Sumaya Maria Sadurni Carrasco (August 30, 1989 – 7 March 2022), also known as Sumy Sadurni, was a Spanish-Mexican photographer who worked as a photojournalist based in

Kampala, Uganda Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Early life and education

Sadurni was born in Santiago, Chile, of Mexican and Spanish descent. Her parents are Jorge Jose Sadurni Jammal and Maria Del Carmen DeCet Carrasco. She was raised in Chile, lived in Mexico, and attended high school at the

International School of Lausanne The International School of Lausanne (ISL) is a luxury English-language private school located in the village of Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, just north of Lausanne, Switzerland. ISL was established as the English School of Lausanne in 1962,

in Switzerland. She attended

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

and earned a journalism degree at the

University of Westminster , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...

in London.

Career

After graduating, Sadurni returned to Chile to cover the

2011–2013 Chilean student protests The 2011–2013 Chilean protests – known as the Chilean Winter (in particular reference to the massive protests of August 2011) or the Chilean Education Conflict (as labelled in Chilean media) – were a series of student-led protests across Ch ...

. She then spent time in the UK photographing heavy metal gigs. After an extended trip to Uganda in 2016, she based herself in Kampala and travelled around Africa working as a freelance photojournalist. In January 2018, she began freelance work for AFP. She worked in Uganda,

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

, and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. In Uganda, her work included the

2021 Ugandan general election General elections were held in Uganda on 14 January 2021 to elect the President and the Parliament. The Electoral Commission announced Incumbent President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country since 1986, as the winner with 58.64% of the v ...

and the campaign of

Bobi Wine Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan politician, singer, and actor. He is a former Member of Parliament for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda's Central Region. He also leads ...

. Her work also included coverage of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda The COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Uganda in March 2020. Backgro ...

and the arrest of Ugandan activist

Stella Nyanzi Stella Nyanzi (born 16 June 1974) is a Ugandan human rights advocate, poet, medical anthropologist, feminist, queer rights advocate, and scholar of sexuality, family planning, and public health. She was arrested in 2017 for insulting the Uganda ...

. She also documented survivors of

acid attacks An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, tortu ...

, activist sex workers organizing for government assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and women with

obstetric fistula Obstetric fistula is a medical condition in which a hole develops in the birth canal as a result of childbirth. This can be between the vagina and rectum, ureter, or bladder. It can result in incontinence of urine or feces. Complications may inc ...

. Her work appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'', ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', and ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

''. She also served as a mentor to Ugandan photojournalists as a Uganda Press Photo award mentor, and was a teacher at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

Death and legacy

Sadurni died in a car crash in northwestern Uganda, on 7 March 2022, at the age of 32. After her death, journalists, press associations, and others shared tributes, including Ugandan human rights lawyer

Nicholas Opiyo Nicholas Opiyo (born November 15, 1980) is a Ugandan human rights lawyer and campaigner for civil rights and political freedoms. He is the executive director of Chapter Four Uganda. Background and education Opiyo grew up in Gulu northern Uganda ...

, who stated, "Sumy told the stories of forgotten people in our society (slum dwellers, amateur boxers, brewers of local gin, etc.), oppressed minorities (sex workers, fisherfolks, among others). She braved tear gas to capture stories of human rights violations."

Awards

* 2020 ''

'' agency photographer of the year shortlist

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadurni, Sumy 1989 births 2022 deaths 21st-century women photographers Chilean people of Spanish descent Alumni of the University of Westminster People from Santiago Road incident deaths in Uganda