Paralyzed Photographer Highlights Plight of Disabled Palestinians
Osama Silwadi, who lost the use of his legs because of an errant bullet fired during a demonstration, has struggled to regain his life, Lana Shehadeh reports from Ramallah.
Could you imagine living your life without any impairment or disabilities and all of a sudden that changes? Imagine, being an active photographer surviving wars and conflict, gunfire and bombings. Imagine working in a field where the majority of your work requires constant movement and the need for speed, and then one shot, one piece of metal, has the effect of changing your whole life.
Osama Silwadi is a 40-year-old photojournalist who began his career with a local Palestinian newspaper. His career advanced as his photography skills advanced. His photos began to get international recognition. His resume is jam-packed with experience working as a photojournalist with international news agencies such as Agence France Press, Thomson Reuters, Al-Ayyam newspaper and many others. Osama won multiple awards for photos that captured the horrors of the first and second intifada. He also published a complete book recounting the Israeli siege against former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the president’s headquarters in Ramallah, the West Bank.
In 2006, Osama was heading to work at his independent media production company Apollo. It was a Friday afternoon, just after the weekly jummah (Friday) prayer. A large demonstration was taking place just outside his office.
“It was normal to see protests, there were demonstrations every day during that time. I thought I could just walk right by and get some work done. I needed to edit and print a few photos by the end of the day. I got to the office and heard some gunfire and screaming, and within a blink of an eye I was on the ground,” explained Osama.
