'Straight Voice'
The crowd applauds from the darkness the young man who monopolizes all eyes . Without a doubt, he is the focus of attention of the composition in a circle. Left hand on his chest, hope-colored shirt and poetry burning in his throat. Illuminated by the light of mobile phones, he recites protest verses. To the sound of his voice, as if each word were drumbeats, the protesters applaud and chant slogans against the military dictatorship in the streets of the Sudanese capital.
Yasuyoshi Chiba took this snapshot on June 19, 2019 in Khartoum during one of the multiple power outages and internet shutdown to silence the voice of the African people. The response of the people was to communicate through text messages, megaphones, popular songs and poetry as a subversive act. Against weapons, words like shields. Against the dead in the gutter, revolution. Despite severe repression, including assassinations, extreme violence and censorship, the pro-democracy movement finally managed to sign a power-sharing agreement with the military on August 17.
and this photo for the france press agency represents the sudanese youth revolution against military oppression. The Japanese gave it the title of Straight Voice. Something like “pure, firm, honest voice”, which has earned him the most important award in current photojournalism, PHOTO OF THE YEAR, awarded by the World Press Photo.
The best photo among 73,996 images from 4,283 photographers from 125 different countries. Chris McGrath, photographer and jury member, called the winning photo "a really beautiful photograph that has the ability to summarize unrest around the world with people who want a change.
The president of the jury, Lekgetho Makola , said that despite having been taken at a time of conflict, the photo "inspires people. We see this young man, who does not fire a gun or throw a stone, but recites a poem. It's an acknowledgment, but it also creates a sense of hope."
It's all praise for the photo and the photographer, but little or nothing is known of the young poet protagonist. Even Yasuyoshi Chiba did not know what the identity of the main character in the photo was. Although her facial expression and his voice impressed him, he has admitted that he couldn't make out anything else in the crowd. "He couldn't take his eyes off her. He was so strong, so charismatic. He recited a very popular protest poem and improvised a new one." he said in the presentation video of the awardees.
Then, Who is this rebellious boy and why is he reciting poetry at the top of his lungs?
Fortunately, the overwhelming success of photography after the award has uncovered some interesting clues. The poet is called Mohamed Yousif, is 16 years old and has not yet achieved his high school diploma that will allow you to go on vacation. Yousif was not born when General Omar al-Bashir took the reins of the African country by force. 30 years of dictatorship struck down with his photo as an allegory.
The Dutch media NRC Handelsblad tracked down his hometown until he found his whereabouts. In a short article in the Dutch evening paper they published an informal chat they managed to have with the young man through the Facebook chat. Between emoticons and short phrases, Yousif explains that when his parents saw the photo they thought it was fake. No one around him had heard of such an important photography award, and even fewer could expect the repercussions when a friend alerted him at 1 in the morning.
The investigations of the Dutch media were able to quickly pull the thread because the boy is well known among Sudanese activists for his uncontrollable momentum. "I'm only 16 years old, but the spirit of a 40-year-old man." Each of his balanced statements seem to agree with him. And, despite what it might seem, Yousif is not happier about the sudden fame of the. “I can't celebrate anything for appearing in this photo. Only when all the people of the old regime are judged. Not just Bashir." he secured it for NRC.
Yousif refers to the impunity of many soldiers who murdered young protesters without any form of retaliation or public trial. With the sudanese elections in 2022, Mohamed Yousif and thousands of young people with the right to vote will fight so that no death is forgotten.
But the people's thirst for curiosity remained unsatisfied. There are many who wanted to know better the environment that made this photo possible. In this case, an anonymous Twitter account made the miracle possible by giving life to the photograph.
The video makes us witness a curious effect, that of the photographed photographer. In the images, Yasuyoshi Chiba can be seen making his way through the crowd to take his historical photo. It's 2 minutes and 10 seconds of enormous journalistic value. The cries of the young protesters are well audible in Al-Azmiyya square. A word is repeated over and over again. “Thawra!”, which means revolution in Arabic. From this point of view, the young poet has his back turned, although it is easy to see that he is a leader despite his young age. He's the only one who makes a fuss with his hands and the only one who doesn't applaud . His five senses are at the service of reciting verses like daggers.
On the other hand, the award-winning photograph has also served to uncover the lesser-known face of the Sudanese revolution. Not only the students occupied the streets, the awakening of the youth was also feminine. While in a square full of men slogans and poetry were shouted in favor of freedom, in another adjoining square they met young women claiming their rights.
A photo of Lana H Haroun for the same dates (April 2019) shows the leadership of Sudanese student Alaa Salah. Another activist in the anti-government protests that led to the overthrow of the military dictatorship. Over time, this image has been baptized with the name of woman in white either lady liberty , and she deserves the same recognition.
Alaa Salah and Mohamed Yousif. Two young people united by the gift of the word never again silenced.