Lynsey Addario

    From Afghanistan to Libya to Syria, over the past two decades, Lynsey Addario has photographed not only war but people's lives as well. Addario has received multiple awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship, two Pulitzer Prizes, the Eliza Scidmore Award, and more. 

     On October 23, Addario spoke at the Yakima Town Hall Speaker Series. I got the opportunity to ask her questions in a press conference before the presentation. One question I had been itching to ask her was, What made her realize she would have to fight to make a name for herself in such a male-dominated field? Addario explained that she “could never relax” and that she had to be on top of everything all the time. 

     She shared that she had an editor who did not want to send her to photograph overseas because she was a mother. Addario not only broke the unspoken assumption that once you have kids, you must choose the safer option but continues to break this with her photojournalism. Another question I asked Addario was, is there a piece of advice you would give to students aspiring to become photojournalists? Addario shared that it would not be easy, but to start at a local paper and work your way up, that it would be near impossible to just jump into a large paper such as the New York Times. 

     During Addario’s speech, she shared the story of Sonya Liakh, a young girl who had eye cancer since the age of 2, but her chemotherapy was interrupted by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Sonya Liakh was sent to Poland for treatment after the invasion, where she did not receive treatment for two months. Sonya Liakh passed away on August 20th, 2024. This story showed us that not only does war affect those on the front lines fighting, but that war affects everyone: women, children, and those of innocence. 

     Addario does a beautiful job of showing us lives that we may not be familiar with. She shows us the other side of war, the innocent civilians who lost their lives.