Lynsey Addario: "It's What I Do"

It's What I Do by Lynsey Addario

Kahido, 20, at home with her two children born of rape, in eastern Congo, 2008

"Journalist.  It is who I am.  It's what I do."  These are the last words to Lynsey Addario's It's What I Do.  This is also the answer to any problem, any conflict, any doubt about why she puts herself in tough situations to get a story.  Apart from her excellent skill and technique as a camera worker, her integrity as a story reporter and a truth teller allows her to stand far from the crowd of other journalists.  She chooses to tell a story from the point of view of the citizens during the complexity of active war periods.  She does her best to expose the cost of war by emphasizing the effects on human life rather than the actions of soldiers.

Addario's memoir travels through her life at a heightened speed over the evolution of her Photojournalism career.  She reflects on many experiences that have helped her grow.  She intentionally goes after dangerous and violent situations in order to report on the very real fear that is created in the civilians that are effected.  I can relate to the author's sense of duty in pursuing photojournalism in war zones.  I feel even more motivated to do work that is being appreciated and making a difference.  Photojournalism is a career unlike others that can give visual validation for the work you put in.  That assurance of reward for your time and commitment.

One of the most memorable quotes from her story is a thought she had while in a Libyan prison after getting kidnapped.  One of her colleagues had voiced that he couldn't do it anymore, could not continue to put himself in danger for a story.  Addario shared her personal thoughts on the matter.  Her beliefs: "That fact is that trauma and risk taking hadn't become scarier over the years; it had become more normal... The acceptance of that was a natural defense mechanism against questioning ourselves too much.  Maybe the three of us didn't want to admit how sick it was that we would even contemplate continuing to cover war while we were sitting in a glorified prison cell, kidnapped in Libya."

I feel that this snippet of her thoughts during one of the most intense moments of her career accurately relayed the passion she feels for her job and how she overcome obstacles by sheer will and desire for a story.  She is a journalist.  It is who she is.  It is what she does.

In addition to how she has grown as a person, she also includes a lot of times she has developed skills as a journalist.  These skills can be transferred to many aspiring journalists and photojournalists, possibly her targeted audience.  I was able to take her quality of fearlessness and apply it to my own journalism reporting.  She is an exceptional example of a journalist on the extreme side of the spectrum, which gives me prospective in my own work.  If she can run towards the aftermath of a bomb explosion, then I can approach a woman on the street for a name in a caption because she is in one of my photos.

Throughout her adventures, she includes excerpts of her work.  They are great representations of the life stories she has reported on.  My personal favorite of her works appear on Pg. 189 and Pg. 192.  Addario was working on documenting the lives of women effected by the conflict in Darfur.  I like how these do not show violence but rather the result of it.  A symptom of a diseased world.  It also shows possibilities when we are exposed to reports of post combat situations.  War photographs  from Afghanistan often work to keep us informed but for average citizens, there seems to be little I can do.  It's one government against another and I'm just one person.  But the lives she portrayed in other countries have opportunities where we can help.  Aid workers and relief funds are available that can help directly.  And I see more hope in these photos than others.

That is what war/conflict photojournalism can do.  Give back a voice and, even more, give back hope to those who have been denied it by the force of others.  I read this book under the context of a textbook but more than that, it is a story like no other.  I would recommend this book to everyone because there is a lot to be learned from her experiences, not just about journalism, but about the world and its people.


Photo:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/11480087/War-photographer-Lynsey-Addario-on-tragedy-pregnancy-in-warzones-and-being-played-by-Jennifer-Lawrence.html

Lynsey Addario Website:  http://www.lynseyaddario.com