Young ‘Messi in the rubble’: Palestinian image wins competition
dubai — “Chaos breeds creativity,” a statement that stands true in describing this year’s ‘Moments’ competition winning picture that depicted childhood amid the rubble of Gaza.
Palestinian Mohammed Al Barawy’s image of a group of boys playing football after school amid the rubble of Gaza district stood out among 40,000 entries that participated in the eighth edition of the National Geographic ‘Moments’ photography competition. Showing a boy sporting a Lionel Messi Barcelona Jersey, the picture depicted aspiration, hope, violence and life in a single frame.
The 22-year-old winner said he developed a passion for photography four years ago, dedicating eight hours a day to develop his skills. “Photography is telling a story through the lens. I deliver a certain feeling I have at that moment to people through a photo,” said Al Barawy, an aspiring full-time photographer.
A communication studies graduate from Gaza, Al Barawy snapped the young group’s shot in an area next to his neighbourhood. “Their persistence and adventurous spirit shows their love for life, despite living among rubbles. Despite going through war, they’re
I want to tour the world and document stories and emotions of simple people.” Mohammed Al Barawy, Palestinian
telling people that they see a bright future,” he noted.
Al Barawy walked away with $10,000 worth of photography equipment and a 10-day photography expedition trip to Italy, where he will be mentored by National Geographic expert photographers.
He will have his photograph printed on the National Geographic magazine’s Arabic edition.
“I want to tour the world and document stories and emotions of simple people,” said Al Barawy. His image was chosen after three evaluation stages based on the quality of his photography and how the concept of the picture related to this year’s theme “Stories from Arabia”.
Hussam R. Abdulqader, the competition’s judge and the CMO of partnering sponsor Almarai, said the competition has succeeded in documenting the region’s stories through the years.
“Year after year, we are seeing photographs with increasingly powerful storytelling. Many of the photographs are living portraits of the stories of the region, historical, cultural and social stories, but above all, human stories. I believe many rival internationally renowned photographs.”
Abdulqader said the competition’s main aim is to nurture young talents in the long run, while documenting what the region has been going through and capture the spirit of Arabia. He noted a powerful sense of nostalgia depicted through images that contrasts the misconceptions of the youth’s disconnection from the past.
“Young people are reviving the past. They’re capturing old crafts, old people and the daily life through conflicts. They are not disconnected from their past,” he said.
Since it started eight years ago, the competition has gathered a whopping collection of over 200,000 images. “The photographs depict what the youth were feeling during a certain year,” said Abdulqader. These images have been collected in a coffee table book titled “Moments 2018: Stories from Arabia.”