Lorenzo Tugnoli won a Pulitzer prize in 2019 for his “feature photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). He was awarded this price for his photos that tell stories about the famine in Yemen.
Lorenzo Tugnoli, the winner, is a photojournalist and a frequent contributor to the Washington Post, while also being published often in international magazines, and currently he lives in Beirut. Over many years, Tugnoli has been able to extensively cover the Middle East with his photography, especially by living and working in Afghanistan. Tugnoli was able to gain some popularity in 2014 when he collaborated with writer, Francesca Recchia, and together they published “The Little Book of Kabul”, which is a portrait of Afghanistan’s capital through the view of artists in the city living their daily life.
In this photo, Abdullah Abdul Mansour stands with his friends on the front lines of Zunaj, an area north of the ancient city of Taiz. He unfortunately lost one of his legs in a land mine explosion in this exact location three years ago. The entire front line that encircles the city has not changed or moved significantly in over two years. Occasionally there is sporadic gunfire, but neither side is seriously trying to push to gain territory.
This photo is hard to look at, but really shows the severity of the situation in Yemen currently. Ayesha Ahmed is three years old in this photo and only weighs nine pounds- she is severely malnourished. Her whole family was displaced to the western coast of Yemen by the military. In their village of Tahonan, a lot of fighting happened, because the area happens to be on the border of Hodeida and Taiz. Even though Ayesha’s situation is critical, there are no doctors, only nurses.
Compared to the two previous photos, this one is very different. The sun is sparkling on the tomatoes and it seems like another sunny day at a market. Unfortunately this is not the case.
Food stands in the Souk al Meleh, in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, market stands are set up. In the capital, Sanaa, as well as in other towns across north Yemen, there is no lack of food. There is plenty for everyone with no shortage. The problem comes in when the war and inflation have pushed food costs beyond the reach of the majority of people.
Tugnoli was able to capture such powerful images of the crisis in Yemen, and hopefully due to his award, more awareness will be brought to the situation.
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