From Nine to Noon 27 August 2014
New Zealand-born human rights photographer Robin Hammond won photojournalism's equivalent of the Booker prize – The W Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Prize in humanitarian photography, last year. The award was for a two-year project called Condemned which documented living conditions of people with mental illness in many strife-torn African regions. He’s also photographed life in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe; the plight of Roma in Italy, rising sea levels in Tuvalu, and the dark side of making Gap and Levi jeans. Robin Hammond lives in Paris, but is back in Wellington to give a public lecture at Massey University, from where he graduated. He’s also a winner of the 2014 World Press Photo competition, and his work is part of that exhibition opening in Wellington on Friday 29 August.
See more photos on Robin Hammond's website.
Maombi was raped by 3 soldiers. To keep her quiet they held a gun to the head of her daughter. When they finished they set her home alight. Maombi survived but her 4 year old daughter did not. Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
"We've had many children who have been made sexual slaves. They have severe mental trauma and their behaviour changes. They start to neglect themselves, they stop washing and take drugs especially glue and alcohol to forget. They feel disgusted with themselves" Ursylun Nun, Sister Deodata, and Co-ordinator of children's charity Alpha Ujuvi. Alpha Ujuvi supports vulnerable children, in particular orphans, children who've suffered sexual violence, abandoned children, children with HIV and AIDS. Half of the children at their lodge have been raped, many by armed men. Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
On the wall of a block of flats in Harare, a campaign poster for Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe reads 'Peace, Peace, Peace'. Mugabe's rule since independence in 1980 has been characterised by violence and the destruction of the economy. Harare, Zimbabwe. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
Zimbabwe’s first high-density suburb, Mbare, was established in 1907. It was originally called Harare Township, a name later used for the capital city itself. Harare is a corruption of Haarari, meaning 'One who never sleeps'. To accommodate men coming to the capital for work the council built Matapi flats and Mbare hostels. They would work for a few days at a time and then return to their families in the rural areas. Today those flats are dilapidated and severely overcrowded. Many rooms are occupied two or three families. The area was the centre of a lethal cholera outbreak in 2008. Significant portions of Mbare’s ‘informal’ structures were destroyed by police and military forces during the operation Murambatsvina in May 2005. It has been one of the most politically volatile areas in the country. The notorious mafia like Chipangano gang, a Zanu PF aligned militia, patrol the suburb extracting bribes and intimidating residents especially around election time. Mbare has become synonymous with diseases, fear, crime, and political violence. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
56-year-old Rosepina is HIV positive. She is cared for by her 26-year-old daughter. In 1997, Zimbabwe’s HIV epidemic peaked with 26.5% of the population being HIV+. By 2011 the estimated prevalence had reduced to 14.3%, although many believe the real figure to be higher. Manicaland, Zimbabwe. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
A feeding centre in Mogadishu caters to refugees streaming into the city to escape the drought devastating farmland in the countryside. They would rather risk being caught in the cross fire in the capital than face starvation in the countryside. Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
Girls wash dishes and boil ground nuts to sell at Jakande Estate. Lagos, Nigeria. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
Redeemed Christian Church of God, Annual Convention, Camp Ground, Mowe, outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
Loading of sheep and goats onto a ship bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The ship will take 84,879 sheep and goats. Over 50% of Somalilands GDP is made up of livestock exports. Berbera, Somaliland. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
A goat herdering family in the Sheikh Mountains, Somaliland. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
Inmates watch television in the courtyard of a prison outside Nairobi, Kenya. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
This 14 year old boy has been tied up for six years. His mother refuses to have him admitted to Gulu Hospital which is only two kilometers away. Gulu, Uganda. April 2011. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
Abdi Rahman Shukri Ali, 26, has lived in a locked tin shack for two years. He stays with his family in Dadaab in Eastern Kenya, the world’s largest refugee camp, where Somalis fleeing conflict and famine have sought safety. Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos.
The images in this gallery are used with permission and are subject to copyright conditions.
