Conflict

As I Was Dying

Paolo Pellegrin documents the horror and despair from areas of conflict, war and disaster and gives voice to the unbearable suffering of those affected

Paolo Pellegrin

Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying View of Hindu Kush mountain range. Badakhshan province, Afghanistan. May, 2006. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying A helicopter used by the Drug Enforcement Agency and Afghan troops lands after completing a mission. Kabul, Afghanistan. May, 2006. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Several people recover a body after heavy fighting the day before. Basra, Iraq. 2003. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Portrait. Vatican City, Italy. April 2, 2005. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying A neighbor consoles the Lutati mother for the loss of her son. Neve Dekalim, Gaza Strip. 2004. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Yaniv Sagee (with binoculars) is on duty in a Palestinian wedding hall that his unit has commandeered for a reconnaissance headquarters. Atil, West Bank. 2002. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Young people in a gang in the slum of Cite Soleil. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. February, 2006. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Thousands of Preval's supporters take the streets lighting tires and destroying property in response to alleged voting frauds. Port-au-Prince, Haiti. February, 2006. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Moments after an Israeli air strike destroyed several buildings in Dahia. Beirut, Lebanon. August, 2006. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Sumatra island after the tsunami. Banda Aceh, Indonesia. 2005. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Street scene in a village. Region South in the Kass, Sudan. 2004. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Man jumping over temporary wall that was later built into an 8 meter high boundary. Abu Dis, Palestine. 2003. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Blindfolded suicide bomber suspects are lined up before being taken to Israeli military base near a Jewish settlement. Beit Lid, Palestine. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying A child was initially brought into a MSF run cholera treatment center and then diagnosed with acute cerebral malaria. Luanda, Angola. May, 2006. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying A child with cholera and his mother in a MSF run cholera treatment center. Malenje, Angola. May, 2006. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Yasser Arafat's funeral in the Mukata compound, Ramallah, West Bank. November 12, 2004. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos
Paolo Pellegrin | As I was Dying Civilians flee during intense fighting between coalition forces and Saddam's fedayeen. Basra, Iraq. 2003. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos

“When I do my work and I am exposed to the suffering of others – their loss or, at times their death – I feel I am serving as a witness; that is my role and responsibility to create a record for our collective memory. Part of this, I believe, has to do with notions of accountability. Perhaps it is only in their moment of suffering that these people will be noticed, and noticing erases our excuse of saying one day that we did not know.

But I also feel that it is in this very delicate and fragile space that surrounds death, the space that I sometimes have both the privilege and the burden of entering, there exists the possibility of an encounter with the other in a way that goes beyond words and culture and differences . It is about being exposed for a moment in front of each other and in front of the act and mystery of dying. In that moment I feel I am looking at something that I can’t completely see but that is looking at me. It is in this exchange that something simultaneously universal and deeply intimate can be found; in the death of the other there is a loss that belongs to everyone.” – Paolo Pellegrin

 

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