- Multiple İstanbul Photo Awards winner highlights education, dignity and hope through his award-winning work in Syria and Afghanistan
- 'War doesn't end with the last bullet,' Sanchez tells Anadolu in an interview
A multiple winner of the İstanbul Photo Awards says photojournalism should challenge audiences to confront the lasting human consequences of war rather than simply document conflict, emphasizing that education, dignity, and hope remain at the heart of his work.
Diego Ibarra Sanchez, a Spanish documentary photographer, filmmaker and educator who is based in Lebanon, won first prize in the İstanbul Photo Awards' Story Daily Life category for Reimagining Syria, second prize in the Single Daily Life category for Education in Afghanistan, and second prize in the Single Portrait category for Studying in Afghanistan.
His long-form visual storytelling explores the human cost of conflict while seeking to provoke reflection rather than reinforce stereotypes, according to his biography.
A contributor to The New York Times since 2012, Ibarra Sanchez has also published work with France 24, CNN, Der Spiegel, Revista 5W, NZZ, Diari ARA, the UNHCR and UNICEF.
His photography draws on an artistic visual language to move beyond depictions of suffering, inviting audiences to ask new questions about the contemporary world, the biography noted.
Reimagining Syria beyond conflict
Ibarra Sanchez’s award-winning series Reimagining Syria, photographed on assignment for The New York Times, documents everyday life in Latakia, Idlib, Aleppo and Damascus, portraying a society striving to move beyond dictatorship and isolation while facing an uncertain future.
"I was missing how a country is being rebuilt," he told Anadolu in an interview.
Rather than focusing solely on destruction, the project captures Syrians returning to markets, gathering in public spaces and reclaiming daily life.
"I'm portraying how a society is moving forward, creating new bridges, embracing the new sense of community, of belonging to their country," he said.
"We also have to tell the stories of hope. We need to show the hope. We need to create memory."
Documenting hidden cost of war
Ibarra Sanchez’s long-term project Hijacked Education, developed over more than a decade across more than 10 countries, examines how war continues to shape children's futures long after fighting ends.
"It's not about hospitals destroyed. It's not about infrastructure, roads. It's about how war affects education," he said.
"War doesn't end with the last bullet or when someone raises a flag. It's more about psychological consequences on time. How it's going to reverberate in time."
One of his award-winning photographs shows girls attending an informal open-air school in Afghanistan's Chaparhar District, where shortages of resources and restrictions on girls' education continue to undermine access to learning.
Another portrays eight-year-old Dunya, who lives in an orphanage in Kabul after her father was killed by the Taliban.
"I would love to keep studying if the Taliban allow me," the girl says in the accompanying caption.
Ibarra Sanchez said his work seeks to draw attention to children caught in conflict.
"We need to pay attention that this generation is in the crossfire. They are not fighters. They are not holding guns," he said. "We need to raise questions in order to push the viewers out of the comfort zone to make them think about how war affects civilians."
Questioning conflict, not romanticizing it
He said meaningful documentary photography begins long before taking a picture.
"A project doesn't start when you press the button. It begins much, much before, when you start thinking, when you start digging into an idea," he said.
"We need to research. We need to make interviews. We need to study before we start doing the story."
While many describe people living through conflict as resilient, Ibarra Sanchez said he is cautious about the term.
"Most of the times, I'm not comfortable when I'm hearing the word ‘resilience,’" he said. "Civilians caught in the crossfire are forced to keep moving forward. There is nothing romantic about that."
Instead, he said he aims to create photographs that remain in viewers' memories.
"I'm trying to paint with light, sometimes, moments that are painful ... in order to create memory, in order to grab the attention of the viewer, in order to send a message," he said.
A teacher and father, Ibarra Sanchez said his commitment to documenting education began after witnessing children studying inside bomb-damaged schools in Pakistan's Swat Valley following the defeat of the Taliban, an experience later reinforced by an attack on education activist Malala Yousafzai by a masked Taliban gunman.
Responsibility of visual storytelling
Discussing the responsibilities of documentary photographers, Ibarra Sanchez said respect for the people being photographed is fundamental.
"We are telling stories of misery, suffering. We have to respect the protagonists of our stories," he said.
He described photographers as "a bridge" between communities affected by conflict and audiences worldwide by putting "faces into these numbers."
On the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), Ibarra Sanchez acknowledged that technology is changing the profession but said credibility remains essential.
"At the end, what must remain is the commitment to tell the truth," he said.
While AI may streamline some workflows, he added, "a machine, an AI, will never take the soul of a storyteller."
Ibarra Sanchez also praised the İstanbul Photo Awards for giving photographers an international platform at a time when opportunities in the industry are shrinking.
"İstanbul Photo Awards is a unique chance for photographers all around the world to display their work and to share their personal views to the viewers," he said.
"I'm extremely grateful that my work has been awarded by İstanbul Photo Awards. Building bridges between different cultures is always an amazing chance."
İstanbul Photo Awards
Anadolu's İstanbul Photo Awards has become a cornerstone of global photojournalism, celebrating the art of visual storytelling while shedding light on critical issues worldwide.
More information about the award-winning photographs and jury members of this year’s contest, organized with the support of Turkcell as the communication sponsor, can be found at istanbulphotoawards.com.
