YANNIS BEHRAKIS, UN GRANDE FOTOGRAFO GRECO E’ MORTO DI CANCRO SABATO SCORSO— ( ATENE, 1960- 2 MARZO 2019) — diceva che la missione di un fotografo è : ” Assicurarsi che nessuno possa dire: non lo sapevo “.

 

 

 

Yannis Behrakis ( Atene, 1960 -Atene, 2 marzo 2019–di cancro)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addio al fotografo premio Pulitzer Yannis Behrakis, ecco chi era

Nato ad Atene, aveva seguito i conflitti in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Cecenia, nel Medio Oriente, nei Balcani, in Somalia, il terremoto del Kashmir, le rivolte del 2011 in Egitto, i massacri in Sierra Leone. Non gli piacevano le guerre, ma amava il cameratismo che nelle guerre si instaura tra le persone. Proprio in Sierra Leone aveva perso il suo migliore amico e collega, Kurt Shork, morto vicino a lui quando il loro convoglio fu attaccato.

Diceva che la missione di un fotografo di guerra è quella di «assicurarsi che nessuno possa dire: non lo sapevo». Aveva vinto un premio Pulitzer nel 2016 e molte delle sue foto avevano più forza di qualunque racconto: rivelavano la disperazione della guerra riflessa in uno sguardo, il dolore di un genitore che cala nella bara il suo bambino, una mano alzata che invoca un aiuto che viene negato con indifferenza da chi ha in quel momento il potere di decidere.

Le immagini più disperate Behrakis le aveva scattate proprio assistendo alla grande tragedia dei rifugiati che cercavano di passare il confine greco per arrivare in Macedonia. Una di queste riprende un padre siriano che tiene in braccio e bacia la sua bambina, camminando sotto alla pioggia in mezzo a una strada. «E’ la prova che esistono i supereroi – diceva Behrakis di questa foto -. Non indossano mantelli rossi, ma un mantello ricavato da un sacco della spazzatura. Eppure quest’uomo è il padre universale, la dimostrazione di quanto può essere grande l’amore tra padre e figlia». E di quanta emozione, commozione e partecipazione possano essere contenute nella foto di un grande fotografo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Syrian refugee holds onto his two children as he struggles to disembark from a raft on the northern coast of the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Lesbos September 24, 2015. Over 850,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in the Greek island in 2015.
Lesbos island, Greece

 

An Afghan migrant jumps off an overcrowded raft onto a beach at the Greek island of Lesbos October 19, 2015. Thousands of refugees – mostly fleeing war-torn Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq – attempt daily to cross the Aegean Sea from nearby Turkey, a short trip but a perilous one in the inflatable boats the migrants use, often in rough seas. Over 850.000 people have arrived in Greece this year, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, overwhelming the cash-strapped nation’s ability to cope.
Lesbos island, Greece

 

 

A dolphin jumps in front of a raft overcrowded by Syrian refugees while crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey (seen in the background) to the Greek island of Lesbos October 21, 2015. Over 850,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by sea in Greece this year band the rate of arrivals is rising with over 8,000 coming on Monday alone, in a rush to beat the onset of freezing winter.
Eastern Aegean sea

A luxury yacht cruises as Iranian migrants paddle frantically an engineless dinghy trying to cross a part of the Aegean sea from the Turkish coast (seen in the background) to the Greek island of Kos August 15, 2015.
Eastern Aegean sea

Syrian refugee girl sits in a bus at a temporary registration camp during a rain storm on the Greek island of Lesbos October 21, 2015. Over half a million refugees and migrants have arrived by sea in Greece this year and the rate of arrivals is rising with over 8,000 coming on Monday alone, in a rush to beat the onset of freezing winter.
Lesbos island

An Afghan migrant in a bus, has a first look of the commercial part of Piraeus port near Athens following his arrival aboard the Eleftherios Venizelos passenger ferry with over 2,500 migrants and refugees from the island of Lesbos, October 8, 2015. Migrants and refugees arriving on Greek islands by rafts get temporary documents and then travel to the port of Piraeus near Athens. From Athens the travel by buses or taxis to the Greek border with FYRO Macedonia. Then head to northern Europe to find new home.
Port of Piraeus

Migrants and refugees beg FYRO Macedonian policemen to allow passage to cross the border from Greece into FYRO Macedonia during a rainstorm, near the Greek village of Idomeni, September 10, 2015.Thousands of refugees and migrants, including many families with young children, have been left soaked after spending the night sleeping in the open in torrential rain on the Greek- FYRO Macedonian border. About 7,000 people waited in the mud of an open field near the northern Greek village of Idomeni to cross the border, with more arriving in trains, buses and taxis, as FYRO Macedonian police has imposed rationing into the flow of refugees.
Idomeni

Syrian refugees walk over mud as they cross the border from Greece into FYRO Macedonia, near the Greek village of Idomeni, September 10, 2015. Thousands of refugees and migrants, including many families with young children, have been left soaked after spending the night sleeping in the open in torrential rain on the Greek- FYRO Macedonian border. About 7,000 people waited in the mud of an open field near the northern Greek village of Idomeni to cross the border, with more arriving in trains, buses and taxis, as FYRO Macedonian police has imposed rationing in the flow of refugees.
Idomeni

A stranded migrant keeps warm by an open fire at a make-shift camp close to a registration center on the Greek island of Lesbos November 18, 2015. UNHCR has appealed to the Greek authorities to create additional accommodation and reception capacity as a matter of urgency since there are currently only 2,800 reception places for the 12,000 refugees and migrants currently on the island.
Lesbos island, Greece

A stranded Iranian migrant on hunger strike sleeps in front of FYRO Macedonian riot police at the borderline between Greece and FYROM, near the Greek village of Idomeni November 25, 2015. Countries along the Balkan route taken by hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking refuge in western Europe last week began filtering the flow, granting passage only to those fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Idomeni Greek-FYRO Macedonian border

Syrian men for a safety passage for women and children following clashes during registration procedure in the national stadium of the Greek island of Kos August 11, 2015. Local authorities struggle to cope with the increasing numbers of migrants and refugees arriving on dinghies from nearby Turkish coast. United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) called on Greece to take control of the “”total chaos”” on Mediterranean islands, where thousands of migrants have landed.
Kos island

A la frontière franco-italienne

tra la Grecia e la Macedonia…

Une organisation juive et un groupe musulman travailleront ensemble pour fournir des services juridiques aux réfugiés en Grèce.