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Like many, when I was a young, idealistic newspaper photographer I wanted to travel the world telling stories that mattered. That meant going where others didn’t want to. It also meant diving headfirst into some crazy situations and figuring it all out as I went. At the time any fears and insecurities were masked by a rush of adrenaline, the excitement of being on assignment in another country, and that all too self-important feeling of being the one to get to tell those stories.
I spent a few weeks in Israel and the Gaza Strip (above) in 2003, when bus bombings were at an all-time high and I could feel the thud of missiles shaking something near my hotel in Gaza on a nightly basis. I also had four young IDF soldiers train their guns on me at a checkpoint for way too long because they thought the money belt I had on looked suspicious. As an insurance policy, I was given a ceramic-plated vest by the newspaper, initially purchased for a coworker who was at least a foot taller and 100 lbs heavier, and an oversized helmet, both of which I lugged with me and never once put on. I flew to Pakistan for a month in 2011, one week after Osama bin Laden was killed. The trip had been planned for months, the raid and his subsequent death could not have been foreseen. We went anyway, figuring there were even more stories to tell, but we were unprepared for the unnerving harassment by ISI, the Pakistani secret service, and the occasional threats of arrest for us and our fixer, Shahid. And then there’s Haiti, a beautiful but maddening place that I have been drawn to and delighted by more than anywhere else, where chaos and darkness always seem to lay just below the light.
And then in 2016, I started doing work on the US-Mexico border through a few fellowships with the IWMF, and before the first trip they sent us to HEFAT (Hostile Environment and First Aid Training), and it was eye-opening. We learned basic defensive moves for breaking holds, getting out of situations when your hands have been bound with zip ties or duct tape, and about different types of kidnappings and were even put through simulations of them. We learned basic first aid, tying tourniquets, giving CPR. We learned some common sense stuff about both physical and cyber safety. And… what’s that phrase: you don’t know what you don’t know?! I realized how much I didn’t know before and it shook me.
I couldn’t believe all the places I’d been and situations I’d been in without this training; it should be mandatory (even for protests in the US now it’d come in handy). And I had no idea how my bosses felt OK letting me go to those places, having some street smarts, but nothing else. More than anything else though, I am extremely grateful to have made it through even though I’m still shaking my head at being young and dumb. Thankfully, I didn’t know any better at the time.
But I worked with amazing fixers (local journalists with incredible working knowledge who act as a translator, driver, guide, and confidante in-country) who saved my ass more than once, as well as with experienced reporters with valuable sources and frames of reference, who knew the history and politics of the place. And I was lucky, I was a staff photographer… I had the backing of my newspapers and all the resources and money that I’d hopefully never need to use.
Occasionally older wiser Melissa wants to ask that younger, naive Melissa what the hell was she thinking. On the other hand, I was lucky, and those experiences were incredibly impactful and packed full of lessons I still carry with me today.
All that to say, I understand both sides of the debate raging now about who should be going to Ukraine — or covering conflict — and who shouldn’t.
And I think what it boils down to is safety — both yours and those around you. If you’re going in without proper PPE or training, you’re at risk of becoming a liability. If you’re going in without the backing and support of a publication or agency, and things go sideways, you’re at risk of becoming a liability. If you can’t afford security, translation, and transportation, you’re at risk of becoming a liability. If you’re not able to speak the language, find a safe place to stay, and have to rely on the handouts (food, gasoline, etc…) of those who are actually under attack, you’re at risk of becoming a liability. If you become the story, you’re… well, you get my drift.
I was gobsmacked by a few things I saw online this past week. One social media post was from a young American photojournalist who’d flown to Eastern Europe and was heading to Ukraine, and was now asking if anyone had a lead on a helmet for her. One was from someone who went to Ukraine on his own dime and then created a Patreon account to help him “cover the news as an independent photojournalist.” Another was a story about a 19-year-old photojournalist who’s there freelancing (on spec? with work for hire contracts? and with what resources?) for various wires. All the posts had me shaking my fists and screaming at the screen. DO NOT go to war without a helmet. DO NOT go if you have to solicit subscribers to pay your way. DO NOT go on spec. All of these situations reek of entitlement and naivety. All tell me that these photojournalists are not ready — mentally or physically. All of these things tell me these people are a potential liability.
A story in Le Monde said Ukrainian authorities reported that more than 2,000 accreditations had been granted to foreign journalists. And they quoted Wilfrid Estève, associate director of the Hans Lucas collective, who underlined their motivation: “For a young photographer, a conflict less than 2,000 kilometers from home is still a professional opportunity.”
Sure… it’s a professional opportunity. But it’s also a huge risk. I just hope people are smart enough to weigh those odds. I’ll get off my soapbox now, and toss up some links that started me thinking about this whole thing in the first place:
Advice to Photographers in Ukraine by Timothy Fadek
Greg Kendall-Ball tweeted urging freelancers not to go to Ukraine unless they had the backing of an outlet. And Leila Barghouty offered a solid subtweet pointing out how utterly laughable that request is “it’s largely those outlets and the standards they set that are they REASON freelancer safety is ignored.” And Stephen Voss 1000% agreed with not going if you’re not being backed, but played devil’s advocate asking “if there's a single conflict photographer out there who didn't first pursue this kind of work on their own dime in order to demonstrate to editors that they were capable of doing it.”
Two American photojournalists were shot near Irpin, Ukraine Sunday. Juan Arredondo lived to tell about it. Brent Renaud, sadly, did not.
A Fox News crew in Ukraine was caught in the fighting, when their vehicle came under fire outside Kyiv, leaving two journalists dead. Pierre Zakrzewski, a longtime war photojournalist, and Sasha Kuvshynova, a Ukrainian journalist, were killed. Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was seriously injured.
The IWMF will host THREE in-person HEFAT courses for women and non-binary folks in the US in 2022. The Rory Peck Trust also provides funding for all freelancers to get properly trained anywhere in the world.
Cake’s cover of “War Pigs” is insanely good. (h/t @jblauphoto)