People in the News, 1st prize
Francesco Zizola
Contrasto
Contrasto
01 April, 1996
Angolan child, mutilated by a land mine in Kuito, Angola. After Kuito was bombed, only the bathroom of the church remained intact. It is used to store statues. Of the estimated nine to 15 million mines in Angola, only 80,000 have been cleared. Throughout the anti-colonial rebellion of the 1960s, the civil war following independence and the period when the country became a focus of international power politics, land mines have been deployed here, particularly by UNITA and the Angolan army. Since the signing of the Lusaka Protocol in November 1994, peace has gradually returned. An ambitious UN-instigated program is attempting to rehabilitate Angola's infrastructure. The land mine problem is being addressed through clearance, surveying and marking, while 'mine awareness training' helps civilians avoid dangerous areas. In 2002, Angola ratified the Ottawa Convention on anti-personal mines. However, in 2004 there are still more than 4 million land mines to be cleared from Angolan soil.
Francesco Zizola
Born in 1962, since 1980's he has documented the world's major conflicts and their hidden crisis, focusing on the social and humanitarian issues that define life in the developin...
Through our education programs, the World Press Photo Foundation encourages diverse accounts of the world that present stories with different perspectives.
Our exhibitions showcase stories that make people stop, feel, think and act to a worldwide audience.
Our annual contest recognizes and rewards the best in photojournalism and documentary photography.