Issah’s story

Stories out of Africa are almost always negative and depressing and it makes you wonder if photographers even try to find a positive angle. I used to admire James Nachtwey when I started out as a photojournalist, but now when I look back at some of his work, all I can see is black and white pictures of people dying. Yes, his stories are important and I do respect his work, but his pictures just petrify me. They seem to be saying that all is doomed anyway. Check out his work on the extremely drug-resistant TB. I couldn’t even finish watching the video.

However, I watched Emily Macinnes‘ piece about Issah, a visually impaired Ghanaian who receives life changing eye treatment, a few times already. I think the pictures and the music work very well together, and the fact that Issah gets to express himself makes this work very moving. Most importantly, it doesn’t make me want to stop watching halfway through and for an NGO, which relies on people’s support, that’s essential.