We can smile, but they can’t.

Yajing LU
Yajing LU
Jul 10, 2017 · 2 min read

This is the first story I read when I look at multimedia packages given by our instructor. It shakes me a lot and leaves me such a great impression that I decide to write something about it.

The story is from a photojournalist. He documented 57 homicide victims over 35 days inside President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal antidrug campaignin the Philippines.

Drugs, dead bodies, blood, crying people and numb faces are all I can see on the screen. It is really a heavy story and it makes me realize there is still some people living an unfortunate life.

This multimedia package has a black background from the beginning to the end , creating a heavy and depressing atmosphere. It is a combination of photos, videos and graphic, giving people strong feelings and emotions.

screenshot from the story

The screenshot is a map with yellow dots on it. Each dot represents a murder sites. Deaths are in front of us. Those bad things did happen, it is a true story, which really makes me sad.

To say something about its drawback. It uses photos shot at the sites by the photojournalist. All the victims’ faces can be seen by other people on the internet. Although we don’t known who they are, I think it is a bit rude to the victims. At least in Chinese culture, the dead should be respected. The journalist maybe offended them. I think it is a controversial moral question. A journalist always need to keep a balance between telling a good story and respecting the persons concerned.

It’s really a long story. The author put the summary and the theme in the first part, followed with specific stories of those victims. You can read more or view the location if you want. I almost read all of it, but skipped some of the stories about the victims because I was too depressed.

specific story of victim

To make the story more impressive(actually I believe it is impressive enough), maybe a good BGM will help.

It is a good story, thought-provoking. I like it, but how I wish it is not a true story. It is too heavy. This is the real world, with sunshine and shadow as well.

The victims, used to be living people, are now dead bodies.

We can smile, but they can’t any more.

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