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Zimbabwe Exodus

By Dirk-Jan Visser Posted May 3 2010

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When people ask me if there is a future for photojournalism I always give the example of the feature “Zimbabwe Exodus,” which I shot in 2007. In my opinion, the future of photojournalism is in the hands of the photographer. He or she should not follow the events in the world by reading the newspaper. The time is gone when professional photographers chased the news. I mean anyone with a camera in the right place at the right time can shoot a front-page picture. Editors do not expect that a photographer is present when two trains run into each other. The public with their cell phones will take these photos. Flickr is the Web site used to distribute the images worldwide. I believe that the professional photojournalist must specialize, should have editorial control and should have all the knowledge about the subject and topic as possible. A “good” picture is not that difficult to shoot, but a photo-essay that explains the background and shows the situation requires background knowledge and research. Therefore there is actually not much difference between a photographer and a journalist. They just use different tools to communicate the story.

Now I do not know whether I am a good journalist. I do not believe in the journalistic ethics of objectivity. OK, I use the practice of journalism. I do my research. I know how to establish contacts. I hear different sources, and generally I think I have a fairly effective impression on the topic I am working on. But in photojournalism objectivity does not exist. As a photographer I have a story to tell. To be physically present somewhere for a long time and exposed to certain situations affects me as a person, so it affects my story, which is certainly reflected in the series as I edit. I know I go over-the-top and tighten up the drama in my image sometimes. But that is the way I see the world, and I want to express that in my story. I do not want to give answers with my photography, but I aim to push the public in a certain direction in which the viewers can create an opinion for themselves.

In the autumn of 2007 I travelled to southern Africa to make a story about the Zimbabwean exodus. Earlier that year I found out through a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross that 5,000 Zimbabwean refugees were illegally fleeing to South Africa on a daily basis, escaping the economic, political and social regime of Pres. Mugabe. For me the number of 5,000 was beyond belief; how many days would it take for a country to be empty? People who were desperate faced gang rapes, gang murders and a river filled with crocodiles for a better future. The report also expressed fears about the social and economic pressures in South Africa. These huge numbers of illegal Zimbabweans could put weight on employment and food supply, especially in the townships in South Africa. These unbelievable figures and facts were for me the trigger to make a story. To my surprise this was a story that had not been made yet at that time. Obviously, there were occasional photographs, typical illustrative photographs that can accompany an article, but I could not find an essay that showed the overall situation through pictures.

After 3 months of intensive preparation—researching the topic, establishing contacts in the field and talking with people who are aware of the situation in Zimbabwe—I spent six weeks in southern Africa. Before I left, my story was already pretty much clear. The starting point was the illegal “border jumpers.” I wanted to tell the story from their perspective. On one hand, I wanted to show why they made this treacherous journey, why they left Zimbabwe. On the other hand, I wanted to show what the reality would be for the “Zimbabwean exodus” into South Africa.

Because this feature was my own initiative, I was not tied to any client or magazine. I could take as much time as I wanted and I could choose what to photograph without having to comply with the requirements of a client. Therefore I had no idea if the story would ever be published. Although from my perspective it was a story that should be told, the press has its own agenda, following the world’s big media corporations. At the end of 2007 Zimbabwe was not on the journalistic agenda; therefore no magazine was interested in publishing the feature. Nevertheless I knew that Zimbabwe naturally would be part of the news as elections would be held in March 2008. Also the socio-economic pressure by the Zimbabweans in South Africa was untenable. Altogether it was a countdown for different issues that would finally become the news.

During the weekend before the disputed election, the series was published over ten pages in a major French magazine. After this, various media took an interest in the series as well. Finally the photos ended up in a report by Human Rights Watch expressing concerns for the humanitarian situation for Zimbabweans in South Africa.

In this report, my pictures helped to lobby the South African government to change its policy regarding the reception of asylum seekers from Zimbabwe and the responsibilities a government should take concerning refugees. I still consider this as my biggest achievement. Finally, this series has won several journalistic awards, including a Special Jury Recognition in the World Understanding Award of POYi.

With this story I try to illustrate that there is definitely a future for photojournalism, though this approach might be controversial. The story “Zimbabwe Exodus” is made entirely from my own perspective. I do not show the whole truth, only part of the truth, but in my opinion it is the part that is important. The work is published in the mainstream media but is also used for other purposes by organizations with political agendas that have nothing to do with journalism.

Objective photojournalism is dead; there are simply too many images around the world: images from different perspectives, images with different qualities and images with different opinions. In the end, an editor somewhere in an office decides in which context an image is used. For me this does not work.

The future of photojournalism is that the photographer takes a stand, shows his perspective of the situation in the world and keeps editorial control over his work. Only then can photography be shown to the public in the right context.