This Photographer Is Changing the Way the World Sees Burn Survivors
Not victims, survivors
It was a chance encounter that sent Nepalese advertising and fashion photographer Arjun Shah on the path to championing the survivors of burn incidents.
While travelling on a public bus, Shah noticed a group of young boys and girls giggling at a lady with her face covered by a shawl, a burn survivor. “I felt pity — not for the survivor, but for the teenagers,” he told non-profit organisation Global Voices.
Shah confronted the group, telling them such accidents could happen to anyone. The group laughed and one girl commented, “It’s better to die than to live such a life,” prompting the photographer to set out to change public perception.
“How the teenagers treated her haunted me for a long time,” he told DigitalRev. “I wanted to change this. I wanted to reduce the stigma associated with burn survivors. She was not a victim. She was survivor, a fighter. She did not need pity, she needed empowerment. I had no idea how this would go and how people would take it but, having said this, I was very clear and focused on what changes I wanted to make towards survivors.”
Shah approached several magazines, asking them to consider featuring a burn survivor. No one was interested until, at last, a popular entertainment magazine, Wave, agreed.
Next, Shah needed to find someone willing to be photographed. Dr Jaswan Shakya, medical director and plastic surgeon at the local Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, put him in contact with burn survivor Jayatri Tamang in early 2015. Over several months of communication, the photographer attempted to convince Tamang to be featured on the cover of Wave. “In the beginning she was a bit conscious,” he told us. “She took six months to tell me ‘yes’ for the cover story.”
Tamang graced the cover of Wave in September 2015. The issue sold out and transformed her into a role model.
In the months since she donned the cover of Wave, Shah has noticed a distinct change in Tamang. ”She is more confident and now a leader on her own. Seeing this, I think I have done something good. She doesn’t hide her face. I have seen that transformation.” he noted.
Shah shared with Global Voices that his experience photographing Tamang taught him two important lessons: burn survivors don’t like sympathy, and don’t ask them about their past.
Buoyed by the amazing reception his images of Tamang received, Shah began work on a calendar project which would celebrate burn survivors. Dr Shakya introduced him to another burn survivor, Radha Shrestha, and an NGO working with survivors in the region.
Excited by the calendar idea, Shrestha spread the word to other survivors, who had all been inspired by the way the media had treated Tamang. “They were very excited and a bit nervous too,” Shah shared with us. “A few days later, I got to meet all of them and spend few hours sharing my thoughts towards the calendar, explaining how they could be a role model for other survivors.” They were all on board and so the plan went ahead.
“I didn’t feel — not even once — that I was working with survivors,” Shah commented. “The only thing in my mind was that my pictures had to tell the story rather than the article, the same setup as when I work with actors and models.”
Shah told Global Voices, “I think I have been partly successful in conveying the message to the youth, especially, for those who think [burn survivors] don’t exist in the society. It can happen to anybody. Even you and me.”
“I wanted to reduce the stigma associated with burn survivors, this calendar is a small step towards that change,” he told us.
The calendar is now on sale for around US$18 , with a chunk of the proceeds going to the Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital.
This article was first written by Philippa Edwards and published on DigitalRev. You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter for more photography stories.
