1994 Photo Contest, General News, Honorable mention
Photographer

Jon Jones

Sygma

01 October, 1993

Since Georgia refused to grant independence to Islamic Abkhazia in 1992, violence reigned in the capital of Sukhumi, a once thriving seaside town. Its occupation by Abkhazian rebels signaled the start of the exodus of some 200,000 Georgians, bringing ethnic cleansing to the borders of the Black Sea. Early October saw an army of dispossessed Georgians leave their homes in Abkhazia for a long trek through the bitterly cold Caucasian mountains. The weak traveled by truck or tractor, the stronger marched for days on end, carrying what possessions they had managed to save. Progress was hampered by the very young, the sick and the wounded.

About the photographer

Jon Jones

Most recently he was the director of photography for the Sunday Times Magazine, where the magazine’s work received numerous awards for its photography. He was the curator of the...

This image is collected in