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1 / 4 Ivan leads a group of explorer of the paramilitary militia of the Pravy Sektor. His task is to patrol all enemy lines in order to identify places where artillery, snipers and trenches are hidden. © Ugo Lucio Borga/Echo Photojournalism.
2 / 4 Soldiers of the Pravy Sektor during a ceremony in the training camp. © Ugo Lucio Borga/Echo Photojournalism.
3 / 4 Marika lives in a village on the front line, under constant bombing. All windows in her home have been replaced with fabrics and plastic panels. © Ugo Lucio Borga/Echo Photojournalism.
4 / 4 Nikolay, special Ukrainian forces, operating around Pesky. © Ugo Lucio Borga/Echo Photojournalism.
Reality has the habit of being complex
After the publication of the article Ukraine, we go on the front line, social networks have been populated with comments accusing the author and the magazine to be supporting Nazi-Fascist ideologies. Now, it is likely that those people have spoken on unfounded and superficial grounds and haven’t even spent time to read the article, and this would be already a very good reason not to reply. However, not to leave any doubts, we publish Ugo Lucio Borga’s articulated response where he also talks about the ethics behind working as a photo reporter. [ S. I. ]
Labels work perfectly for those who are satisfied with random truths that sold by weight. They work perfectly so that people can say their opinion on something they know nothing or very little about. They are essential for those people that are too lazy to move and go to see for themselves. This is what a journalist should always do and while he waits, observes and thinks, he should pause his judgement. Since I was little, people were divided between Fascists and Communists. A strict schoolteacher is a fascist, an unconventional one is a communist and so on; the list is long, boring, boorish and often so contradictory that at the end of the day results meaningless. Fascism, communism, freedom and democracy are words that are so misused and abused that do not have any meaning now.This is what I like about photo reporting: it pushes people to live the stories that are reported, to listen to what people say, to avoid quick conclusions. The same conclusions that are very dear to those people who does not like to put their hands in the dirt because they are happy with the small truth they can come across from 2000 km away. Unfortunately even among those who work in the news one can find people that are closer to the latter category. They buy truths per kilo, they are too much arrogant and have very little expertise. In Ukraine, as in all wars, I tried to work with all sides, on both fronts.
In Ukraine, as in all wars, if there is a bad side I need to speak to it. I want to see how they live, think, how they behave, when they are scared or not. I worked with the men of the Somalia, Sparta and Vostok battalion on one front and with the paramilitary of the Pravy Sektor. Fascists? Communist? (Boring...) They are nor one thing or the other, nor one side or the other. Reality has the habit of being more complicated then a football game as much as this may disturb some people.
The volunteers of the Pravy Sector fight for what they consider a war for independency from Russia and Europe (aka NATO) whose military and political interferences have been highlighted in their gravity during this crisis that has resulted in a war that is still on going despite the announcements of diplomatic and press agencies. They consider necessary to build their country and to make it autonomous – which means able to function – before deciding is and when to tighten the relationship with the NATO or Russia, rather than surrender to the political-financial blackmails of both imperialisms that try nowadays to keep or put under their control whole territories. They consider necessary to free their country from the feudal regime set up by the oligarchs whose interests are totally transverse to ideological issues. The Pravy Sektor is made by European and middle-eastern volunteers. There are no racial, political or religious preclusions: the teams are made by Jewish and Christians orthodox and Muslims. They are not paid to do this.
Is this an apology to the Pravy Sector? No. Angels and beasts, these men are like the others, included those that have never had to choose if to fight or to escape and that are waiting around between a judgement and the other.
Surely this paramilitary movement has nothing to do with fascism, even if some of its affiliates have close contacts with some characters of the extreme Italian and European right wing. This is in fact something that happens even more often among the ranks of the pro-Russian battalion on the other side of the front. [ Ugo Lucio Borga ]
– – –
[ INTERNAL RESOURCES ]
◉ [ video ]
Ukraine: we go on the frontline
published on 2015-11-18 in FuriarumAera
ECHOPHOTOJOURNALISM UgoLucioBorga FuriarumAerain the same project
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