In her nearly two-decade-long career as a photojournalist, Yemeni photographer Amira Al-Sharif documented the multi-cultural lives of women, the beauty of ordinary daily life, and now the horror of a long raging and brutal war. Through stunning images of her beloved country of Yemen, Amira bears witness to what has been termed “the worst man-made humanitarian crisis in the world.”
In this conversation, Amira talks about her life-long bond with the camera, her work to unveil misconceptions, and struggles to keep documenting lived experiences, while finding glimmers of hope in a place consumed by conflict and suffering. Using the lens of her camera, and unlocking her “bitter-sweet” memories, Amira reveals her artistic mission to rescue “the fleeting, hiding, or missing scenes” from her journey as a war photographer.
This is part of an ongoing series by Ford Hall Forum titled, Beyond Borders: Women’s Stories and the Art of Bearing Witness. Hear captivating storytellers share their work and bear witness to struggles about human rights, memory, belonging, and love.
Image: Amira Al-Sharif
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BIO: Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber
Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber was born and raised in Israel to parents of Yemenite descent. She has a Master’s degree in Communication and Journalism from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has worked as a journalist in Israel for several publications including: Yediot Aharonot, Shishi, Hadashot, and Hapatish newspapers, and did research for the investigative show Uvda on Channel Two. She also worked as a researcher and diversity trainer for Adva Center for Equality of Israeli Society.
Shoshana joined the faculty at Suffolk University in 2004, and has been teaching courses in Journalism, Media, and Documentary Film. She is the author of Israeli Media and the Framing of Internal Conflict (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). This book examines bias within the state of Israel and the media at large, through the lens of the news coverage of the Yemenite Babies Affair.
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BIO: Amira Al-Sharif
Amira Al-Sharif is a Yemini photojournalist who has spent the past two decades documenting the multi-cultural lives of women, the beauty of ordinary daily life, and the horror of Yemen’s armed conflicts.
