It was early fall, and my elderly mother, Laila, was in Mazar-e-Sharif Airport, trying to get out of Afghanistan. She needed to be quick: Two months earlier, the Taliban had regained power, and airports across the country were shutting down. Laila was sick; she had just tested positive for COVID-19 and needed to breathe from an oxygen tank that sat beside her wheelchair, like a sort of pet. It was Oct. 7, 2021, and my mother was leaving her beloved Afghanistan for the second time.

Initially, airport officers deemed her too high a risk, worried that her health would fail mid-air. But my sister and brother, who were also there with their families, pleaded with them, saying they would not hold the airline responsible if something bad happened to her. Finally, she was allowed to board, but without the unwieldy oxygen tank. She knew this would be difficult — without it, there was a chance she could stop breathing. After very little consideration, Laila ripped the tubes from her nose. “I go with my children,” she told them, defiant.

Eventually, the airport gates opened, and the passengers boarded a bus that took them to a plane headed for Qatar. From Doha, she would fly to Germany and then on to the United States, where more of us were waiting for her, including me and two more of my brothers. As the plane departed Afghanistan, we tracked its path online, desperately hoping that she would not go into respiratory arrest. This was the most stressful moment of our lives: watching a little lit pin on a screen, over three excruciating hours, not knowing if our matriarch was able to breathe or not.

At last, Laila landed in Doha, where she was rushed to a hospital. There, she spent the next two weeks before starting the next leg of her journey.

For Laila, this salvation was about more than her physical safety. Getting on that plane and out of Afghanistan had not been her only concern. My mother was more afraid that members of the Taliban would identify her and our family. We are of Hazara ethnicity and have been heavily discriminated against over many years. We have several relatives and friends who have been killed in suicide attacks aimed at them because they are from our Shiite minority.

For this 74-year-old grandmother, the Taliban are the epitome of violence and brutality.

The first time Laila left Afghanistan was in 1979, when she and her husband, Mohammad (my father), fled after members of the communist government killed his cousin. They went west, to Iran, where they lived out the decade of our country’s Soviet occupation. It was here that Laila’s eight children were born, including me. She has always tried to give us a better life than the one we were dealt. When our brother Reza was 9 years old, he was involved in a car accident that left him in a coma. Our mother nursed him every day, into his adulthood. She saw it as her duty to protect us from the dangers and violence that lurked around every corner, and she never wanted us to know what sacrifices she made for her children.

After Laila returned to Afghanistan in 2008, she was surprised by how her country had changed, how closed it had become for women. Even so, and despite being from the Hazara minority, Laila managed all sorts of feats, including becoming an extra in a Hollywood film shot in Afghanistan in 2010 (“Act of Dishonor”). In 2011, she worked with a U.S.-funded program in a village in her native Wardak province, helping women find work and achieve financial independence.

In 2020, she lost Mohammad, who was her biggest supporter. After a lifetime of his encouragement, she found herself suddenly alone. A year later, the Taliban swept to power.

Now, she lives with her children in the United States, in Alexandria in Virginia, where there is a large Afghan community. She is continually amazed at the differences between life in Afghanistan and in America, and how many opportunities there are for women and girls: how they can study whatever they want, how they can choose their careers, how they can safely come home after dark. After she experienced a lifetime of discrimination for being Hazara, America seems to have equality — at least on the surface.

Of course, she misses Afghanistan, mostly the land itself. When she was a girl, she would help her father work their fields in the central Wardak province, where they grew wheat, potatoes, turnips and carrots. She is far from her siblings, relatives and friends, and it pains her knowing what Afghan women are having to endure under Taliban rule. Life is difficult at home for everyone, but women have no individual or social freedoms; they cannot go to work or study. Laila and her daughters are physically free, but she is constantly thinking of her sisters back home and how their lives are dominated by oppression.

Laila longs to see Reza, whom she believes has been transferred to Germany for treatment. My siblings and I decided we could not tell her the truth, that he had died shortly after she left Afghanistan. It would be simply unbearable for her.

For now, she is happy. Her children are artists, journalists and writers. We are thriving; we are safe. And we all owe our ability to think freely and creatively to our mother, whose hands are kind and whose heart cannot help but be warm.

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Technology is reshaping the daily lives of the 4 billion people living outside the West. You can see it through the lenses of Rest of World’s photographers: From the quiet corners of coworking spaces in Colombia to talking card readers in India to large-scale water-guzzling EV factories and emoji-shaped pinãtas in Mexico.

In 2023, we sent 39 photographers to 31 cities and 22 countries, from Uganda to Iraq. Our photographers went to India in search of scam call centers and met with a crypto pastor in an Argentine prison. 

Take a look at some of our favorite photos from this year. 

Cambodia’s Buddhist monks have become TikTok superstars, but seeking fame on TikTok could conflict with monastic code.

Photographer Cindy Liu traveled to Battambang to meet viral monks who are clashing with Buddhist authorities. According to tradition, monks are banned from drawing attention to themselves. But that hasn’t stopped them from using TikTok to preach, with some amassing more than half a million followers.

How China took over the world’s online shopping carts

To show the global growth of Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop, photographer Alejandra Rajal sourced the reflective and crinkled packaging sent by the e-commerce companies and laid them out in colorful patterns to highlight these companies’ scale and rise. You can see parts of her process here.

How Urban Company built an empire of female gig workers in India

By getting access to training centers and clients’ homes, photographer Deepti Asthana shows us how gig work is transforming India’s beauty services industry from the inside. With a workforce that is one-third female, Urban Company is the biggest employer of women in India’s platform economy.

Online sports betting in South Asia has a new target: Archery

In the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, online streaming and digital payments have given new life to the traditional sport of archery. Kirtan P Deka photographed this century-old game as it found a new audience among online gamblers.

Signal President Meredith Whittaker on resisting government threats to privacy

George Etheredge shot portraits of Meredith Whittaker just over a year after she took over as president of the Signal Foundation. The encrypted messaging app is on the front lines of encryption battles in India, Russia, and Iran.

How BYD snatched Tesla’s crown

In Bangkok, Warun Siriprachai met with a group of BYD electric car owners, a fast-growing community in Thailand. Selling vehicles at less than half the price of a Tesla, BYD dominates the Chinese EV market and has its sights set on the global arena.

Inside the world’s last internet cafes

For this project, six teams of photographers and writers set out to document some of the world’s last internet cafes. From backpacker haunts in Nepal to impromptu daycare centers in Mexico City, this visual experience captures a once ubiquitous environment that represented a high-tech future.

How viral memes conquered piñata design

In the lead-up to New Year celebrations, Angie Smith visited piñata vendors in Mexico City, where traditional piñata designs are quickly being replaced by more instagrammable ones.

The tech workers exiled from Europe’s last dictatorship

The political repression in Belarus forced huge numbers of people to leave the country, many of whom were tech workers. Photographers Daro Sulakauri and Andrej Vasilenko visited cities in Lithuania and Georgia to trace the journey of the Belarus tech community.

Meet India’s MrBeast — selfless saint or fame-hungry vlogger?

In mid-February, photographer Harsha Vadlamani traveled to the suburbs of Hyderabad, India. There, he met a milkman’s family as they were surprised with a gift of over two dozen buffaloes and calves. The entire event was orchestrated by Harsha Sai, India’s most popular stunt philanthropist — working in an area of YouTube where generous acts of kindness are turned into spectacles and monetized for views.

The race to put Indigenous land on the map

On a balmy day in August, photographer Muhammad Fadli drove past expanding stretches of palm oil plantations to reach the Long Bangan community in Sarawak, Malaysia. To stop their ancestral land from being turned into plantations, these communities are using GPS and drones to “decolonize the map” and prove their land rights.

Inside Foxconn’s struggle to make iPhones in India

Photographer Saumya Khandelwal documented how Foxconn, in its continued effort to build iPhones in India, flew hundreds of Chinese engineers to India. The Chinese workers struggled to bring Indian factories up to speed — and often clashed with their Indian counterparts.

Taiwan’s most popular EV company, Gogoro, wants to reach the world

In Taipei, An Rong Xu photographed the facilities of Gogoro, a Taiwanese company with a revolutionary EV network. Gogoro battery-swapping stations are as common as gas stations in Taiwan, and the network supports nearly 400,000 swaps a day.

How digital nomads have reshaped cities around the world

In Medellín, photographer Andrés BO visited coworking spaces where foreign coders and digital marketers crowd the tables, drinking pour-over coffee and enjoying loaded avocado toast. The increase in digital nomads can offer an economic boost to cities, but rising rents are leaving locals priced out.

A new Tesla factory comes to a parched corner of Mexico

César Rodriguez traveled to drought-stricken Monterrey, Mexico, where working-class residents ration water while big companies like Heineken and Coca-Cola continue business as usual. With a massive Tesla factory on the horizon, locals are increasingly worried about the looming environmental threat.

YouTube is bringing viral fame to one of Delhi’s oldest markets

Weaving through the narrow bylanes of one of India’s biggest markets, Nipun Prabhakar met traditional clothing store owners who are hiring YouTubers to market their wares.

The funeral for photographer Chris Dougherty, an Action News team member who died in the Chopper 6 crash, will be held Thursday.

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Michel Haddi, a prominent figure in fashion and portrait photography for over forty years, is celebrated for his unique and innovative approach. Currently based in London, Haddi’s artistic vision has been shaped by a diverse array of cultural and personal experiences. His latest exhibition, “Beyond Fashion” at 29 Arts in Progress gallery, is a testament to his extraordinary career, offering an in-depth look at his journey through photography.

This six-month exhibition provides an opportunity for both the public and collectors to immerse themselves in Haddi’s world. His images, infused with a distinctive street vibe and urban soul, also reveal a touch of irony and sensuality, mirroring his diverse personality. The exhibit showcases some of the most iconic photographs from his vast archive, featuring renowned figures, top models, and icons from the music and art worlds. These include memorable captures of David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Djimon Hounsou, John Galliano, Nicholas Cage, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Haddi’s editorial work spans several continents, with contributions to major publications such as Italian Vogue, French Vogue, British Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, The Face, and Rolling Stone. His advertising portfolio is equally impressive, having worked with luxury brands like Armani, Yves Saint-Laurent, and Guerlain.

In this exclusive interview with DSCENE Magazine Editor Katarina Doric, Michel Haddi discusses the inspirations behind his distinctive style, the evolution of his photographic techniques, and the standout pieces in his “Beyond Fashion” exhibition. He also shares insights into the influence of his background on his work and his perspective on balancing irony and sensuality to craft compelling photographic narratives.

Michel, could you share with us what initially inspired you to pursue photography, especially with your unique blend of street vibe and urban soul? – In life you have the choice to have a normal life, which can be great too or to pursue a chimera or a dream. In short, I had no choices and I would have ended up on the other side of the fence, meaning a hoodlum, being raised in the worst suburb. I had no alternative, only to fend for myself. The most important goal I had was to be an artist, painter, director or being Leonard Bernstein. Life showed me another path- photography.

Over your 40-year career, how has your photographic style evolved and what has remained constant in your approach to photography? – Since the beginning I have only ever been interested with human feelings, meaning I never cared much of just a fashion image, which in all honesty you do not need to be a genius to do, but to create a magic image takes willpower, style, attitude. Since the last 70’s I pursued this goal without fear. It didn’t matter the formats, colour or black and white, I love to play and I am up for games all the time. 20 years ago I thought I was cool to take a self portraits looking like a Japanese Samurai, and why not snap images with a point and shoot camera, the funny side of the story back then is people thought I was insane. In the show in Milan there are some images shot that way. To come back to what you said, my style is “be there at the right time, right place”, have a laugh, don’t be too serious and if you can at the same time have a ball, it is all sweet.

In your latest exhibition ‘Beyond Fashion’, which pieces do you feel most intimately represent your journey as a photographer? – There is an image of a flower, an Anterium with the antemine being hard and that flower is between the legs of my friend Natalia Avelon. A cover we shot for Playboy last year, Again, it all about showing things that are not there but more suggestive.

You’ve photographed many famous faces and icons. Is there a particular subject or shoot that. stands out as particularly memorable or significant in your career? – Maybe the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as I was in Berlin with them for Interview Magazine when the wall went down, so you can imagine the pandemonium and the racket, the fall of a great empire. The communist block that day went into a total oblivion. Anyway it was epic and as we went on the wall to break it and to work finishing the story for the mag.

The bottom line is I love to go against all odds, I decided to go to East Berlin the day after. Wrong choice. No one in sight, deserted land, total emptiness in East Berlin. But as soon as I came out of the cab and started to take pictures of the buildings and the rest, 5 army trucks came along armed to the teeth with AK47’s loaded to the gull. I can assure you they were pissed off as it was no tomorrow for them. I did laugh looking at these clowns, they didn’t like it and they wanted to take me in the woods…you know the meaning. Ah ha the cab driver just forced me back into his cab and we left without asking me where to go in East Berlin for coffee… ha ha. At the end of next year, I will release the Legend- The Red Hot Chili Peppers Berlin.

Being French Algerian, how have your cultural roots influenced your work? – In all fairness I was born in Saint Germain des Pres and educated in a rightwing orphanage, raised from the age of 9 by my mother who I rarely saw, and in a tough suburb. Even with all the bad things I saw, I am a French boy all the way. My blood heritage coming from many worlds made me see life differently. My Arabic side, well I embraced it but I have never been to Algeria and the closest I have been is Morocco, as I used to have a house there for 20 years.. I am of mixed blood with different cultures. My mum yes sure is Algerian from with Turkish and Moroccan background. We have certainly 1000 members of the Haddi tribe throughout the Arabic world. My father that I never knew, was French from Paris, Bourgeois, from a family dating back from the 14th century in France and from a recent DNA test of late, I can confirm I have indeed some Irish and Welsh with a touch of African. So as you can see, I have the same love to make a ring in sterling silver from the Dogon Tribe from Mali, as I do to conceive a campaign for a luxury brand from Paris.

As you know the French are the way they are, always complicated and striking for whatever reason, when it come to creating something luxurious, they are right at the top, so for me it was a total bonafide.

Your work is noted for its irony and sensuality. Can you elaborate on how you balance these elements to create a compelling narrative in your photographs? – Again this is my French, Arabic side playing out. Being sensual it is a must, you need this in order to get close to humans. I suppose in the semitic society, they for 5000 years wrote about sensuality, take for instance the Perfume Garden from the 15th century written by Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Nafzawi, The book was made by the Factotum of the Pacha of Tunis, something like that for the Pacha to start again have desires (bare in mind the Factotum had no choices) the Pacha simply said, ever I become a man again, or your head rolls. Charming it is not ha ha, yet I learned all about sarcasm and irony in the UK . This is why I have been there since the late 70’s. In all fairness, and truth why do you want to show the world that you are extremely clever and very intelligent. Sod it just have fun and who cares.

As a photographer who has extensively worked in the fashion industry, how do you perceive the role of fashion in shaping cultural and artistic expressions? – Fashion per se and its primary goal is very boring. Many brands, I am talking about “fast fashion”, “cheap fashion”. There is no study of the human soul, just a way to make a quick buck. Now you go to the top of the pyramid, the gods among the gods. Well here the dialogue is totally different. It is a reflection day by day of our society and if you look carefully, you can feel the premises of whatever political statement is happening. It does become and extra class on sociology, that will take place at La Sorbonne in Paris. Again, what I said, only work if you have people around you who are in the same groove. Mark my words, search deep into what we are with all our strength and our failures, then you will be able to create a garment that is worth something. The best example of this is YSL.

What advice would you give to young photographers who aspire to carve out a career in fashion and portrait photography? – I have no advice to give, they might become competitors and that would be a problem ha..ha..,of course not! The only thing I will say to them is don’t listen to anyone and secondly don’t listen to me.. ha ha, the last just put your bollocks on the table and like a bull in a china shop, charge full steam ahead but of course make sure you use your head.

In your opinion, what is the power of photography in telling stories and capturing moments, and how has this shaped your approach to your art? – This has been my only goal all my life to telling a story. The rest, I not interested in. It is not relevant. Photography as a media is so powerful, from one image you can have the world going one way or the other way. For example The Times magazine I think did a series of very compelling ads to show you the power of an image. The first one, and this is very important, you see an image of a black man running with his hand and arm above a little old granny and I think it is correct to say that the majority of people will say here we go again, a black punching an old granny for her purse. In the second image, full frame, it is a different story and a different point of view. What do you see, yes of course the black man wutg the hand and the arm above the old granny, but well you see too a large piece of wood falling down from a scaffolding in the old granny’s head. All he does this gentle soul is to protect the granny. The perception is not the same correct. Tell a story that is true of your beliefs.

How has the advent of digital photography and social media impacted your work and the fashion photography industry as a whole? – I love it. Quicker to work and to play and you can interact with millions of people and everyone feels like a god! I loved it, digital is much quicker of course but bare in mind, if you think that the tools are going to help you to transform a shitty image unti a masterpiece, wakeup honey cos your image is still going to be a turd. It doesn’t matter what you used, a phone or your third eye, you need to create and this is where the problem arises. Creativity is not only a new version of photoshop or an AI tool. My wife taught me photoshop in order to stop me asking her to retouch all my images. Social networks are a blessing and a curse, You can interact with millions of people, make business moves, pretend to be a star. You can even throw up bile on whoever you like. It is Pandora’s box. Infine social networks are only a business tool. There is nothing personal about it, but it is on the the medias where simple mortals feel like gods and goddesses.

Keep up with Michael Haddi’s work on Instagram – @michelhaddistudio

Jana Birchum

It’s hard to write about the year just past. It was so different than the previous few – 2020-2021 with endless COVID news, 2022 with the reemergence, tentative as it was. This year was often just bad news for my community – drag bans, gender affirming care bans, homophobia everywhere. It made me dig in more to the celebration of my community, as you can see here. All my good photos were of women, trans, and nonbinary folks this year. It’s getting hard for us to stay in Texas.

instagram.com/janab04

John Anderson

On January 22, almost 10 months before the deadly Hamas attack on Israel, a small group of students peacefully gathered outside the annual Israeli-American Council summit at Fairmont Austin to protest Israel’s blockade of Gaza. With a significant police presence, most summit attendees ignored the protesters, but a few mocked and argued with them. The protest took place without incident but was a minor, local representation of the struggles the Palestinian people have endured for decades. At the global level, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged the Hamas terrorist attack “did not happen in a vacuum.”

johnandersonphotographer.com

David Brendan Hall

In music photography – the vast majority of what I contributed to the Chronicle this year – there are exceptionally rare moments when the first image captured during a shoot is the one. This was just such an instance, when Kendrick Lamar walked on stage for his headlining set at ACL Festival’s second weekend (Oct. 13), a bright, solid-white backdrop resulting in only his silhouetted profile. As I maneuvered through the remainder of the three songs (for those who may not know, the standard allotment in a photo pit for media photographers), I knew in the back of my mind that I had it, a photo which, for me – a longtime appreciator who’s made it a point not to miss any of his visionary tours in the past decade – felt definitive of Kendrick’s consistently raw, enigmatic presence. After lowering my camera, I instinctively let out an audible “fuck yeah.” A little bit of luck perfectly coalesced with years upon years refining the craft, and if that type of moment isn’t inspiration enough to continue creating no matter the odds, I don’t know what is.

instagram.com/dhallphoto

Isabella Martinez

This year has been an exhilarating journey for me, especially when it comes to capturing moments at Austin Psych Fest and Levitation – two standout festivals that have defined my 2023. Immersing myself in the vibrant tapestry of art woven into these events was a truly enriching experience. Among the many performances of the year, I selected snapshots of Ty Segall, Altin Gün, and A Place to Bury Strangers because their live sets were nothing short of extraordinary. The excitement I felt when I learned I would be photographing for both festivals was overwhelming, and I made it a mission to seize every opportunity to capture these remarkable artists. Witnessing Ty Segall shredding his iconic guitar solos was a breathtaking and emotional experience as it was the final leg under the Freedom Band name, along with his longtime bandmate Charles Moothart’s last show. This performance took the lead and created memories that lingered long after the music faded. Altin Gün’s Turkish psych-rock performance was also a standout at Levitation, keeping the crowd on their feet dancing throughout the night – an infectious energy that I loved and couldn’t enough of. Lastly, my final pick was of A Place to Bury Strangers, who took festival engagement to a new level. In essence, these photos encapsulate not just the visual aesthetics of the festivals but the profound impact these artists had on me long after they had performed.

instagram.com/peppermintgirlphotography

A throwback of Sharmila Tagore’s shoot. (courtesy: bombaybasanti)

New Delhi:

Hindi film veteran Sharmila Tagore was at her unfiltered best on Karan Johar’s chat show Koffee With Karan 8. The veteran actress attended the show with her son Saif Ali Khan. At the beginning of the show, Karan Johar spoke about her “famous bikini shot” – a photoshoot she did for a magazine back in the 60s. She also made headlines for the swimsuit she wore in the film An Evening In Paris. “Your famous bikini shot… You know the shot I am talking about. Nobody else wanted it to happen. Even the photographer had some anxiety issues about doing that,” Karan Johar said.

Sharmila Tagore replied, “Yes I do.” Saif Ali Khan added, “People in my boarding school used to ask me, is that your mum? I was very proud of it.” Sharmila Tagore added, “Yes, the photographer was slightly worried and I just thought I looked very nice. It really hurt me later because everybody interpreted it in such a way that I was upwardly mobile, I was trying to catch eyeballs. I didn’t feel like that. When it came out in Filmfare, I was in London and I was unaware till Shakti (Samanta) ji called me and said, will you come back quickly? There are terrible things happening here. He said if you want to be in the public eye, this is not the way to go.”

Sharmila Tagore mentioned that she sent a telegram to Tiger Pataudi. “I was very upset with all this… Completely opposite of what I thought would happen so, I sent a telegram because those days you could send telegrams. So, I sent it to Tiger and he said, I am sure you are looking very nice. So that was my support.”

“In many ways, you perhaps experienced trolling also first. A version of trolling, of what happens on social media now,” joked Karan Johar. “Totally, I can’t tell you…I believe questions were asked in the Parliament. It was not pleasant for me and learning I did. And after that, I was very careful and I chose Aradhana. It was RRR of our time,” Sharmila Tagore added.