Ethiopia in color – back to the year 2015 (continuation).
And again – back to the far 2015. It was 5 years bore the Tigray War started in this northern area of Ethiopia. This conflict got much less attention in the worldwide news media than other conflicts, which are obviously more important for society than the people mass killing in some far African countries. And now I don’t know what to think about this attention – if the lack of it is more healthy for the fighting sides when the media is not forcing with its predictions to even bloody clashes, because the media just became the engine that makes the situation insoluble for the side’s leaders, standing their ground in front of the whole world.
Now back to this procession, which took place at 6 am in close to the Sudan border Dansheha village. When I was selecting the images for the whole story, I decided to publish some in color. It’s very difficult to talk about Ethiopia and not show the colors. Colored clothes, umbrellas, transport, flags – everything was oversaturated, exactly like the music vibrating in the air. I hope that all these photographed by me people survived the conflict and now doing well.
Enjoy the colors of celebration. I’m not sure when the next time you will see something colorful from me. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this idea. Anita
It’s all so beautiful and lively. We like to focus on the bleak things, mostly, here in the US — and I’m not sure why.
Your comment about the media is bang on: reporting the facts is one thing, but picking sides with little to no knowledge of the area or the conflict and its history is irresponsible and reprehensible.
Thank you Matt for taking a look. I love to photograph these bleak things when i have them around but also i love to photograph the non-stop joy life of the real people when i can. Emotions and expressions are the most interesting subjects for me to photograph.
The thing about stories is they mean nothing if our protagonist(s) don’t suffer… The bleak times, and what we do when we’re in them, define us.
Real faces and emotions are interesting. You document places that don’t have the sort of stability I’m used to; your subjects deal with things I can’t imagine dealing with.
But you talk about people inviting you to their homes for the evenings (or a few hours) and I think that’s frickin’ cool. It’s a reminder to me we’re all humans… and whatever our disparate backgrounds, we’re not really all that different.
Some people really love and need attention. You can feel this here in the country where i live. If you ask for a portrait of someone on the street so his/her partner/friend can take offense kinda – “what im not too interesting for a portrait as well.”. Some people see you going with a camera and are asking for a picture. And to be able to visit them at their living places is just a huge bonus. Go to the small Greece islands villages and you will see this everywhere.
Interesting. Here, it’s rare to go somewhere and not see someone taking his/her own picture with a phone.
I was out somewhere the other day and saw an older (70s-ish?) taking a selfie together. I asked if they weren’t from around here since there’s a much more scenic selfie spot down the road about a mile.
Also here, I would never bring a stranger to my home.
My wife and I talk about getting out of the city, maybe I’m looking for a place you could bring a stranger to your home. 😀
hehehe different countries have different cultures. i can bring. of course depend on the situation and the person;-)
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Now i tried again with success 😉
Thanks 😊