Since 1955, the Press Photo of the Year award has gone to the most telling of photographs, the ones that capture, contain, and organize the most reality and raw emotion in a rectangular field of pixels. Each photograph presents a narrative of the human condition and is oftentimes the strongest visual representation of an era of importance. They catalyze change by attracting the world’s visual attention.

Of the fifty-four photographs honored with the distinction, three feature Palestinians as the subjects. Three. The first shows Palestinian refugees fleeing from their homes again in 1976 during civil war in Lebanon. The second, from 1982, reveals the aftermath of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The third, taken in 1993, shows Palestinian children raising toy guns as a sign of defiance at the close of the First Intifada. You’d think, then, that giving the world three opportunities to witness the realities lived by Palestinians would prevent the perpetuation of such injustices, no?

Here are the photographs with brief captions.

1976

Palestinians flee the La Quarantaine district of Beirut, Lebanon in January 1976. What makes this photograph especially moving is the context behind it, the fact that these refugees were remade into refugees. The father likely experienced the same rocking explosions almost three decades ago when he was a child, and now his children get to follow in his footsteps. (Photo by Françoise Demulder) [Read more...]