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Pole among World Press Photo winners

17.04.2020 13:45
Polish photographer Tomek Kaczor has won the top award in the Portrait of the Year category at the 2020 World Press Photo Awards.
The award-winning picture by Tomek Kaczor, as shown in a handout photo made available by the World Press Photo organization.
The award-winning picture by Tomek Kaczor, as shown in a handout photo made available by the World Press Photo organization.Photo: PAP/EPA/TOMEK KACZOR

His photo, entitled “Awakening,” features a 15-year-old Armenian girl in a refugee centre near Warsaw.

The girl, named Ewa, has woken up from a catatonic state caused by what is known as resignation syndrome (RS). This affects traumatised children during a protracted asylum process, making them immobile, unable to eat and drink and unresponsive to psychological stimuli.

Ewa succumbed to the condition when her family was seeking asylum in Sweden. She recovered eight months after being deported to Poland.

Kaczor’s work was among six photos nominated for World Press Photo of the Year, the contest's most prestigious accolade. But this went to Yasuyoshi Chiba from Japan for a photo of a demonstration in Sudan.

Kaczor is a freelance photographer based in Warsaw.

(mk/gs)