Giles Duley at an exhibition of his photographs at the UN headquarters. Stories from the front lines: photographer Giles Duley on the realities of living with a disability during war Evgenia Kleshcheva Peace and Security
Speaking at a press briefing in New York on the last day of his three-year term as the first UN Global Envoy on Disability in Conflict, Giles Duley said he felt a “defeat” – his own and, more importantly, the failure of the whole systems.
Dewley is an internationally renowned British photographer, writer, chef and founder of the humanitarian organization Legacy of War. “The process of real, meaningful support for people with disabilities in conflict and peacebuilding has not even begun,” he said in an interview with the UN News Service.
“Every day on the frontlines – in both conflict zones and humanitarian crises – I see people living in terrible conditions in makeshift tents. I see those who can’t get to the toilet. Those who cannot hide from bombing. People locked in houses using the bathroom as a refuge because they can’t go down to the bomb shelter,” he explained.
The Global Messenger’s goal was to respond to request of the people the lives whom he has been documenting for many years: “When I photograph someone in a war zone… they always say: take this story to the world leaders.” But this mission was never fully accomplished, he believes. others”
Giles Duley is an internationally renowned British photographer, writer, chef and founder of a humanitarian organisation.
“I didn’t expect that everything would change in three years. I hoped that people would listen – but today I feel that I have failed and that we have been let down by the system. Because too often, when I was invited to speak, all they wanted to hear from me was my personal story. We were waiting for her to inspire action,” says Dyuli.
He began his career as a music photographer, working with Mariah Carey, Oasis, Lenny Kravitz and other celebrities. In 2000, his photograph of Marilyn Manson was included in the list of the 100 greatest rock photographs of all time. Later he concentrated on documentary work. In 2011, in Afghanistan, Duley lost both legs and one arm as a result of an improvised device explosion. In 2012, he returned to work as a photographer.
“I’m not here to inspire, I want to be inspired by people without disabilities who are truly committed to changing the lives of those living with disabilities—helping them break down the barriers that prevent change,” he says he.
According to him, people with disabilities are too often included in processes only symbolically. “I’ve been to a lot of conferences where a landmine survivor or a sexual assault survivor is brought on stage… over and over again it feels like a performance,” Duley said. “Everyone claps, everyone says, ‘I’m so inspired’… but how often do these people then get invited to participate in real political events? changes?»
Stories from the front lines: Gaza, Chad, Ukraine
This week Duley together with the UN Mine Action Service and Office of Affairs Disarmament opened an exhibition dedicated to people affected by explosive remnants of war and sappers. Among the exhibits are works by Duley himself. Speaking at a press briefing at the UN headquarters, he cited the stories of two heroes of the exhibition (names have been changed – editor’s note).
Navali in a camp for internally displaced people in Chad.
“It was a woman named Navali who had polio as a child… She was a teacher, an activist,” he said. When her village in Sudan was attacked, her wheelchair was smashed. She literally had to crawl to find refuge in Chad.
When Duley met her, she was living in a tent— without a stroller. A woman who had previously lived independently of others now had to crawl on the ground to use the toilet. According to the photographer, this was not only humiliating, but also put Navali at risk of sexual assault and other attacks.
“No agency provided her with a stroller,” he said. experts to determine whether she has a disability.” Duley noted that “perhaps a person who is crawling past them on his hands does not really need such an expert.”
60~p>Second story – from Ukraine: Yulia, a young woman with severe cerebral palsy whose parents were detained by Russian forces in the early days of the full-scale invasion.
The parents of Yulia, who relies on their support, were detained.
“Her mother kept repeating: I need to go home, my daughter can feed herself,” said the photographer. When she was released, “the soldiers grinned and said: don’t worry, we took care of her. We fed her candy.”
In the room, the mother found her daughter naked on the bed, covered with candy wrappers.
“Her teeth and hair began to fall out… stress made her physically ill, said Dyuley. – This is the reality of people with disabilities in the conditions conflict. After a difficult evacuation and return home, he did not leave the apartment for two years. he forgot.”
The photographer often visited his family, cooked food with Amr and eventually persuaded him to go drink coffee by the sea: “Sometimes it’s such simple things that change someone’s life.”
After the October 7 escalation, the last message Duley received was: “How can we escape?.” “I don’t know what happened to this family,” he said.
“Stop seeing first disability”
Despite decades of activism, systemic inaction continues due to stigma, discomfort among others and prejudices that many cannot even admit to themselves. Duley recalls his own experience of using a wheelchair for the first time after an injury: “Often people wouldn’t talk to me at all… A taxi driver would pull up and ask the person behind me where I wanted to go.” see us resilient and positive.”
Duley also called on journalists and communications professionals to reconsider their approach to reporting on disability.
Mohammad in a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was shot in the head.
“When people interview me, the first thing they want to talk about is something that happened to me over 10 years ago – he said. – I wouldn’t in any other situation ask a person about the worst experience in his life ten years ago… I want people to talk about my work now.” sheet.”
“Tell me about the family you have fun with. About a family that always treats you so much that you can’t leave their house for a long time. About the family which you worry at night. This list will be completely different,” explained Duley.
On the forgotten victims of crises
He also emphasized that disability should not be perceived as a single concept. People with mental illness and invisible disabilities face different barriers and risks than people with other disabilities.
Camp for internally displaced persons in Chad.
Duley added that women with disabilities face even greater challenges: limited access to toilets, increased stigma. Mothers caring for children with disabilities experience additional burdens. For example, they cannot leave the child to go to the centers for registration and distribution of aid. forgotten, said Dyuley. – In fact, everything is simple: you need to understand their needs – and then they can use your rights.”
“My dream is for everyone to have opportunities like mine.”
“I have there was amazing support… and now I am living the life I dreamed of. I travel, do the work I love, live independently,” says Duley, calling on world leaders to ensure that every person with a disability has access to such opportunities. “This is my dream. We just need to be seen as people who need a different set of support measures,” Duley added.
He recalled returning to Afghanistan after an injury and photographing a seven-year-old boy who had also been killed by a landmine. “I remember thinking: why should a boy who was just going to school have to go through what I go through every day? I live with pain – both physical and emotional. – he said. “But if my work gives at least one child the support they need and the opportunity to avoid the same difficulties, my life will have meaning.”