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PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE: HELL ON EARTH, MAGNUS MACEDO

Everywhere you turned your head there were scenes of human desperation to its limit and, with it, came our frustration of being unable to help.


Chaos, desperation, grief, pain, despair. More than a month after the worst ever earthquake in their history, the situation still is desperate in Muzafarrabad, capital of Pakistani controlled Kashmir.

Muzafarrabad is situated in the beautiful Neelum Valley, on the banks Neelum River, and used to be the capital of the region. Despite the military tension between India and Pakistan for control of the Kashmir Mountains, Muzafarrabad had enjoyed a normal and stable community life in this paradisiacal region.

Three days after the earthquake it was like Dante’s Purgatory.



Wrapped bodies waiting to be collected from the pavements, people frantically driving their overloaded cars through jammed streets, desperate men digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings in search of relatives, friends, in many cases children. Screams for help and honking car horns. For days, in the dusted chilled smelly air, everywhere I looked in that doomed city were shocking scenes. A communal mad desperate anarchy was suddenly there, nonstop.



A destroyed football stadium was being used as an airfield for rescue helicopters to land. Pain and puzzlement were evident in every face on that football field.
Everywhere you turned your head there were scenes of human desperation to its limit and, with it, came our frustration of being unable to help.

The smell of deteriorating bodies was overwhelming and spread all over the city, what was left of it.

Homeless families [the lucky ones for being alive] were still hanging around in despair of what used to be their homes. Most of them were left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing or a few belongings they managed to salvage from the rubble.

I came across many children who were probably unaware of what was happening around them. Like this little girl standing in front of what used to be her house.



Little Isma, seen here eating a few cookies we gave to her, is now probably living in one single tent with her five older brothers and sisters together with eight other members of her family. She is considered a lucky one despite the grim future ahead of her.




Most of the basic infrastructure of this city of approximately four hundred and fifty thousand people was totally destroyed or badly damaged by the earthquake.
“Water and electricity, hospitals and schools, shops, our people! everything is gone!” a tearful man shouted to us. He was helping to bury his friend’s two sons, 17 and 18, on the back of a collapsed grocery store.

There are about three million homeless in the region and the dead are still being counted on the top of the 70,000+. Over 200,000 people are still trapped in the mountains risking death by frostbite or starvation, or both. There is also the permanent risk of diseases like cholera, diphtheria, and hepatitis. Many of the villages in the mountains haven’t yet received any kind of aid. Their injured are being left to painful slow death with the winter approaching


It is difficult to draw a line of comparison between the earthquake in Pakistan to the Hurricanes in America. Pakistan is a poor country and the areas affected even poorer before the earthquake stroke. The access to the affected regions is also much harder because of the mountains and the weather. It’s winter in the Himalayans and the snow falls hard with temperatures dropping dramatically below zero. These factors make the task of flying the “few” rescue helicopters extremely dangerous.

We flew with a Pakistani air force helicopter to villages close to Bagh, on the border with Indian controlled Kashmir. There we found a group of people who, despite their injuries, managed to walk miles through the mountains to get close to the airfield.



They were going to be taken to first aid treatment far away from their homes, but with hope they will be fortunate enough to get shelter until the end of the winter.

Many of these mountain-rescued people are being left adrift in the streets of host neighboring cities for lack of resources, aid workers say. Many, if not all of them will freeze to death.


Many roads to remote villages are only being re-opened now, more than a month after the landslides. The aftershocks are constant there, further damaging what was hanging on or being repaired. Add snow to all that and the scenario is clear.

The UN, rescue organizers, charity workers, NGOs were saying that Pakistani Kashmir was not getting enough aid from the public and foreign private sectors because there were no foreign tourists involved in the tragedy. They said the Tsunami victims received much more help because the region was a tourist destination before.

The story had already been dropped from TV and newspaper headlines and it was fading.
Aid workers were already feeling frustrated and left behind for lack of resources. Time is ticking quick, temperatures dropping daily and the snow already appearing on the top of mountains.
Tomorrow will be too late.

photos and text c Magnus Macedo


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ARSE OVER TEA KETTLE; Sang Tan

photo by Sang Tan/ WPN

Ready for the unexpected?


I was just wandering around shooting on the streets of London one sunny cold day, enjoying a break from my routine. I did not expect any drama to occur.

As I passed the Horse Guards Parade, the daily Changing of the Guard
was about to happen I have photographed it many times
before but I stopped to have a look, and maybe to get some stock
shots as the light was not bad. I decided to go to the front on Whitehall for a wide shot of the mounted sentries.

Stationed behind an iron gate, I waited for the Life Guards to ride out from the stable, do their inspection bit and ride to the sentry boxes to replace the guards already there. I meant to make a wide shot of both guards lined up for
inspection but suddenly one of the horses decided to walk away. The Guard tried to control the horse but was thrown off to the
ground, followed by the horse itself.

All this happened within seconds
and I did not even realize that I had my finger pressed on the
shutter all that time. I did not plan to shoot a sequence but, I
guess my experience and training kicked in and I just reacted.


I think because I was not expecting anything unusual to happen,
it allowed my mind to be unclouded, which gave me the reaction I
needed.

These soldiers and horses are very well trained;

I knew I had an unusual set of pictures.

c Sang Tan

the full series of photos of the royal horse fall, Sang Tan, WPN
www.sangtan.nildram.co.uk
www.britishpressphoto.org/sangtan

AVIAN FLU, MIDDLE EAST TOO?

by David Silverman
Photos by David Silverman/Getty Images



A migrating Kingfisher feigns death after it was captured for ringing and measurement at a migratory birds' reserve October 19, 2005 in the Hula Valley in northern Israel.


The general feeling here is that Israel will be hit, probably sooner rather than later, with avian flu. There are no plans for a mass inoculation of domestic birds, rather farmers will be required to keep as many indoors as possible, and wherever the flu is found, they will slaughter and burn the flock.





But until it happens, everyone is just being as careful as possible. I could not go from one farm to another, without at least a complete change of clothes (especially shoes), and preferably a day apart. I wanted to get to a chicken incubator but need 4 days break since my last visit to any kind of poultry farm.

Birds aside, it's business as usual here. The peace process remains .... a process. Right now there are many steps backwards and few forwards. We can only wait and see what tomorrow brings.

c David Silverman
Staff Photographer
Getty Images




Israeli veterinarian Shmulik Landau inspects a wounded peregrine falcon. The migratory bird, which was brought to a clinic with a damaged wing, was tested for the flu virus before being treated for its injuries.



A pair of Eurasian Cranes takes off at sunrise.

Photos by David Silverman/Getty Images


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CINDY SHEEHAN, JENSEN WALKER

photo by Jensen Walker


I wanted to be honest with my images but in all honesty I also needed to appeal to a market and the way people wanted to see this struggle.

c Jensen Walker

NOLA, MARIO TAMA

New Orleans has settled into a sort of controlled chaos, National Guard soldiers patrol the streets and bang on doors as different neighborhoods open up daily due to sharply decreasing floodwaters.



What was yesterday an impassable urban swamp is today a debris filled road caked in mud.



Very few holdouts remain and those who do seem to be tiring of the isolation. David Jackson Jr., 82, is rescued by New Orleans DEA agents after being trapped in his home in the heavily damaged ninth ward

Canal Street has become a massive staging are for media and military, downtown feels occupied and soulless.

Let's hope the natives return soon.

c Mario Tama
photos by Mario Tama/ Getty Images


Holdout Kevin Hanson bathes in the murky pool of a partially destroyed gay club that now serves as the de facto community center in New Orleans. Hanson occasionally puts chlorine in the pool in an attempt to keep it clean. A group of holdouts in the community have banded together following Hurricane Katrina as they vow to remain in New Orleans despite orders to evacuate. Most in the community feel they are better off staying in their neighborhood than in a faraway shelter.


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aftermath: CHRIS HONDROS

It's truly massive down here--it's an old cliche, but it's hard to comprehend unless you see it for yourself. Yesterday I was driving down Interstate 10 in downtown New Orleans (in the wrong direction) and had to stop when a massive Chinook helicopter landed in front of me on the highway, picked up some supplies, and took off again. Just beyond belief to see such a thing here in the States in a major city.

Chris Hondros

NEW ORLEANS

photo c Scott Reed/USAF

11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, GULF COAST

The Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's had just settled into a long Labor Day weekend when they got the call to mount up and left in waves a few days later for a disaster stricken land.

It wasn't in Iraq, Africa or any other far corner of the world. No, they went off to provide relief and humanitarian assistance for the part of their homeland that was struck recently by Hurricane Katrina.

These photos are the work of military photographers assigned to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard who are covering the military response to this disaster scene.




Navy Search and Rescue (SAR) Swimmer Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 1st Class1 Scott Chun secures a victim of Hurricane Katrina pulled from a rooftop in New Orleans into an SH-60B Seahawk. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jay C. Pugh

U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Scott Reed

U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate First Class (AW) Brien Aho, Fleet Combat Camera, Atlantic

Swimmer Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 1st Class1 Tim Hawkins retrieves and evacuates a victim of Hurricane Katrina from a rooftop in New Orleans into an SH-60B Seahawk. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jay C. Pugh.

U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

Refugees on board a C-17 Globemaster. The 15th Airlift Squadron (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster)






U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. John M. Foster

A young survivor of Hurricane Katrina hugs her rescuer Pararescuemen Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Mike Maroney (left) from the 58th Rescue Squadron, Nellis AFB, after being relocated to the New Orleans International Airport. U.S. Air Force Photo by A1C Veronica Pierce

US DOD MULTIMEDIA

MORE PHOTOS

Any Improvement? Mario Tama, New Orleans

The situation did improve as the powers that be finally got their act together and evacuated most of the stranded, practically overnight. The airport became a de facto field hospital/clearinghouse for the leftovers from the storm. We were allowed to photograph evacuees, many of whom were on the verge of death, being loaded onto C-130's destined for points unknown. Evacuations continue for the stranded all over New Orleans, many from the elevated highways which serve as the peaks of the city.
c Mario Tama, Getty Images








PHOTOS BY MARIO TAMA/ GETTY IMAGES
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family, Matt Hevezi

Here is a photo to break up the gloom. This is my No. 2 son Nicholas (right) and his summertime buddy Christian. We went to the park yesterday and these guys looked pretty cool in the afternoon light.

photo by Matt Hevezi

Hope everybody can find some time this weekend to enjoy either yourself, your family or friends ... at some level.


Sometimes it helps to just go goof off for a day or two. There are always friends, and family out there waiting for us to pause so they can enjoy our other-than-PJ qualities.

c Matt Hevezi

NEW ORLEANS, MARIO TAMA

The situation ostensibly improved today as countless busloads were evacuated from the Superdome and thousands more National Guard troops arrived. In reality, the situation has not improved drastically. Tens of thousands still remain stranded at the convention center while corpses continue to pile up. A visit to the Superdome today was like a descent into Hell, the place literally smells of death. A body floated in the water beneath the stadium as people seemed to rot away inside.
c Mario Tama

Mary Ann Dixon (R) weeps as she hears that she will be separated from her children on buses leaving the Superdome September 2, 2005 in New Orleans. Dixon was later reunited with her children and allowed to travel with them on the same bus. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)








Photos by
Mario Tama/Getty Images

HURRICANE KATRINA AFTERMATH, MARIO TAMA

We are filing from a landline at a local pub in the French Quarter which opens for us sporadically.

The situation feels very Third World with refugees, no food or water aid, dead bodies in the street, corrupt police, looting, fires...We had a cop try to take our gas the other day claiming "national emergency". Some photogs have been robbed, but the majority of the looting has been out of desperation. As one guy said to me, "We aint looting, we're surviving."

c Mario Tama / Getty Images


A girl carries clothes as her family waits for assistance after being rescued from their home in high water after Hurricane Katrina August 31, 2005 in New Orleans. Dozens of people in the area say they were rescued from their homes yesterday but were then abandoned on the roadway with no food, water, or health care.



A man is placed in an Army truck filled with survivors rescued from their homes
Daryl Thompson holds his daughter Dejanae, 3 months, as they wait with other displaced residents on a highway in the hopes of catching a ride out of town

UNHOLY EXODUS, DAVID BLUMENFELD

photos and text ©David Blumenfeld

11:30PM: Yitzhak Cohen, 43, (right) listens as the soldiers agree to give him until 5:30 the following afternoon to pack up their possessions and leave Gush Katif.

8:00AM: As Yehonadav, 9 (right), sleeps in his bedroom, Malka(middle) weeps as she tries to comfort Sraya, 15 their final morning in Gush Katif.

5:11PM: Bnayaoo Cohen wears "Tephilin" (Black prayer phylactories) has he prays on top of his roof before being evacuated from his home. "I couldn't put on my tephilin this morning to pray, but now I must."

5:31PM: Yitzhak Cohen (center) tears his shirt as he says the Prayer for the Dead before leaving his home in Gush Katif after 22 years. Soldiers from his son's Golani Unit who came to help the family pack, weep.

5:50PM: With his arm around his brother Bnayaoo, 19 (2nd to left), and Sraya, 15 (middle) walk toward the gate of Neve Dekalim. His shirt, a split star of David, symbolizes the great rift in Israeli society regarding the disengagment from Gaza.



Unholy Exodus: The Cohen Family Bid Farewell to Gush Katif

It is 5:11PM on August 17, 2005 and 19 year-old Bnayaoo Cohen is praying for a miracle. As he recites Minha, the afternoon prayers, on top of his red-roofed home in Neve Dekalim he tearfully watches as his neighbors and friends leave their homes. In less then an hour, he too will be forced to leave the place where he was born and grew up and where his family has lived for the past 22 years – Gush Katif.

I arrived in Gush Katif 10 days earlier, along with hundreds, if not thousands of other journalists, in order to document the historic evacuation of Jews from Gaza.

Overwhelmed by the drama of this event, I decided the best way to cover it was by concentrating on one particular family. After all, this was a human story. Whether one is right wing or left wing - agrees or disagree with “the settlements,” these were real people and families that were being forced to leave their homes. Yitzhak Cohen and his family graciously agreed to allow me to document the last 24 hours of their life in Gush Katif. From the moment the soldiers arrived to deliver their eviction notice, to driving their car out of the gates of Neve Dekalim for the last time, this was one of the most emotional stories I have ever covered.

As a photojournalist, it was frustrating at times – while tires where burning outside, I sat with the family drinking coffee, waiting for those telling moments. However, when these intimate moments did arrive for me to photograph, I felt I was capturing the real story here.

I remember driving through Neve Dekalim 6 months ago with a writer from Newsweek. Looking at the homes, synagogues, shops and buildings we said to each other, is this disengagement really possible? We could not envision it. Yet now it was actually happening.

The days leading up to the “Disengagement” was a mix of dance and song, tears and prayer - as the youth, many of whom snuck in illegally, set up tent cities in the various settlements. One journalist I know nicknamed the event “Gush-stock,” a play on “Woodstock” as this will surely be a time marked in the hearts and minds of the Israeli psyche for many years to come. Whether it too is the end of an era is yet to be seen.

c David Blumenfeld
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blumenfeld.com

DUBAI, JACK ADAMS

photo by Jack Adams

Dubai: One big construction site. From the beach we see 27 high rises being topped off. They work night and day, non-stop. They want it all, and they want it NOW ....Everything is being done in the highest quality, even at that breakneck speed. Some of the most beautiful Architecture and Hotel Interiors I have ever seen in the world.

c Jack Adams, lead interior architect, KEO international
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GAZA: DAVID SILVERMAN

Photos by David Silverman/Getty Images

A water-cannon forces back right-wing settlers as Israeli riot police try to take over the synagogue roof where hundreds of extremists had barricaded themselves August 18, 2005 at the Gaza settler community of Kfar Darom.

Now that the dust has settled ...


Actually it hasn't. It's just beginning to rise.

The dust from hundreds of homes being bulldozed into the ground.

The dust kicked up by the speed of the disengagement, which I must say has amazed everyone I have spoken to.

The dust from the tent encampments set up by settlers unhappy with the resettlement offers made to them by the Israeli government.

So let's see what next week brings.

MORAG, GAZA STRIP - AUGUST 22: Israeli soldiers take photos as heavy machinery tears down the very same settlers' homes they until last week strove to defend in the evacuated settlement



PE'AT SADEH, GAZA STRIP - AUGUST 21: Israeli bulldozers are seen tearing down a settler's home through the window of a neighboring house facing imminent demolition where the residents have painted the word "peace" on the wall August 21, 2005 in Pe'at Sadeh settlement in the Gaza Strip.




KFAR DAROM, GAZA STRIP - AUGUST 18: Israeli riot police are covered in paint and foam as they break onto the synagogue roof where hundreds of extremists had barricaded themselves during the evacuation August 18, 2005 in the veteran Gaza Strip Jewish community of Kfar Darom.

NETIVOT, ISRAEL Jewish settler bride Rivka Netanel is greeted by friends and family as she arrives for her traditional religious wedding to Bezalel Weinstein in the Faith City settler encampment August 24, 2005 in the southern Israeli town of Netivot. The bride was evacuated from her Gaza Strip settlement home of Atzmona last week and the groom hails from the West Bank settlement of Elon Moreh. The majority of the uprooted Atzmona settler community established the Faith City encampment in an uncompleted industrial complex where they live in tents until the Israeli government agrees to their demand to be resettled together in a new community.

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