Category Archives: disasters

Pakistan Flood Appeal

Subscribe to ShahidulNews The floods raging through Pakistan at the moment have affected more people than the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, the 2006 Asian tsunami, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined. An urgent mail from Kanak Mani Dixit of Himal Magazine. … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on August 20, 2010
Posted in disasters, People, South Asia, Uncategorized, Water | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Death Traps: Tales of a Mega Community

Subscribe to ShahidulNews By Abir Abdullah Vice Principal Pathshala (Abir was a student of the first batch of students of Pathshala) A fire broke out on 03 june 2010 night at about 9pm after the electrical transformer at Nawab Katra … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on June 8, 2010
Posted in Bangladesh, disasters, Governance, Human rights, media, Photography, Photojournalism, security, South Asia | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Just Hand Me A Biri

Orphaned girl by the remains of what was her home. Anwara. Bangladesh. 1991. © Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World “The dark cyclone shelter was packed with people, mostly women and children, some crying, some screaming. It was chaos. And then there was … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on November 17, 2007
Posted in Bangladesh, disasters, Governance, Human rights, Photography, Photojournalism, Shahidul Alam | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

When the Waters Came

It was nearly twenty years ago when I had written this. After one of my first photojournalistic assignments: What does one photograph to depict a flood? A submerged house, a boat on a highway, people wading in water? As we … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on August 15, 2007
Posted in Bangladesh, culture, disasters, Human rights, Photography, Photojournalism, Photojournalism issues, Shahidul Alam, South Asia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

From Dili to Delhi

I had just left behind a tense East Timor. No rice for several weeks… violence had again erupted on the streets. I had expected my one day pit stop in Dhaka, on my way to a UNAIDS assignment in India, … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on February 27, 2007
Posted in disasters, exploitation, Governance, Human rights, media, Military, Photography, politics, Shahidul Alam | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boxing Day Blues

When Jolly’s son Asif asked me to take a portrait of him and his new bride Rifat, I took it on with grandfatherly pride. The photo session was booked for Sunday morning, the 26th December 2004. Boxing day. The envelope … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on December 28, 2006
Posted in disasters, media, Photography, Photojournalism, Photojournalism issues, Shahidul Alam, South Asia, Water | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I hear the screams

Even after years of playing Pied Piper with a camera, I am still taken aback by children insisting on being photographed. It was September 1988, and we had had the worst floods in a century. These people at Gaforgaon hadn’t … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on August 11, 2006
Posted in Bangladesh, disasters, Human rights, media, Media issues, Photography, Photojournalism, Photojournalism issues, Shahidul Alam | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Where Elbows Do The Talking

It was a mixed week. Sandwiched in between the hartals and the ekushey barefoot walks and the launch disaster, were news items that led to very different emotions at Drik. Shoeb Faruquee, the photographer from Chittagong, won the 2nd prize … Continue reading →

by Shahidul Alam Posted on February 21, 2005
Posted in Bangladesh, disasters, Governance, Human rights, media, Media issues, Photography, Photojournalism, Shahidul Alam | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment