The photo was taken by Mehmet Arslan in Reyhanli, in the Turkish province of Hatay, on the border with Syria.
The award of the winner of the Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA) of 2021 was won by the Turkish photographer Mehmet Aslan with his photo “Hardship of Life”.
As the ancient Chinese saying goes “a picture equals 1,000 words”. The same is true with the specific photo taken by Aslan.
The place is the Turkish province of Hatay, on the border with Syria and shows the horror of war. A father who has lost his right leg is leaning on crutches and holding up his son who was born without upper and lower limbs a congenital disorder caused by the drugs his mother had to take when she became ill after the release of toxic gases during the war in Syria.
The photo was selected from tens of thousands of images submitted by photographers from 163 countries. The winners will be presented in Siena from Saturday, October 23, at the Siena Awards International Art Festival.
“History of the photo: While shopping in the market in Syria, Munzir loses his right leg due to a bomb that falls. His wife, who was pregnant at the time, inhales the sarin (nerve) gas that was released. “Mustafa, who came into the world, opens his eyes to the world without any extremities under the influence of sarin gas,” the photographer wrote on Instagram.
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