NYT: Pakistan Floods By Tyler Hicks

Photo © Tyler Hicks/NY Times-All Rights Reserved
The catastrophic flooding of the Indus is considered as Pakistan's worst natural calamity, which has ruined almost every infrastructural aspect that connects the country together — roads, bridges, schools, health clinics, electricity and communications. The destruction is also estimated to set Pakistan back decades, will weaken its feeble civilian administration and add to the burdens on its military.

The New York Times has recently featured Tyler Hicks' compelling photographs of the disaster in Pakistan's Floods, as the one above of two young girls quenching their thirst at a water pump in Sukkur. It's said that 20 million people have been affected by the floods; a number of people equal to the population of New York State.

According to the New York Times, a joint study from Ball State University and the University of Tennessee, puts the total cost of the flood damage at $7.1 billion. That is nearly a fifth of Pakistan’s budget.

I sense an apathy amongst the Western and Islamic nations to assist Pakistan in its difficulties. Is it because of the widespread perception (or knowledge) that the Zardari's government is riddled with corruption and cronyism, and thus may divert some of the aid? Or is it Islamophobia? Or is simple donor fatigue after Haiti? I tend to think it's all of the above and perhaps more.

And while I'm on the subject, is it only me who now increasingly relies on foreign cable news like China Network Television (CNTV) and RT (the Russian 24/7 English-language TV) for in-depth international news??? The added bonus of course is that these stations have no interest in Glenn Beck and the repellent clowns of his ilk as does CNN, MSNBC, et al.

NPR: Ed Kashi On Pakistan

Photo © Ed Kashi/National Geographic-All Rights Reserved
Apart from joining the agency VII, Ed Kashi was also featured on NPR's The Picture Show in a piece titled On Photographing Pakistan. He also has more of his photographs on the National Geographic blog.

Ed Kashi's objectives were to show how the people of Punjab live, and how millions of Pakistanis just try to live their lives despite the threat of religious fundamentalism, especially as it's also home to the peaceful sect of Sufism.

I had the pleasure of meeting a number of young Pakistani women photographers at the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Istanbul just last week or so, and I was amazed at how they just lived their lives to the fullest, worked and crafting their impressive body of work seemingly unperturbed by the events that get reported in our mainstream media.

The above photograph was made at the mosque of Badshahi in Lahore, which is the second largest mosque in South Asia and the fifth largest in the world. The way Ed Kashi photographed the scene by slightly tilting the camera seems to be giving motion to the barefooted man and his cane. Nicely thought out and it gives a different perspective to the mosque which must've been photographed countless times.

NPR: The Grand Trunk Road

The Grand Trunk Road played an important role in India's history at every step of its way. Some 3500 years ago, with the Aryan invasion of the subcontinent, it served as a corridor starting at the Khyber Pass winding eastward between the Himalayas and the Thar Desert onto the Gangetic plain. Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism spread through it, and Muslim proselytizers traveled on it. Since 1947, Pakistan controls the 300-mile segment between Peshawar and Lahore, while the remaining 1,250 miles link six Indian states, making it lifeline of northern India.

Nowadays, the road used by Alexander the Great, Ibn Battutah, Mughals invaders and other conquerors and the just curious, is ruled by truck drivers roaring through countless tiny villages.

NPR features a hybrid multimedia project in which its journalists travel the route and tell the stories of young people living there, who make up the majority of the populations in India and Pakistan.

Marc Wattrelot: Balochistan

Photo © Marc Wattrelot-All Rights Reserved
Here's a timely feature brought to us by Foto8 showcasing the work of photojournalist Marc Wattrelot titled Divided Desert: Balochistan.

The blurb that accompanies the slideshow informs us that Balochistan extends over 350,000 square kms (approximately the size of Germany) and is the largest province in the Pakistan Federation. About 7 million people live in Balochistan; a mixture of consists Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghanis.

It's the often-heard story: a region rich in natural resources, its people among the poorest, the Punjabi central government rife with corruption and nepotism, give rise to a resistance movement striving for autonomy.

It's timely because the remnants of Al-Qaida may well migrate to the hinterlands of either Pashtunistan and Balochistan. All the ingredients for major trouble exist in this region in the coming months and years to come, so as I said, a timely feature. I don't always agree with Robert D. Kaplan's political slant, but he has penned a thought-provoking article on the Baluchi issue in the May 2009 issue of The Atlantic, which explains the volatility of this region.

Interesting photographs, but irritatingly repetitive audio...!!!

Foto8 describes itself a space to share, comment and debate photography.

LENS: Tyler Hicks & The Tabligh

Photo © Tyler Hicks/NYT-All Rights Reserved
It's been a while since I featured a war-related photojournalism piece, so I thought The New York Times LENS blog brought us a couple of days ago an interesting On Assignment gallery from Tyler Hicks on the Tabligh Jamaat.

I like the clever way the photographer framed the above image, as he had to photograph surreptitiously and very quickly because photography was banned from the Tabligh gathering for religious reasons.

Wikipedia describes the Tabligh (which means "conveying of message") movement as an apolitical religious movement, whose principal aim is reformation of Muslims, and was founded in India by Muhammad Ilyas as a voluntary, pacifist and independent movement.

The New York Times reports that it's "a missionary movement that spreads revivalist Islam through its followers, who travel the world on preaching missions. The movement convenes in Raiwind, Pakistan, once a year. Attended by as many as 1.5 million people, it is the largest gathering of Muslims outside the annual pilgrimage to Mecca."

American authorities believe the movement incubates "jihadists".

For further reading, The New York Times has a 2007 article here.

Note: For stereotype busting, have a look at Matthieu Paley's fascinating coverage of the annual Lal Shabaz festival when over one million Sufis, devotees and onlookers, join this chaotic pilgrimage which cannot be more different than the austere Tablighi gathering.

Yes, folks...one person's Islam is not another's, even within neighboring countries.

WIRED: Kanepari & Ferguson

Photos © Adam Ferguson (L)/Zackary Canepari (R)-Courtesy WIRED

"The photojournalist has long been known as the lone wolf, traveling solo to the far-flung corners of the world to document experiences few are capable of seeing. By function, it’s often a solitary quest, lonely and alienating; rarely as romantic as the photographs make it appear."

What a great start for the Raw File article written for WIRED by Bryan Derballa!

The article deals with the friendship and healthy competition between Adam Ferguson and Zackary Canepari, two immensely gifted photojournalists working in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. It appears that they helped each other, and edited one another’s work, always hoping to improve its quality.

WIRED's Raw File's article is in essence two interviews: Ferguson giving his views on Canepari's work, and vice-versa. Quite an interesting read...naturally, they pat each other on the back, but that's what friends do, especially those whose camaraderie withstood difficult circumstances.

Both photojournalists are content to be doing what they want to do at this time. Canepari is back in California pursuing personal projects, while Ferguson is still shooting in Afghanistan.

Zackary Canepari was featured on TTP a few times, and Adam Ferguson's work in Orissa was featured here.