiri kids pose with toy guns, playacting the ongoing armed resistance in Kashmir. Children have suffered most from the ceaseless violence.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Empty liquor bottles hang from barbed wire at the foothills of the historical Hariparbat fort in Srinagar. On June 2014, authorities opened it up to the public and tourists after 24 years.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Haleema, a mentally challenged Kashmiri woman, stands near the window of a mosque in old city Srinagar. Two decades of conflict in Kashmir have left almost 100,000 people dead. Most of these were young men, bread winners, who left behind mothers, wives, sisters, and children. Thousands of women live in extreme poverty and depression. There are around 800,000 people in Kashmir who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), most of them women who witnessed a death in their immediate or extended families.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Government forces detain a dozen of Shiite Muslims in the Batamaloo area of Srinagar on Monday, September 9, 2018, during an 8th day Muharram procession through the curfew-locked city streets. The march has been banned by government authorities since the armed struggle against Indian rule broke out in Kashmir over two decades ago.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Young masked protesters wave flags of various militant organizations and shout slogans in support of the Palestinian and Kashmiri causes, and denouncing the US, Israel and India, during a protest to mark international Quds Day at Jamia Mosque in Srinagar, Kashmir. Quds is the Arabic word for Jerusalem. The annual demonstration is to show solidarity with Palestinians and condemn Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Women mourn the death of Lashker militant Adil Mushtaq Mir. The 18-year-old 12th-grader was killed in a gunfight with army soldiers along with two fellow fighters in South Kashmir’s Arwani Village in the Kulgam district. According to official figures, government forces have killed at least 69 armed rebels in Kashmir since January this year, compared to 213 in 2017 and 150 in 2016. In last 29 months, they have killed 432 militants.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

Gowhar Ahmed Sheikh, a 10th-grader, was struck by pellets in his right eye during a peaceful protest in south Kashmir’s Khrew area against government trucks carrying cement. Gowhar and his classmate Iqbal Ahmed Sheikh were shot by para-military CRPF troopers on the same day April 2, 2016.

Kashmir, a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, has been living in a state of conflict since 1989. The genesis of the dispute goes back to 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided after the end of the British imperial rule in the region. Over the last 25 years, the humanitarian cost of the conflict has been enormous. Since the armed insurgency broke out against Indian rule in 1989, more than 90,000 people have died. There are thousands of orphans and widows. Detention, rape and torture have become routine. For the last three decades, Kashmiris have been living under the shadow of the gun, with over half a million Indian soldiers occupying every corner of the state. Black laws give Indian forces impunity to kill or arrest anyone without fear of prosecution. Gunfights, funerals and wailing women are commonplace scenes that unfold in the region on a daily basis.

A civilian shows bullet shells found at the site of a gunfight in which three militants were killed during a nightlong skirmish with Indian forces in Srinagar, Kashmir.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

A portrait of Alexey and Vika. In their childhood they suffered from fire, underwent many operations and are now trying to live a normal life.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

A portrait of Vika who suffered serious burns as a child and is now trying to lead a normal life.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

A portrait of Alexey and Vika. As children they were burned in a fire. After numerous operations, they are now trying to lead normal lives.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

The hands of Alexey and Vika.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

Portrait of Alexey and Vika.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

Portrait of Alexey and Vika.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

Portrait of Alexey and Vika.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

Portrait of Alexey and Vika.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

Portrait of Alexey and Vika.

In Russia, about 60,000 children suffer burns each year, with 25,000 requiring hospitalization. A severe burn is a complex injury that leads to significant changes in the lives of children and their families. Treatment of burns involves severe pain and prolonged hospitalizations. Those who have suffered severe burns develop scarring that changes their appearance and can restrict mobility. The medical rehabilitation required to deal with it is a long-term process, and repeated operations are often necessary. Psychologists and social workers help young burn victims and their family members to adapt to the treatment process and hospital life, and coordinate care with their doctors. Lyosha and Vika were seriously injured in a fire as young children. After numerous operations and a lengthy socialization process, they are now fully grown and trying to find their place in the world. Lyosha is studying to become an IT specialist and Vika wants to become a Cynologist.

Portrait of Alexey and Vika.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine, wearing his signature red beret banned by the Ugandan government, addresses the press at his recording studio on November 26, 2019 in Kampala, Uganda. In September 2019, the government of Uganda banned the wearing of red berets adopted by Wine and supporters of the People Power campaign. Wine and his supporters continue to defy this controversial law.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

People react as Bobi Wine drives past in his car on September 31, 2019 in Kampala, Uganda.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine with his daughter Suubi in their home on September 31, 2019 in Kampala, Uganda. Wine and his wife Barbara have four children together: Solomon, Shalom, Shadraq and Suub. When asked what his children think about the work he does, he said, “My children are very much aware that I am involved in politics, but I have tried hard not to let my work issues affect them. When I am at home, I am a father to my children.” In the run up to the January 2021 election, Wine sent his children to stay with friends in the United States after claiming to have uncovered evidence of a plot to kidnap his children.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine's raised hand is seen through the hands of a clapping supporter as he parades though streets thronged with supporters on November 3, 2020 in Kampala, Uganda. The presidential nominations, where presidential aspirants register as candidates, were held on November 2-3, 2020. Two opposition candidates were detained, including Bobi Wine, who was dragged from his car after dozens of security officers surrounded the vehicle carrying him and his aides. In a series of live videos on his Facebook page, a security official can be seen using a lug wrench to break a window of the vehicle, and after a scuffle with the car’s passengers, officers open the door and drag off Mr. Wine. “Jesus, this is what the police are doing,” he could be heard saying before being pulled from the car. “We will not be violent.”

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine drives through Kayunga district, central Uganda, while campaigning on December 1, 2020 in Bukolooto, Uganda.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine takes his injured music producer, Dan Magic, to a medical center on December 1, 2020 in Nazigo, Uganda. Dan was injured by teargas fired by police.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine points to a bullet hole, allegedly caused by police, as he was travelling on December 1, 2020 in Jinja, Uganda. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine, says police fired through the wind shield as he attempted to pass a roadblock.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, otherwise know as Bobi Wine, attends the funeral of 26 year old Elijah Mukiibi on January 13, 2021 in Bowa, Uganda. Wine claims Elijah was shot in the stomach as unidentified security agents raided his Kampala workplace on January 12, 2021. Mukiibi, a childhood friend of Bobi Wine, was a mechanic and one of Wine’s drivers. Kyagulanyi said, “He was murdered in cold blood by the military yesterday when they stormed his workplace at Kiseka market and shot him. Like many innocent Ugandans that have lost lives to state inspired violence, his crime was being a Bobi Wine supporter. One day, justice will be served.”

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine raises a fist after voting in the Ugandan presidential election on January 14, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Ugandan security forces are visible in the background outside Bobi Wine's property (image taken from inside his property) on January 15, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda. Wine alleged that the authorities beat a member of his staff shortly before the media arrived, and a uniformed solider also pointed a cocked rifle at reporters. This was the start of what turned out to be Wine’s eleven-day house arrest.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Close up of Bobi Wine's hands as he addresses the media with security forces surrounding his home on January 15, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda.

Repeatedly beaten, arrested and harassed by security forces, Bobi Wine gave hope to thousands of Ugandans while running against the president of 35 years, Yoweri Museveni, in the 2021 election. The election campaign was marred by violence – at least 54 people were killed by security forces during protests against Wine’s arrest in November 2020. And since then, there have been countless reports of opposition figures and supporters being arrested and tortured. Mr. Wine even started campaigning in a bulletproof vest midway through the campaign after his car was shot at in Jinja, with a bullet piercing the windshield. In an interview with the New York Times, Wine said “I know they want me dead as soon as yesterday, we are campaigning every day as if it’s the last." Museveni was declared the winner of the election. Wine insists he won, and accuses the military of stuffing ballot boxes, casting ballots for other people and chasing voters away from polling stations.

Bobi Wine with his wife Barbara Kyagulanyi after voting in the Ugandan presidential elections on January 14, 2021 in Kampala, Uganda.

Who are the people who test us, who help us when we have shortness of breath, who care for us when nothing works anymore? Although the number of people in need of care in our aging society continues to rise, and almost every second person dies in the hospital, it took a pandemic to make us realize how vitally important medical professionals really are. People in their home offices applauded from balconies, and politicians sang the praises of these "heroes of everyday life". The project "There is glory in prevention" gives voice to the people who are exposed every day to the invisible danger of the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Patrick Junker has been photographing nurses and doctors at work in Stuttgart's Marien hospital and the Corona test mobile. He has accompanied patients and their relatives, portrayed people struggling with the consequences of the lockdown, and photographed those committed to ending it.

"We can all consider ourselves lucky not to experience what our patients had to experience." Ivett Bodo is a nurse with the internal intensive care unit at Marien hospital. Photographed on May 20, 2020, during her shift in the isolation ward for COVID-19 patients.

Who are the people who test us, who help us when we have shortness of breath, who care for us when nothing works anymore? Although the number of people in need of care in our aging society continues to rise, and almost every second person dies in the hospital, it took a pandemic to make us realize how vitally important medical professionals really are. People in their home offices applauded from balconies, and politicians sang the praises of these "heroes of everyday life". The project "There is glory in prevention" gives voice to the people who are exposed every day to the invisible danger of the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Patrick Junker has been photographing nurses and doctors at work in Stuttgart's Marien hospital and the Corona test mobile. He has accompanied patients and their relatives, portrayed people struggling with the consequences of the lockdown, and photographed those committed to ending it.

"Coronavirus shows that we must enjoy every moment together. I will never quarrel with anyone again." Nadja Beer has just completed her training as a physiotherapist. She volunteered for service on the Covid-19 ward.

Who are the people who test us, who help us when we have shortness of breath, who care for us when nothing works anymore? Although the number of people in need of care in our aging society continues to rise, and almost every second person dies in the hospital, it took a pandemic to make us realize how vitally important medical professionals really are. People in their home offices applauded from balconies, and politicians sang the praises of these "heroes of everyday life". The project "There is glory in prevention" gives voice to the people who are exposed every day to the invisible danger of the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Patrick Junker has been photographing nurses and doctors at work in Stuttgart's Marien hospital and the Corona test mobile. He has accompanied patients and their relatives, portrayed people struggling with the consequences of the lockdown, and photographed those committed to ending it.

"My mother is a high-risk case. That's why I didn't see her during the quarantine. I missed her very much. In general, I found it difficult that visiting with family members was severely restricted and sometimes impossible." Nic Seiboldt is a special cleaner and disinfector at Akut SOS Clean, a company specializing in disinfection, pest control, and decontamination. Together with his colleagues, Nic cleaned government planes, train stations, nursing homes, and ambulances. Photographed on April 8, 2020, after a work assignment.

Who are the people who test us, who help us when we have shortness of breath, who care for us when nothing works anymore? Although the number of people in need of care in our aging society continues to rise, and almost every second person dies in the hospital, it took a pandemic to make us realize how vitally important medical professionals really are. People in their home offices applauded from balconies, and politicians sang the praises of these "heroes of everyday life". The project "There is glory in prevention" gives voice to the people who are exposed every day to the invisible danger of the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Patrick Junker has been photographing nurses and doctors at work in Stuttgart's Marien hospital and the Corona test mobile. He has accompanied patients and their relatives, portrayed people struggling with the consequences of the lockdown, and photographed those committed to ending it.

"Because we were so well-staffed, I felt pretty good during my time at the Corona Station. That sounds funny, but it never usually happens that I am responsible for only four patients at the same time. Usually, there are ten." Svenja Luik looks back on the first wave of the pandemic. She is a nurse at the Marien hospital. In 2019 she suffered from depression brought on by exhaustion. After a three-month break, she decided to return to work.

Who are the people who test us, who help us when we have shortness of breath, who care for us when nothing works anymore? Although the number of people in need of care in our aging society continues to rise, and almost every second person dies in the hospital, it took a pandemic to make us realize how vitally important medical professionals really are. People in their home offices applauded from balconies, and politicians sang the praises of these "heroes of everyday life". The project "There is glory in prevention" gives voice to the people who are exposed every day to the invisible danger of the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Patrick Junker has been photographing nurses and doctors at work in Stuttgart's Marien hospital and the Corona test mobile. He has accompanied patients and their relatives, portrayed people struggling with the consequences of the lockdown, and photographed those committed to ending it.

"We have employees who are over sixty. What we have achieved as a team over the past months is incredible. We often reached our limits because the strain was enormous. We had long days, lots of overtime. But we are very grateful to do the work that we do: because we are allowed to help. Unfortunately, we just can't always. What worries me are the economic consequences, with so many companies and business owners facing bankruptcy". Marcell Engel, crime scene cleaner and head of Akut SOS Clean. During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, he and his staff were working round-the-clock.

Who are the people who test us, who help us when we have shortness of breath, who care for us when nothing works anymore? Although the number of people in need of care in our aging society continues to rise, and almost every second person dies in the hospital, it took a pandemic to make us realize how vitally important medical professionals really are. People in their home offices applauded from balconies, and politicians sang the praises of these "heroes of everyday life". The project "There is glory in prevention" gives voice to the people who are exposed every day to the invisible danger of the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Patrick Junker has been photographing nurses and doctors at work in Stuttgart's Marien hospital and the Corona test mobile. He has accompanied patients and their relatives, portrayed people struggling with the consequences of the lockdown, and photographed those committed to ending it.

"Although we sit around the breakfast table with more distance between us, we are closer as a team. Amin Quasem is a medical student and works as a nurse and healthcare worker at Marien hospital. Photographed on March 27, 2020, during his shift at the COVID 19 ward of Marien hospital.