Massoud Hossaini (born 10 December 1981)
is an Afghan-born photojournalist. He works for
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
. Hossaini was the winner of the 2012
, along with several other world photography awards, he won William Randolph Hearst Award for Excellence in Professional Journalism (2021), from
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...
's School of Journalism.
Biography
Hossaini was born in
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
during the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
, but his family fled to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
when he was six months old after his father was arrested for opposing the communist government. After graduating high school in 1996, Hossaini became a political activist with the
Iranian reform movement
The Reformists ( fa, اصلاحطلبان, Eslâh-Talabân) are a political faction in Iran. Iran's "reform era" is sometimes said to have lasted from 1997 to 2005—the length of President Mohammad Khatami's two terms in office. The ...
and began recording events with his camera, including Afghanistan refugees' life in
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
.
He was stuck in the
American University of Afghanistan attack
On 24 August 2016, attackers who are suspected members of the Taliban stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, using a car bomb and automatic weapons. Thirteen people were killed, including seven university students ...
and wrote an SOS message on Twitter on 24 August 2016.
After the
11 September attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...
, he returned to Afghanistan to join
Aina
Aina may refer to:
* Aina (given name)
Places
* Aina (Crete), a town of ancient Crete
* Aïna River, a river in Cameroon and Gabon
* Aina, Iran, a village in Kermanshah Province, Iran
Art and entertainment
* ''Aina'' (1977 film), a 1977 Pakista ...
, a French cultural organization and studied with photographer
Manoocher Deghati
Manoocher Deghati ( fa, منوچهر دقتی, born 1954 in Urmia, Iran) is an Iranian-French photojournalist.
Documenting the Iranian Revolution
In the summer of 1978, Manoocher Deghati, educated as a filmmaker, returned to Iran after three yea ...
. He joined AFP in 2007.
His work is featured in the American documentary ''
Frame by Frame''.
References
External links
Pulitzer citationWorld Press Photo bio
1981 births
Living people
Photojournalists
People from Kabul
Pulitzer Prize for Photography winners
Afghan Muslims
Afghan photographers
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