UNICEF Photo of the Year: Garbage, the Children and Death

The “UNICEF Photo of the Year” 2019 tells of children’s struggle to survive in the face of three of today’s biggest tragedies happening at the same time: Poverty, environmental pollution and child labor.

In his winning photo (Garbage, the Children and Death), German photographer Hartmut Schwarzbach portrays 13-year-old Wenie, fishing plastic bottles out of the water in the harbor of Manila (Philippines).

The second and third prize pictures document children’s vulnerability as well, but also their strength against the backdrop of harsh living conditions. Australian photographer Andrew Quilty has created a family portrait reminiscent of old masters that shows seven children in Afghanistan, none of whom have both legs left.

Their injuries were caused by the detonation of an unexploded bomb in a remote village. This year’s third prize was awarded to Spanish photographer Antonio Aragón Renuncio for his photo series about child labor in goldmines in Burkina Faso.

“The UNICEF Photo of the Year creates closeness; closeness to children who are hardly noticed by anyone else. It shows their plight – but also their strength to keep going even under the harshest possible conditions,” explained Elke Büdenbender, patroness of UNICEF Germany at the award ceremony in Berlin. “Our message is clear: Children are the most valuable resource we have. We are all responsible for their lives and their future.”

Wenie lives in the Philippines. Every day, she fishes plastic bottles out of the harbor’s polluted water in Manila’s Tondo district to sell them to garbage recyclers for a dime.

Although child labor is officially prohibited, many girls and boys from the slums have no other choice. Children as young as seven paddle across the filthy water of the harbor on bamboo rafts or refrigerator doors. They risk their health and often their lives when searching the contaminated water for anything of value in order to secure their existence.