My 2010 FCCT Photo Competition Entries

These are my entries for the The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand and OnAsia, Asia’s leading photo agency, Fourth Annual FCCT Photo Contest.
Double click on any of the image to see a larger view

Category: Human rights single image

Caption: To young to bleed.
Subject: Red-shirt protests Bangkok
Location: Phan Fa Lilat Bridge, Bangkok
Date: April 16, 2010, 8.19am

To demonstrate their willingness to spill their own blood to achieve political reform, thousands of red-shirt protesters donated blood that was later to be spilled at the gates of the parliament, amongst them this 11-year-old boy, a symbolism of the political awakening and empowerment of the rural and lower socio-economic sectors of the Thai population.

_________________________________________________________________________

Category: Spot News single image

Subject: Thai Army assault on red-shirt protesters Location: Ratchadamri Rd., near Sarasin Rd., Bangkok Date: May 19, 2010, 1.24pm The assault against red-shirt protesters was alleged to have been led by these so-called “Special Forces” troops. The long fingernails on this “soldier” challenge the claim that Royal Thai Army troops led the assault.	Subject: Yellow-/multi-colored shirt protesters melee in Silom Rd. Location: Rama IV and Silom Rd’s Bangkok Date: April 22, 2010, 10.50pm A leader of the rioting yellow-/multi-colored shirts group intimidates a Thai police officer

Subject: Thai Army assault on red-shirt protesters Location: Ratchadamri and Sarasin Rd’s, Bangkok Date: May 19, 2010, 10.42am Stress, concern and urgency are displayed on the faces of first-aid workers evacuating a wounded red-shirt protester

Subject: End of the red-shirt protests in Bangkok Location: Ratchadamri and Sukhumvit Rd’s, Bangkok Date: May 19, 2010, 5.18pm A Thai flag flutters in front of the abandoned red-shirt protesters Ratchaprasong stage, symbolizing the strength and resolve of the nation to re-build, and go forward, while also demonstrating the patriotism of the red-shirt protesters, the distance to the stage a symbol of the gap between the two different sides of the conflict

Subject: End of the red-shirt protests in Bangkok Location: Ratchadamri and Sukhumvit Rd’s, Bangkok Date: May 19, 2010, 7.07pm After 45-days occupying the heart of the Bangkok shopping and business district and 65-days of protests, the lights finally dimmed on the red-shirt protest stage at Ratchaprasong – the abandoned paraphernalia evidence of the hasty evacuation

Category: Human rights photo essay entry #1

Subject: The act of a government deliberately ordering the deaths of its own unarmed citizens is termed democide. The act of killing unarmed people is murder. International treaties and conventions provide protection for medical personnel and those evacuating the wounded.

In Bangkok on May 19, 2010 the only rule was that there was no rules. Human rights and the rights of ordinary citizens were cast aside as the Thailand government sought to bring an end to an anti-government protest that had proved more resilient, better supported, funded and managed, and more determined than it had planned for, causing it widespread regional and global embarrassment.

7.30am: A silenced round from a sniper fells an unarmed protester hiding behind a street sign signals the start of the Thai military assault on the red-shirt protest camp.	7.34am: A shot red-shirt protester lies bleeding in the street as another heading to his assistance dives for cover as more rounds are fired	7.34am: Fellow protesters rush to their shot friends assistanc

7.35am: Red-shirt protesters and a red-shirt guard attempt to load the shot man on a pallet for evacuation.	7.35am: The rescue team comes under fire from snipers	7.36am: Several members of the rescue team dive for cover as others attempt to flee the continuing shooting

7.36am: The rescue team runs for safety from sniper fire, with several members on the ground	7.40am: With two people now laying shot on the ground another red-shirt guards attempts a rescue attempt while sheltering behind a table	7.40am: Also coming under sniper fire the would-be rescuer hides behind his table shelter

7.41am: With bullets landing around him the red-shirt guard rescuer inches his way out of the line of fire while sheltering behind his table	7.42am: A third rescue attempt succeeds and one of the shot protesters is rushed to safety	7.42am: A member of the first team of rescuers lies bleeding on the ground after be shot by a sniper while attempting to rescue the first victim

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Category: Human rights photo essay entry #2

Subject: Regarded as one of Thailand’s playgrounds for tourists and raking in millions of dollars a year in foreign currency, the name “Pattaya”, instantly conjures up Image:s of beaches and the city’s notorious and seedy nightlife.

Interspersed among the multi-million dollar hotels and condominiums on vacant land with no running water, no electricity, and no bathrooms, hidden from view by towering trees, are the poor, infirm, and elderly who eke out a subsistence living collecting recyclable goods or working as casual day labor, while others survive on the generosity of others, being too old, frail, or ill to even forage.

Living in shacks constructed from discarded sheets of tin nailed to timber off-cuts with weathered tarpaulins as a roof, comfort in the slums of Pattaya is measured by whether there is a well to draw “fresh” water from, to whether heavy rain will see a river flowing through where you are sleeping.

Another risk, the sudden appearance of construction crews who arrive unannounced and commence leveling these shanty towns to make way for a new development project.

Location: Central Pattaya, Thailand Date:July 15, 2010, 10.50amObscured mostly by trees, the residents of this Pattaya apartment complex remain oblivious to the living conditions of the people next door	Location: Central Pattaya, Thailand Date:July 29, 2010, 11.11am No electricity, no running water, no bathroom. Life in this Pattaya shantytown is strikingly different to the lives in the high-rise apartment complex adjacent	Location: Central Pattaya, Thailand Date:July 15, 2010, 10.43amHidden from view by towering trees it is doubtful if guests at the hotel in the background even see this shanty home

Location: Central Pattaya, Thailand Date:July 15, 2010, 10.16amNo water, no bathroom and living in a home made from discarded furniture while surrounded by multi-million dollar developments is what Pattaya means to this man	Location: Central Pattaya, Thailand Date:July 15, 2010, 10.43am No water, no bathroom and living in a home made from discarded furniture while surrounded by multi-million dollar developments is what Pattaya means to this man	Location: Central Pattaya, Thailand Date:July 29, 10.48amTo old to forage this 103-year-old woman sits in front of her shantytown home relying on the kindness of others for meals and personal needs.