Istanbul Photo Awards shines spotlight on region

ANKARA

AA photo

The Istanbul Photo Awards have succeeded in drawing global attention to recent developments in the Middle East, said Georges De Keerle, an executive for Getty Images.

A jury of international professionals gathered last week to select the winning photographs of Anadolu Agency’s second Istanbul Photo Awards sponsored by Turkish Airlines.      

A member of the Istanbul Photo Awards jury for the past two years, De Keerle said he was pleased to be involved in the contest once again.      

De Keerle said he loved “Syrian Children Cry for Help,” the 2016 Photo of the Year which was taken by Syrian photographer Abd Doumany for news agency Agence France-Presse, “because it’s so simple and authentic.”    
 
“Basically, it’s the photo of a child screaming for help. He is unaware where this crazy war takes him… Any person who sees this photo defines this photo with the same words: Sadness, unawareness, reasons and questions,” explained De Keerle.      

Talking about the recent terror attacks in Turkey, De Keerle said the country and the region needed stability.      

“We don’t know how this stability can be provided, but I believe that the people in this region, people in Ankara and Istanbul, only want peace. They want to go to Taksim in one piece,” he said.      

Doumany’s powerful image showing a deep well of emotion in the eyes of a wounded boy, encapsulated the horror of the last several years in Syria.