Getty Images photographer John Moore has won the prestigious World Press Photo Contest for 2019 for his photo titled “Crying Girl on the Border.” The photo was selected from among 78,801 submitted by 4,738 photographers.
Captured on June 12th, 2018, the photo shows 2-year-old Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez crying as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas.
Here’s the description of the photo, which was 1st place in the Spot News category, by World Press Photo:
Immigrant families had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were then detained by US authorities. Sandra Sanchez said that she and her daughter had been traveling for a month through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US to seek asylum. The Trump Administration had announced a ‘zero tolerance’ policy at the border under which immigrants caught entering the US could be criminally prosecuted. As a result, many apprehended parents were separated from their children, often sent to different detention facilities. After this picture was published worldwide, US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that Yanela and her mother had not been among the thousands who had been separated by US officials. Nevertheless, public outcry over the controversial practice resulted in President Donald Trump reversing the policy on 20 June.
This photo quickly went viral and was widely published as a photo illustrating the government’s family separation policies.
“Most of us here had heard the news that the administration had planned to separate families,” Moore told NPR in an interview published less than a week after the photo was captured. “And these people really had no idea about this news. And it was hard to take these pictures, knowing what was coming next. But as a father – and I have a toddler myself. It was very difficult to see what was happening in front of my lens and thinking what it would be like for my kids to be separated from me.”
But when it came to light that the toddler in Moore’s photo was never separated from her mother, many photographers believed that Moore had overstepped his role as a photojournalist. In a poll conducted by PetaPixel, over 1,300 readers were almost perfectly split:
“Oftentimes, immigration is talked about in terms of statistics, and when you put a human face and humanize an issue, you make people feel,” Moore told CBS News after the revelation emerged. “And when you make people feel, they have compassion. And if I’ve done just a little bit of that, then that’s OK.”
With this latest win, Moore is now the recipient of four World Press Photo awards, having also won prizes in 2005, 2008, and 2012.
Category Winners
Here are the other winning photos from the other 6 major Singles categories:
Contemporary Issues: “The Cubanitas” by Diana Markosian
A girl’s quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) is a Latino coming-of-age tradition marking transition into womanhood. It is a gender specific rite of passage, traditionally showcasing a girl’s purity and readiness for marriage. Families go to great expense, often celebrating with a lavish party. The girl dresses as a princess, living out a fantasy and perceived idea of femininity. In Cuba, the tradition has transformed into a performance involving photo and video shoots, often documented in a photobook. Pura’s quinceañera had a special poignancy, as some years earlier, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, she was told she would not live beyond the age of 13.
Environment: “Akashinga – the Brave Ones” by Brent Stirton
Akashinga (‘The Brave Ones’) is a ranger force established as an alternative conservation model. It aims to work with, rather than against local populations, for the long-term benefits of their communities and the environment. Akashinga comprises women from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering them, offering jobs, and helping local people to benefit directly from the preservation of wildlife. Other strategies—such as using fees from trophy hunting to fund conservation—have been criticized for imposing solutions from the outside and excluding the needs of local people.
General News: “The Disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi” by Chris McGrath
A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi had been missing since entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents. After weeks of rumor and false information, Riyadh announced that Khashoggi had been killed accidentally during an altercation. Turkish authorities and the CIA claimed he had been murdered by Saudi intelligence operatives, working under high Saudi authority.
Nature: “Harvesting Frogs’ Legs” by Bence Máté
Frogs’ legs are frequently harvested for food in the spring, when males and females gather to mate and spawn. Legs are sometimes severed while the animal is still living. About US$40 million worth are sold annually, with countries across the world participating in the trade. A small part of the population in the Carpathian Mountains make their living by collecting frogs’ legs in the wild and selling them.
Portraits: “Dakar Fashion” by Finbarr O’Reilly
Dakar is a growing hub of Franco-African fashion, and is home to Fashion Africa TV, the first station entirely dedicated to fashion on the continent. The annual Dakar Fashion Week includes an extravagant street show that is open to all and attended by thousands from all corners of the capital. Adama Paris (who has a namesake brand) is a driving force behind the fashion week, and much else on the design scene.
Sports: “Boxing in Katanga” by John T. Pedersen
More than 20,000 people live in Katanga, crowded together and often in extreme poverty. The boxing club receives no outside funding. Ajambo, a mother of seven, boxes in the Ugandan women’s team. Men’s boxing has a long history in Uganda, but women boxers are often frustrated by the few opportunities to compete at an international level.
You can find a full gallery of this year’s winning photos over on the World Press Photo website.