Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf, winner of the 2025 edition of the main international photojournalism competition, World Press Photo, is part of the exhibition that the Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB) dedicates this year to the competition. The award-winning image will be presented in Barcelona at the end of December 14. The work depicts Mahmoud Ajjour, a new boy who will remain mutilated while fleeing an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.
Self-taught and raised in Gaza, Abu Elouf has been documenting daily life and the effects of the conflict on his territory since 2010. The six photographs were published by the mitjans i com organizations. The New York Times, Reuters, NZZ and Middle East Eye. Since having to flee Gaza, she gave up photography and moved to Qatar as a refugee.
Ask. How do you feel when the camera is there?
Answer. It is something that cannot be described. The camera wasn’t just part of my life…it was practically my life. He was always with me. I feel like I’ve lost something that was part of me. I don’t know how to explain it. It wasn’t just a camera, it meant being among people. My life was spent among people, on the road, photographing stories, working, learning new things. Here I lost everything. The camera was synonymous with freedom. He was very lively, how he photographed, how he was among people. Ara em sento empresonada.
Q. Have you ever decided not to photograph something?
A. No, I know very well the importance of image. Leaving the camera at will would be a betrayal. Just like I already feel like I’m going to bring Gaza pel fet d’haver sortet. I’m talking about a feeling of guilt.
Q. You are part of the testimony and also of the testimonies. How is this relationship between being a victim and, from now on, the one responsible for making what is happening visible?
A. I don’t like playing the role of victim. I’m talking about being testimonies… yes, soc testimonies. From Vegades are testimonies of others, but also of nosaltres mateixos. Everything that explains others, in some way, also represents, reflects our stories. They move, they run, they win, and I too was winning with them, and at the moment I was photographing everything there. I also came here, I also came out of Gaza. Soc with others, but I photograph.
Q. To the winning photo of the World Press Photo, hello, there is a tenderness in Mahmoud’s eyes mixed with terror. How do you experience this trend, this naivety of children, in such a chaotic environment?
A. This is the greatest proof that children are not guilty of experiencing such difficult circumstances or losing their limbs. The six vines change completely. Potser això is the one we see in Mahmoud’s face, finally in the last look… this look crowns the disconnection. I don’t know exactly how to explain it.
Q. How did you feel when you saw the photos of the country at the time, all the images of the war?
A. Estic trembling and moving freely in Gaza abans de la guerra. As soon as I start working on my archives, I will start to ensorrar. I couldn’t continue. Només plorava. All details of our vines will be destroyed. No vestige of these documents or archives will remain. Avui no en que res. All our documents summarize the terrible images of the war.
Q. Would Quina Gaza show on Monday?
A. Many people abroad think that Gazans are talking about death. It’s not Aixi. We are among the people who enjoy life the most and appreciate life the most. We know the value of everything we have lost, everything negative from the beginning. The blockade has tortured people many times, and they are all alive. A lot of people think we’re a different city. No, we are with everyone. Tenim lives with all the others.
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