Emotional shot of Syrian father without limbs holding specially-abled son wins award

A Turkish photographer has won a prestigious photography prize for capturing a sentimental shot of a Syrian father without limbs holding his specially-abled son outside their home in Reyhanli, in the Turkish province of Hatay, at the border with Syria. The heart-wrenching photograph that won Mehmet Aslan's Photo of the Year’ award at the Siena International Photo Awards is titled "The Hardship of Life” and depicts the atrocities that the Syrians are subjected to in the war-torn country.

The iconic image portrays father and son, Munzir and Mustafa playing in the Syrian neighbourhood. Aged just five, the child was born without lower or upper limbs due to tetra-amelia, a congenital disorder that was caused after his mother took Zeynep medications, used to treat the poisoning from nerve gas released during the war in the country. Sharing the photo on the official website, SIPA wrote, 

"This little boy’s father Munzir lost his right leg when a bomb was dropped as he walked through a bazaar in Idlib, Syria. His son Mustafa was born without lower or upper limbs due to tetra-amelia, a congenital disorder caused by the medications his mother Zeynep had to take after being sickened by nerve gas released during the war in Syria."

Adding to it, it mentioned,  

"Mustafa will need special electronic prostheses in the future which, unfortunately, are not yet available in Turkey."

Sentimental image shows specially-abled dad and son bonding & playing 

The father, who can be seen smiling in the photo, is seen balancing his son in the air while he also supports his balance using a crutch. The latter lost his right leg during a bomb blast in a bazaar in Idlib, Syria. He can be seen tossing his son in the air and playing as his son responds with a big grin in the heartfelt moment.

The image was shortlisted from among thousands of images submitted by photographers from over 163 countries. The winning photograph was displayed in Siena, Italy on October 23 as part of the Siena Awards festival of visual arts. The Turkish “Photographer of the Year” title is awarded €1,500 (about $1,745) worth of photography equipment, a “Pangea Prize” crystal statuette, and other promotional prizes for his emotional photograph. 

“The happiness of the father and his son, even as the man stands on one leg, it is very precarious”, Kataoka Hideko, Director of Photography told Newsweek Japan. He was one of the judges on the panel. Furthermore, Hideko said,  “My heart, briefly saved by this moment of joyful love, is overshadowed by the long and hard lives they face ahead, a great cost left by the war.”

Moreover, an Indian photographer Lopamudra Talukdar also managed to win the first prize in the “Street Photography” category with his innocent photograph titled “Childhood". The award-winning imagery depicts children in Havana spending time on a swing and playing in the open air in the courtyards. Another photographer from Russia, Sergey Savvi, won the award in the wildlife category with his “This is My Jungle!” picture that depicted an elephant attacking a jeep with travellers at Yala National Park, in Sri Lanka.