Rescued From the Rubble
Spot News, second prize stories
April 22, 2016
A man and boy evacuate an area in the rebel-held Hayy Aqyul neighborhood of Aleppo, following an airstrike.
Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city and the country’s financial and industrial center, was a key battleground in the war between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels who wanted to overthrow him. For four years the city had been roughly divided in half, with the opposition controlling the east and the government the west. As fighting intensified in 2016, the rebels became increasingly besieged. Of the roughly 250,000 people who remained trapped in eastern Aleppo, around 100,00 were children. Besieged civilians faced severe food and fuel shortages, and basic infrastructure and healthcare facilities were obliterated.
Despite several international attempts at negotiating a ceasefire and allowing civilians passage out of eastern Aleppo, fighting escalated and people remained. Civil defense workers said civilians were mistrustful of government offers of safe passage; the government said rebels were preventing people from leaving. Some were simply reluctant to abandon their homes and property. On 15 December the warring sides reached a ceasefire deal, and on 22 December, following days of evacuations, the Syrian government announced that it had taken control of the city.
Location
Related links
This image is collected in
About the photographer
Ameer Alhalbi (Walid Mashhadi)
Ameer Alhalbi (Walid Mashhadi) was born in 1996 in Aleppo, Syria, and began taking pictures when he was 18.
Ameer Alhalbi (Walid Mashhadi) was born in 1996 in Aleppo, Syria, and began taking pictures when he was 18.
He started contributing pictures to AFP in February 2016. His photography career began in 2014 when he started working with local media centers, and then with the local sniper photo site, moving on to working with the Palestinian APA images, and Italian NUR photos with the aim of showing what is happening in Syria to the world. Many of his friends completed their studies in Turkey or immigrated to Germany. He continued to work in Aleppo until leaving in December 2016.
He was wounded by two bullets during a peace protest in April 2012 and his father, Mohammed Mashhadi, was wounded in 2015 during his work with the Civil Defence team and later was killed in bombardment in July 2016 in Aleppo. His cousin Louay Mashhadi was wounded last year as well, as he also works for the Civil Defence.
Ameer's daily life revolves around working with the Syrian Civil Defence teams since 2014 and he’s pessimistic about an end to the war in Syria. “Daily life in Aleppo includes no entertainment, no coffe shops or restaurants to go to. It’s the most dangerous city in the world,” he told AFP blogs. Walid has applied for asylum to France to study.
Editor's note: Ameer Alhalbi’s real name is Walid Mashhadi. Because of the security situation in Syria, he was permitted to enter the contest using a pseudonym to protect his identity and safeguard his family. Now that Ameer has left Syria, he is able to use his real name.
Winning images by location
World Press Photo Involvement
Ameer Alhalbi (Walid Mashhadi) on Twitter
@AmeerAlhalbi
22 June 2017
The last days in Aleppo https://t.co/qon1ac3YTf
16 June 2017
Il a perdu toute sa famille Mais l'adieu à sa fille était très effrayant. Il parlait avec elle… https://t.co/tshV6NXd1L
11 June 2017
Il a perdu toute sa famille,Mais l'adieu à sa fille était très effrayant. Il parlait avec elle comme si elle était… https://t.co/sUS91nDtFq
27 May 2017
Avant la guerre, était étudiant Il rêvait de devenir un jour psychologue. https://t.co/nwyxPISZvO
14 May 2017
RT @cnni: As tear gas canisters flew around him, this man carried on playing the violin during a protest in Venezuela https://t.co/5b67GylE…
Share