When a lucky break landed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Photo Journalist Amos Chapple in the middle of street protests that toppled Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and his government, he was ready with his camera, and captured reels of striking photos documenting the events.
One eye-catching image has been selected as a finalist in the Single Shot category of the eighth edition of the World.Report Award for Documenting Humanity at the 2018 Festival of Ethical Photography.
Chapple’s photo captures the moment a little girl steps toward a line of police guarding a government building and says to an officer before a watching crowd, “Come with us! Why are you with [President Serzh Sarkisian]? Why aren't you with your people?” before leaving with tears running down her cheeks.
In the rush, Chapple says he didn’t catch the officer’s reply, but the last moments of the encounter later emerged in a video online, with the little girl asking, “Are you our friend?” The police officer replied, “Yes, pretty girl, I’m your friend.”
The World.Report Award, sponsored by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (Italy), pharmaceutical company IBSA Italy, and photography company Fujifilm, received more than 900 submissions from 50 different countries and five continents this year.
Winners in the contest’s six categories will be announced at the Festival of Ethical Photography in Lodi, Italy, in October 2018.