Shani Louk

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This is how Shani Louk's family asked for her to be remembered. Smiling and alive.

The biggest photojournalism competition in the world decided to trample on the family's wishes in favor of giving a photo of Shani's mutilated body a prestigious award. She wasn't even named in the caption.

Among the photographers honoured is Ali Mahmud, the AP freelancer who came under fire for logging photos during the early hours of October 7th, indicating previous knowledge of Hamas's brutal attack.

Photos showing violence and death can be newsworthy or important when they humanize the dead or galvanize the public. The "winning" photo does neither; it only further dehumanizes Shani, retraumatizes her family, and legitimizes Hamas's actions under the guise of journalistic neutrality.

No one should be rewarded on the backs of murdered women.

Rest in power Shani Louk, we'll remember you as the beautiful soul you were 💜

As for Ali Mahmud, it beggars belief that he is being celebrated for taking the photo of murder-rapist-terrorists with the brutalized and contorted body of Shani.

Seems to me he should be going to jail, not getting a prize.

But the hamster wheel of performative outrage powers this board, if it stops the board will disappear...there are no other conflicts in the middle east to talk about.

Shani Louk's grandmother has spoken out now. She is distraught about it.

https://twitter.com/KosherCockney/status/1775846504457982073

@LordPercyPercy have just seen that online also..

@25milesfromhome sadly that's not unique on this board.

As even Shani’s family is divided, then it is no surprise that opinions on here are also divided.

No one has told Shani’s grandmother that there were many photos of many corpses in the 20 photo essay that included the photo of Shani that won the prize this year and many other photos of corpses that have won other prizes this year and in many prior years.

I don’t think it’s sad to post sources of my information and to quote a few parts of them for the convenience of posters who genuinely want to know and have directly asked me for the sources of specific elements on the thread. I have received several “thanks” for each post 25 objected to, so I must be doing something right.

I am truly sorry if that angers other posters who find that their comments are thereby shown to be unintentionally out of date.

Within 6months of events Barrio? Still I’m guessing her grandmother doesn’t care about what has happened in the past. She cares about her granddaughter.

Yes,
The photo of Shani is part of a 20 photo essay of victims from Oct 7th and a little after. It was the entire 20 photo essay that won the award. There were at least two other photo essays showing victims of the Israel-Gaza war in different categories that won other awards. So yes, it was within six months for all these mostly very graphic photos of victims’ bodies.

I agree the grandmother isn’t thinking of wider context, but it also appears she is unaware of it too.

I think there is a conversation to be had as to whether such graphic photos of dead victims in attacks/wars of all sexes and ages, from babies to elderly should be in their own category and treated with more respect.

First it's "Her family’s approval matters more to me than your outrage", then it's "her grandmother doesn't know what she's talking about".

I am agreeing 100% with the grandmother and feeling sad for her.

She asks a question in what she says “And when in the history of photography did a picture of a corpse win an award?”

She said she was not aware of this practice or the other award wining photos of other Oct 7 victims that won the award along with the one photo of Shani.

My post is agreeing with her, and I think she might have felt better if she knew it’s not just Shani.

I meant previous year’s entrants. Are they usually quite so current? I find that shocking.

My heart goes out to all of Shani's family and to all those whose loved ones are pictured injured and dead in those pictures.

If it were my child, I think I would feel similarly to her grandmother. I don't even like to show people pictures of my DC1 when they were alive, because they're so precious to me. I can't imagine how it would hurt to have a picture of their death broadcast around the world.

Yes, recent prior years have had pictures of Ukranian children killed by Russia, for example.

Exactly this @Scirocco thank you ❤️

I wasn’t outraged, although maybe I should have been. I was shocked and upset when I saw the picture.

The raw pain in shani’s grandmother’s words is devastating. How utterly callous of the competition judges.

War photography feels a lot like voyeurism in these competitions, which is horrible. I think it is important for there to be photographs and records, to show what has happened. But I really don't think anyone should be handing out prizes so soon after they were taken. It doesn't sit right with me.

I do agree it does feel voyeuristic that journalism does these awards in such a way. After paging through the past few years of POYI award winners there seems to be more credit given to photo essays that contain photos of the dead/injured. It doesn’t seem to matter so much whether they were murdered in terror attacks, in wars, or killed by natural disasters.

I think while the work by photographers in such situations is valuable, that any award process should allow for families of named victims to give or withdraw permission for the photo to be published. So the photo essay is submitted, but when awards are announced, only the photos within the photo essay that have family permission get published.

There is a problem, it is the whole system that has done this for years without family having a say, they only get to react after the fact.

The problem isn’t photographers being in the right place at the right time to capture photographic evidence of terrorist crimes or war crimes, as insinuated by the OP.

This was the 81st awards.

It goes back to the 59th awards at least, photos taken in 2001, awarded in 2002.

First Place in the News Picture Story category was 7 photos showing a Taliban execution moment by moment.

It’s been so accepted, for decades, but I do think it’s no longer acceptable to just publish these images with impunity in the context of an award.

This.

😥the grandmother of Shani sums it up perfectly. The murdering scum parading her broken body as a trophy selected for 1st prize. Sick.

She looks so much like her grandmother in that picture. 😞same profile.

@BabaBarrio as long as you get lots of 'thanks'.

Not shani related but demonstrates the treatment of hostages in Gaza.

But it's just Hamas. 🙄