john robinson photojournalist

COMING ALONG SIDE

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:11:37 +0300

ARE WE RACIST - US AND THEM

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:51:32 +0300

Ativistas do Greenpeace, vestidos de árvores, protestam contra o...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:59:00 +0200

Ativistas do Greenpeace, vestidos de árvores, protestam contra o desmatamento da Amazônia no Brasil, nesta terça-feira (29), na cidade sul-africana de Durban. O protesto ocorre no segundo dia da Conferência do Clima da ONU (Foto: John Robinson, Greenpeace/AP)

http://g1.globo.com/natureza/noticia/2011/11/africa-do-sul-tem-protesto-contra-desmatamento-na-amazonia.html

http://www.facebook.com/johnrobinsonphotojournalist#!/media/set/?set=a.2630263032208.2140888.1124324653&type=3

SOUTH BEACH EDIT III The old guy with the metal detector is...

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:42:00 +0200

SOUTH BEACH EDIT III

The old guy with the metal detector is joined by others who also walk this beach.

The clouds that were not seen have come to life, the figures are in a landscape!

2011 DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA PHOTOS/JOHN ROBINSON

SOUTH BEACH EDIT II Cecil collects old metal stuff with his...

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:39:00 +0300

SOUTH BEACH EDIT II

Cecil collects old metal stuff with his detector, the pastor collects water with his 9mm sticking out the belt of his pants.

Another, came down from Jozi just to see the sea, a woman walks with her shoes in hand, she is from Maputo, school kids will come from Maseru, they greet adults as sir and madam, you can see the difference.

Acrobats from Zanzibar, local kids and collectors of water to clean the body, South Beach is where they all come, not U Shaka, nor New Beach or North Beach, its the long uninterrupted stretch of changing sand and surf that still calls the other folk from other parts…

PHOTOS/JOHN ROBINSON

an ongoing project.

ICM Conference at ICC Durban South Africa JUNE 2011 DURBAN SOUTH...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:50:00 +0300

ICM Conference at ICC Durban South Africa JUNE 2011 DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA PHOTOS/JOHN ROBINSON

Midwives from around the world gather in Durban South Africa.

2011 UNFPA/JOHN ROBINSON

Child and mother’s brother, transit camp T Section Umlazi...

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:20:27 +0300

Child and mother’s brother, transit camp T Section Umlazi South Africa 2011.

“When we came here, they said it was for only six months, now we have been here for about two years and still we have no water, no power. We only use stand pipes and some have wires for electricity, its dangerous but what can we do.”

The community was promised new houses, prior to the extentions of a local soccer stadium in preperation for the FIFA World Cup, but still they live in corrigated steel rooms with little dignaty and no privacy.

Photo and Words/John Robinson

SUDANESE STUDENT RUMBEK AUGUST 2004 PHOTO/JOHN...

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:40:24 +0300

SUDANESE STUDENT RUMBEK AUGUST 2004 PHOTO/JOHN ROBINSON/MCC

“SOUTH SUDANESE WOMEN HOPE INDEPENDENCE WILL BRING NEW RIGHTS

As South Sudan counts down to independence on July 9 its women are hopeful the future will bring them new rights and opportunities. If you look at the statistics you might think their optimism misplaced. According to government and U.N. figures, just 27 percent of girls are in primary school, 84 percent of women are illiterate, child marriage is common, rates of domestic violence high and brides are bartered for cattle. But women are keen to point out how much things have changed since the 2005 peace deal which ended civil war with the North and paved the way for independence”

-THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION

Fresh Babies… In conjunction with UNFPA a media site visit...

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:07:00 +0300

Fresh Babies…

In conjunction with UNFPA a media site visit was organised to the maternity department of the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi outside of the City of Durban in South Africa.

The hospital’s maternity department is a part of a overall program in Umlazi that is inclusive of the use of midwives in the safe delivery of babies.

Research shows that the world is in need of many more midwives then it has access to at the present moment, the midwife is able to assist in the safe delivery of babies and her responsibility is for the safety of both the mother and her child.

Midwives are able to oversee many aspects of women health issues, inclusive of family planning, the rights of choice and general health screening.

The photographer was contracted by UNFPA to cover the ICM conference held in June 2011 in Durban South Africa, and this site visit formed a part of the assignment.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-midwives-report-20jun11-124189554.html

Enabling the disabled, and in the same discovering ability. MAY...

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:55:00 +0300

Enabling the disabled, and in the same discovering ability.

MAY 2011

In conjunction with CREATE I had the opportunity to run a photojournalism workshop for four people from disabled backgrounds. The project consisted of a seven day workshop and a period of two weeks in the field where a short series of images were produced by the four participants. CREATE is an NGO that is involved with training and advocacy in the South African Disabled community. The project was facilitated by The Foundation for Human Rights who are funded by the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the European Union.

The resulting images have been printed on five vinyl banners and are traveling around the country as a display of ability and as a form of advocacy for people with disabilities…

The images are a selection of both the photographer’s and those of the four people who attended the workshop.

KASTURBA GANDHI EXHIBITION NATAL MUSEUM. Kastur Gandhi was born...

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:33:02 +0200

KASTURBA GANDHI EXHIBITION NATAL MUSEUM. Kastur Gandhi was born in Porbandar India in April 1869, she was the wife of Mahatma Gandhi and a stalwart of freedom in her own right.

The Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg is hosting a photographic exhibition looking at her life through historic photos documenting her life.

In many ways she was a woman ahead of her time, she was born to wealth and along side the giving up of this she came along side the poor and oppressed, and questioned the traditional gender roles of her time.

Kastur Gandhi was involved alongside her husband in the struggle for liberation of both South Africa and India, and her name was changed to Kasturba Gandhi meaning mother of the nation as was Mahatma Gandhi later known as Gandhiji being father of the nation.

She died 22 February 1944, at her cremation Mahatma Gandhi said “The best part of me is dead” he later wrote to Lord Wavell, Viceroy of India “without my wishing it, she chose to lose herself in me and the result was that she became truly my better half.” 24 FEBRUARY 2011 PIETERMARITZBURG SOUTH AFRICA WORDS AND PHOTO/JOHN ROBINSON

TRISTAN MOODLEY (3) OF PIETERMARITZBURG SOUTH AFRICA TAKES IN...

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:54:18 +0200

TRISTAN MOODLEY (3) OF PIETERMARITZBURG SOUTH AFRICA TAKES IN IMAGES FROM THE EXHIBITION “LOVE EDUCATE EMPOWER - INTIMATE IMAGES OF NELSON MANDELA”… 14 FEBRUARY 2011 PIETERMARITZBURG SOUTH AFRICA PHOTO/JOHN ROBINSON

ROBERTS ROAD MAZAAR - 2008 TO 2010 A gardener sweeps leaves off...

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:40:20 +0200

ROBERTS ROAD MAZAAR - 2008 TO 2010

A gardener sweeps leaves off the pavements making ready for the devout who will surely come to this quiet and sacred place…

Trees cast a shade pattern over the enclosed old Roberts Road Islamic graveyard that sits high on the sky line of the City of Pietermaritzburg in South Africa. Within the confines of these walls are two Mazaars or shrines where the bodies of Sayyah Bawa and Qaasim Bawa two Soofi saints lie buried.

The mazaar is a revered place where the local Soofi community come to pray.

Soofi Islam is a mystic brotherhood which came out of the Shi’a tradition of Islam, but today is linked more to the Sunni tradition. It is at odds with the Wahhabis who see it as a deviation of Islam for its whirling dervishes, pilgrimages to the shrines of the saints, recantations of the Koran in cemeteries and cult of saints. At this mazaar the faithful listen to the ‘ulama or learned ones, burn incense and leave sweets that flavour the tongue to aid the travel of prayers.

Stillness and peace reside here in the old Islamic graveyard. The sweetness of the scent burning in the mazaar needs to talk for its self. Brocaded cloth covers the place where the Bawa lies. There are no signs of uprising and violent jihad, only adverts for pilgrimages to other mazaars across South Africa with or with out luxury accommodation. There is only a sense of peace and stillness as men and women come and sit in the shrines or at the side of a grave, burn rose scented incense sticks, sip water, praying and asking of the creator through his friends for favour and relief of illness.

The violent jihadic face of Islam is pushed aside by these Soofi people for the other jihad, the personal jihad or a putting aside of self and the ascetical life or other worldly orientation. The word Islam is Arabic for “self surrender” and close to this word is another word “salaam” or peace as in as salaam alaikum the universal greeting for all muslims and foreigners - peace be upon you.

ROBERTS ROAD MAZAAR PIETERMARITZBURG SOUTH AFRICA PHOTOS/JOHN ROBINSON

SOUTH BEACH - The people’s beach, edit I There is a...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:03:00 +0200

SOUTH BEACH - The people’s beach, edit I

There is a stretch of beach in Durban from New Pier south to Ushaka Marine World. Both ends are venues for the up and coming, New Pier is where the surfing pros hang out and Ushaka Marine World is the tourist spot with venues, restaurants and a plastic beach with a security fence around it where a wave machine generates what South Beach can provide for free!

South Beach is just a long stretch of beach, there is not much other then sea and sand.

But it is the place where many of KwaZulu-Natal’s people from the inner lands come to collect water, walk, sit, stare, run and stop awhile.

These images are the first edit of a ongoing personal body of work, South Beach is the photographer’s special place in the City of Durban it is a place of thought and planning for the weeks to come… 2010 - 2011 DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA PHOTOS/JOHN ROBINSON

SURVIVORS - CUTTINGS BEACH SOUTH AFRICAAN ENVIRONMENTAL...

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:22:00 +0200

SURVIVORS - CUTTINGS BEACH SOUTH AFRICA

AN ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT

Kriana and her husband Angelo Maree are real survivors, after a near fatal attack where Angelo was left for dead, they lost their house and were cast out by his family. Their two children are in the care of Kriana’s mother and the couple now live in the dunes of Cuttings beach just south of Durban in South Africa.

Cuttings Beach is as complex as is the material that flows out of the canal that channels the Umlazi River and effluent from the near by Mondi Paper industrial complex, the greater Wentworth community and Engen Petroleum refinery.

Factory wash off that includes paper pulp residues and oils from the local industries mix with the slime washed down the Umlazi river which runs through several local communities which have limited access to the municipal water system.

The dunes of Cuttings Beach are home to a community of people who have learned to survive, there are subsistence fishermen, informal car guards and young street wise kids with no visible form of income.

Though there is water flowing through the cutting from many sources, access to clean drinking water remains a daily walk into the local formal community where water in begged from whom ever will give it to them.

Seemingly, at first glance the situation at Cuttings Beach seems a simple situation of spoiled water emptying into blue sea. But the survivors of Cuttings Beach have learned to live off the land here.

The local fishing community have learned of the taste that fish have acquired for the green slime that flows here, wrap it around a hook and you will catch a supply of fish that can be sold for cash in the Wentworth community.

The volume of fish that is caught from the sea in the immediate area asks questions too.

While the canal that runs from the local paper mill will often wash a toxic mix of factory waste into the sea that stops all fishing in the area for days, at other times Kriana will tell you that it is clean enough to bath in…

Kriana will also tell you that this place is not their choice, they once had a house… Phumzile a street wise kid who also lives in the dunes will say the same. Cuttings Beach is still within the municipal boundaries of the city of Durban, a “sparkling” City that hosted the FIFA 2010 World Cup, and a city that is just learning that the homeless are a social issue and not a security one.

The Durban Metro Police collected many of those who made the streets and open spaces their homes and just removed them from the city prior to the 2010 World Cup. The Dune people of Cuttings Beach have learned to take the good with the bad to roll as it were with the ebb and flow of the estuary.

The water is sometimes good, and it is sometimes very bad, drinking water is always a long walk away. But the sea view is remarkable and Phumzile will tell you that the sunrises are just wonderful… 12 DECEMBER 2010 DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA PHOTO/JOHN ROBINSON

A SPOON FULL OF JAM STILL HELPS THE MEDICINE GO DOWN. Baby Gift...

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:06:00 +0200

A SPOON FULL OF JAM STILL HELPS THE MEDICINE GO DOWN.

Baby Gift gets messy with apricot jam while her medication is prepared. Age old wisdom provides care givers in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa a sweetener to go with often bitter ARV medication. 30 NOVEMBER 2010 KWAZULU-NATAL SOUTH AFRICA PHOTO JOHN ROBINSON/AP

http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2010/12/ap-interview-safrica-concerned-costs-aids

WHOONGA! Photos John Robinson/AP Donna Bryson (AP) — AIDS...

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:29:00 +0200

WHOONGA!

Photos John Robinson/AP

Donna Bryson (AP) — AIDS patients in South Africa are being robbed of their lifesaving drugs so that they can be mixed with marijuana and smoked, authorities and health experts say.

The concoction is called “whoonga” — less a word than an exclamation — and it adds a bizarre twist to the war on AIDS in the world’s worst-affected country just as it embarks on a massive distribution of medications.

Whoonga’s spread is so far limited to eastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa’s most AIDS-stricken province, but AIDS and addiction specialists worry that it could reach other parts of the country…

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/24/whoonga-drug-a-new-twist-in-south-africas-aids-war/

AlongSide - Lubumbashi In memory of “Josue Manda 28...

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:11:00 +0200

AlongSide - Lubumbashi

In memory of “Josue Manda 28 November 2010

Two cameras, the one a Leica M6 with black and White film and the other a Nikon DSLR.

I placed the images along side of one another, the black and white images are my personal images, the digital images are for the client.

Lubumbashi is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is the capital city of Katanga Province. While there, I worked on two bodies of work, the one being an art project and the other people affected by Malaria.

Stop the Secrecy Bill South Africans protest the Secrecy Bill...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:48:00 +0200

Stop the Secrecy Bill

South Africans protest the Secrecy Bill in Durban through a coffin cavelcade, (the death of democracy) the mock trashing of books (loss of access to information) and the presentation of a memorandum to a government representative

OCTOBER 2010 DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA PHOTO/JOHN ROBINSON

Stop the Secrecy Bill!

A responsive and accountable democracy that can meet the basic needs of our people is built upon transparency and the free flow of information. The gains of South Africans’ struggle for freedom are threatened by the Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill) currently before Parliament. We accept the need to replace apartheid-era secrecy legislation. However, this Bill extends the veil of secrecy in a manner reminiscent of that same apartheid past.

This Bill fundamentally undermines the struggle for whistleblower protection and access to information. It is one of a number of proposed measures which could have the combined effect of fundamentally undermining the right to access information and the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution.

A SITE FOR SORE EYES. In conjunction with International Centre...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:49:00 +0200

A SITE FOR SORE EYES.

In conjunction with International Centre for Eye Education (ICEE) and partner NGOs informal traders in the markets around Warwick Junction had eye tests performed and where needed reading glasses were supplied free of charge, others were referred on for further examinations at a local eye clinic for treatment.

ICEE set up a day clinic site in the Warwick Junction where sore eyes were tested and sight was restored, treatable blindness and refractive errors reduce productivity across the world. The errors are correctable and thus many people are able to return to their places of work with better sight and productivity.

OCTOBER 2010 WARWICK JUNCTION DURBAN SOUTH AFRICA PHOTO/JOHN ROBINSON