PERSPECTIVES
Photography as Activism
The Role of Visual Media in Humanitarian Crises
ISMAIL FERDOUS is a Bangladesh-based photojournalist and freelancer whose
work focuses on human rights. His past projects have covered climate
change, health, and the garment industry, and his work has received a host of
awards, including ones from the World Bank and the WHO.
S
ince the camera was invented in 1826, it has been
used to document everything from social injustice,
inequality, famine, war, and human rights abuses
to uplifting scenes of humanity, brotherhood,
victory, love, and hope. Because photography has
the power to visually reveal the truth, throughout history
photographs have made huge impacts on social consciousness
and ultimately shaped public opinion on many destructive
government policies.
Take, for example, the power of television during the
Vietnam War. During the war, Americans were able to see
the war’s impact on both American soldiers and innocent
civilians through their television screens for the first time.
Additionally, the bloody images of war and pain, such as
Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Napalm Girl,” added to
the power of the protests and unpopular public opinion that
contributed to the United States’ ultimate retreat.
In this way, visual journalism can emphasize the costs
and benefits of policies by putting a human face on issues
that appear abstract, or immensely overwhelming and outof-reach from afar. Because we live in the age of globalism
and technology, our actions have an even greater impact
on other nations than ever before. Through documentary
photography, we now have the ability to show and encourage
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understanding of the perspective of someone who may live
halfway across the world. By sharing these perspectives, viewers are compelled to think about how their decisions have
a direct impact on another’s life thousands of miles away.
Often, this knowledge spurs public debate on popular social
media sites or in larger platforms such as news websites or
talk shows. These debates can have strong effects on public
opinion, and in this way, the media, traditionally known as
the third branch of government, can prevent self-interested
parties such as governments and corporations from monopolizing laws and agendas.
Though claims of this public service drew me to documentary photography, it wasn’t until I covered the Rana
Plaza collapse that I truly understood its necessity. On April
24, 2013, the world watched in horror as rescue services
pulled bodies, both dead and alive, out of the Rana Plaza
building. The building housed a garment factory in Dhaka,
Bangladesh, and had collapsed that morning. Though cracks
appearing in the building walls the day before led workers
to say they would not return until the building was safe,
workers were pressured to return to work through threats of
losing their whole month’s salary. Ultimately killing 1,136
people and injuring more than 2,000, the collapse marked
the deadliest factory catastrophe in the history of the global
H A R V A R D I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E V I E W • Summer 2014
Photos Courtesy Ismail Ferdous