Salima Punjani – The Concordian

Marc Ellison is an award-winning photojournalist based in Vancouver. He sat down with The Concordian to discuss his experiences as a photojournalist in foreign territory with highlights from his time in Uganda.

Marc Ellison showing his way around the camera. Photo provided by Marc Ellison.

How did you first get involved in journalism?

It was a very roundabout path. For 10 years I was actually a computer programmer. I quickly realized that being in a cubicle wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I love to travel. I love photography. I love writing. It was only after spending some time in Rwanda in 2007, living with Rwandans and talking to Rwandans about the genocide, that I realized storytelling is what I wanted to do. After that experience in Rwanda I basically came back to Canada and put in my applications for journalism school.

What are some of the factors that made you decide to work in developing countries rather than in Canada?

We’re in a time where foreign bureaus across the world are closing and I don’t think enough journalists do go abroad. I also think there are many countries that are underreported and often misreported as well. You know we talk about Uganda with child soldiers where if you were to believe Kony 2012 you would think the war is still going on. People would have you believe people are concerned about capturing Joseph Kony but really the women I interviewed out there are more interested in putting bread on the table. They don’t care about Joseph Kony. Those are things I think are important to cover. I think Africa as a continent doesn’t get the same amount of airtime as the Middle East. I was in South Sudan last year and there was a huge refugee crisis that unravelled at the same time as Syria and yet it barely hit the airwaves here in Canada.

When you were working with former women child soldiers in Uganda, you let them take their own photographs. What are some of the benefits of participatory photography?

For a start you can frame a photo to depict what you want to show. For example South African photojournalist Kevin Carter took a photograph of a child with a vulture flying overhead. What you don’t see in that photo is that the child is very close to an UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) tent. So it’s very easy as a photojournalist to show what you want to show. With giving the women cameras you’re not only allowing them to tell their own stories but there’s no trickery there. They are showing you what they want you to see. You’re getting this fly-on-the-wall, unadulterated view of what their lives are like. It doesn’t dress it up. It shows you what their lives are really like.

How do you ensure the dignity of people you are photographing?

In the Uganda project I don’t really want to try and sensationalize the issue and I don’t want to take advantage of the women. It’s interesting that the one photo that is arguably sensationalist is the one with the woman showing the scars on her chest. I always have to point out to people that that photo wasn’t actually my idea. The woman was talking about being stabbed in the chest with a bayonet. She said to the translator, “I want people to see this to understand that as a result of this injury I can’t work.” That really is the exception to the photos I’ve taken. I really don’t want to take advantage of these women, but I want to portray them how they would like to be seen. You can see on my website there’s a lot of very tasteful portraits of them either working with their family or in the market or things like that. I do my best. If somebody takes a photo of you, you want it to not necessarily be flattering but truthful.

Where do you think the market lies for less sensational photography?

Sadly there is the saying in journalism: if it bleeds it leads. It’s basically the same with photography. For the most part the more sensational types of photography are going to be what sells. It’s unfortunate but it’s just the way of the world.

To learn more about Marc’s work visit marcellison.com

To see more of his work in Uganda visit dwogpaco.com.

All photographs by Marc Ellison.

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A life-size photograph shows young girls between the ages of 11 and 13. Their hands are tinted red and brown with beautiful henna designs. They are dressed in elegant robes, their faces are coloured with immaculate make-up and they are carrying bouquets of vibrant flowers. You would think this was a photograph of flower girls at a wedding. Rather, it shows these children on their wedding day in Yemen.

Nujoud Ali is seen in Sana’a, Yemen, Feb. 2, 2010. She was married to her husband, more than 20 years her senior, when she was only eight years old. Photo from Stephanie Sinclair – tooyoungtowed.org.

This is the first photo in Stephanie Sinclair’s collection of 30 documentary photographs on the subject of child marriage. Too Young to Wed is being presented as part of the French Canadian section of Amnesty International’s campaign, My Body, My Rights. The exhibition is on display at the Gesù in Montreal until Sept 29.

My Body, My Rights is an Amnesty International campaign focusing on the respect of sexual and reproductive rights. “We thought child marriage was a good example of violation so that’s [why] we chose to focus on this issue,” said Colette Lelièvre, campaign coordinator of the French Canadian section of Amnesty International.

The photographs detail the lives of child brides in Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nepal and India, countries deeply afflicted by the practice of child marriage. Images are accompanied by quotations from political leaders, the girls themselves, as well as information explaining more about the harmful traditional practice and its consequences.

“Pictures talk well,” said Lelièvre. “In some of the photos you see an eight-year-old girl with a 25-year-old man. I think that’s why it’s so accessible. It’s something you can just look at and understand the problem.”

Two photographs featuring 11-year-old Ghulam from Afghanistan are particularly striking. One shows Ghulam playing in fresh green fields in her village on the day of her engagement. Dressed in a bright pink dress, she smiles. She looks free and innocent. Directly beside this photograph she sits with Faiz, her 40-year-old husband to be. In contrast to her soft and playful gaze in the other photograph, her face turns hard and her sharp eyes glare darkly at Faiz. On the other hand, Faiz looks directly into the camera, seeming completely natural and content.

The exhibition is not completely dismal. Sinclair includes a few glimpses of hope and solutions that come from within the countries on display. For instance, a photograph of Ethiopian youth shows their preparation and anticipation for a traditional dance performance.

Amnesty International hopes to use public support to lobby world leaders to take a stronger stance on protecting sexual and reproductive rights. 2014 will see a review of the Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994, the first program to detail these rights.

The exhibition concludes with an opportunity to sign petitions lobbying governments to take action against child marriage. These petitions as well as videos, photographs and more information about child marriage are available at tooyoungtowed.com. Too Young to Wed runs until Sept. 29 at Gesù, 1200 Bleury. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Monday from 12 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.“It’s a very important programme of action for young people,” said Lelièvre. “We thought it was a great timing for us to lobby government to respect sexual and reproductive rights of young people ahead of this review.”