All posts filed under: Hungary

Open Society Foundations Voices Blog: After a Long Haul, Refugees Settle Into New Lives Far from Home

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Voices | Q + A After a Long Haul, Refugees Settle Into New Lives Far from Home October 16, 2015 Antonia Zafieri American photographer Amanda Rivkin has been photographing refugees as they transit from Syria to Europe. Recently, she posted several of these photos to the Open Society Instagram feed. Here, she talks about her experience documenting the refugees’ stories, and what she’s observed of their attempts to settle into new lives far from their original homes. Why did you pursue this story? I pursued the story of the recent exodus to Europe from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere for no reason other than it was there. I lived in Turkey for two years and never covered refugees as an issue per se, although refugees were everywhere in Istanbul at the time. Some were also my friends. If there was a crack between two buildings, it was as if you could find three Syrian families living there. But I think there is so much of this biblical, dramatic imagery that we forget that Syria—emptying out …

Takeover of @OpenSocietyFoundations Instagram Underway!

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I am taking over the Open Society Foundations’ Instagram account this week to showcase images from the migration of refugees to Europe in Turkey, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and Germany. You can follow their account @opensocietyfoundations and my personal account @amandarivkin where I will be reposting some of my favorite pictures from the week.

Amateur Photographer (UK) on VII Mentor Program

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  Victims of the Ajka alumina sludge spill in Hungary in October 2010 return to the new beginnings homeless shelter. Amateur Photography, “Amanda Rivkin,” feature on VII Mentor, September 8, 2012, p. 29. Bright new talent Amateur Photographer (UK) September 8, 2012 As the VII Photo Agency welcomes four new members to its mentoring programme, Gemma Padley talks to the photographers about their approach and ambitions BEGINNING a career as a fledgling photographer in the somewhat fraught and uncertain world of photojournalism can be a challenging experience, to say the least. With the fast-paced turnaround of news and rapid pace of technological change, not to mention the photographic industry itself being in a constant state of flux, a career as a photojournalist is no bed of roses. Yet despite these challenges, many photographers find the draw of life as a photojournalist irresistible. Four photographers who have chosen to embark on this path are Gazi Nafis Ahmed, Laura El-Tantawy, Jost Franko and Amanda Rivkin. They are the latest recruits to the VII Mentor Program that is …

Bienvenue a Perpignan! / Bienvengut a Perpinya! / Welcome to Perpignan!

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They all say the same thing, the first in French, the second in Catalan and lastly English, perhaps the most useless of the languages accept for this week during Visa Pour L’image, as English maintains its credibility as the language of international media still. It is my first trip to the city, to the south of France (previous trips to the country have taken me only to Paris and Bretagne, where my dearest and oldest friend claims deep ancestral roots and where half of her family resides) and to the annual photojournalism festival, likely and perhaps the biggest in the world in its 23rd year. An editor once confided quite privately that the media was so late to catch the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and project images of the destruction of New Orleans worldwide not because President George W. Bush’s response left much to be desired but because the photo editors were on a working vacation in this city, Perpignan in the south of France. In other words, even if you think this annual gathering …

Lucie Foundation International Photography Awards 2011 Honorable Mentions

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I received three honorable mentions this year at the Lucie International Photography Awards for work in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Hungary, and Chicago. The entries are below with brief descriptions. You will have to scroll down pretty far in the same “Honorable Mention” gallery to find these entries in the environmental, political, photo essay and feature story categories here. From the entry description: Entry Title: “Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline” Name: Amanda Rivkin, United States Category: Professional, Photo Essay and Feature Story The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline traverses three nations, skirts five conflict zones, and covers land held by believers in at least two of the world’s great religions. A major post-Cold War victory for the West that sent one million barrels of oil a day pumping from the oil fields of Azerbaijan with room to expand to transport energy from elsewhere in the Caspian and Central Asian regions, the BTC pipeline – as the project is known – has helped to redefine energy security in the early 21st century. (This work has previously appeared at National Geographic.) — …

Amanda Rivkin in Hungary: Toxic Red Sludge in Bag News Notes

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Amanda Rivkin in Hungary: Toxic Red Sludge Bag News Notes April 6, 2011 This week marks the first anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia which killed 29 coal miners. BagNews has been tracking mountaintop removal there with our series Dragline: Mountaintop Mining Watch. On the other side of the Atlantic, it has been six months since a similar accident with fatal consequences in Eastern Europe. Photographer Amanda Rivkin reports: For sixty-three year old Geza Csenki, living in the small village of Devecser in western Hungary, last October 4 was the day the world folded. A torrent of toxic red sludge from a nearby industrial plant owned by MAL Zrt (Magyar Alumínium Termelő és Kereskedelmi) burst and flooded the town. Ten people died, including a 14-month old baby and hundreds were hurt and hospitalized. Csenki lost his home. The collapse of the reservoir wall in Ajka wasn’t a freak accident nor was it an isolated incident. Remaining portions of the wall are not secure and while much of the sludge has …

Tonight in New York: Kinofest NYC Film Festival Features Hungarian Film “Torn From the Flag”

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Kinofest NYC Film Festival 2011 Tonight’s Screenings: Torn From the Flag 7PM at the Ukrainian Museum (222 E 6th Street) Director: Klaudia Kovacs Hungarian/English (w/Eng. subtitles) USA, 2007 96 min This incisive sociopolitical and historical documentary covers the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the ensuing international decline of communism with both archival footage and interviews with then youthful revolutionaries, Russia’s Budapest-based troop commander and other historical notables. The extensive interviews span across the US, Hungary, Russia and Italy supplying viewers with lots of new information on behind-the-scenes political dramas leading up to and shortly after the revolution. This film garnered 8 film festival awards worldwide and participated in the 2009 Oscar competition in the “Best Documentary” category.

The Year in Pictures 2010: United States, Cuba, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Hungary

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The Year in Pictures 2010 by Amanda Rivkin available on PhotoShelter Archive. Images from the year include: Gitmo USA – the prison site designated for Guantanamo Bay detainees after the prison’s closure in rural Illinois that never quite opened because the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay has not yet closed. Portrait of William Fiedler, Owner of the Gallery Bookstore, Chicago – My former boss at one of the North Side’s finest used book stores. Injured Veteran – Portrait of Michael Jernigan, injured in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004; photographed at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Baltasar Garzon – Former examining magistrate of Spain’s Criminal Court, extraordinarily controversial for execution of the practice of universal justice and far-reaching indictments of foreign leaders and terrorist organizations; photographed at the Instituto Cervantes in Chicago. Afghan Bowling Tournament (3 images) – Afghan-American bowling tournament in Annandale, Virginia. Cuba (8 images) – The Second Age of Castro, published on ForeignPolicy.com and The New York Times “Week in Review”. Spectacular Slovakia (13 images) – Weddings, floods, world cup, trains, planes, castles, …

Hungary Red Sludge Accident Preview on Portfolio Homepage

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AJKA, HUNGARY. The rupture in the toxic red alumina sludge reservoir as seen from the top of a remaining piece of the reservoir’s wall at the MAL plant on November 22, 2010, that sent a torrent of toxic red alumina sludge pouring into the surrounding countryside, several villages including Kolontar and Devecser and resulted in the death of ten individuals, including a 14 months old baby, injured hundreds and left several families homeless.

holiday print sale / fortnight journal / upcoming travel

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Another newsletter went out yesterday afternoon: Greetings! A short, personal note before I begin with the usual business. Thank you as always for your continued support of my work. It means a great amount to me these days as I have been struggling a lot to get my feet off the ground since moving to New York a few short months ago. The small gestures of support, kind words regarding my work, and print purchases have meant a great amount to me. Thank you. I am holding an unprecedented holiday print sale in an effort to raise money for my upcoming trip to Hungary to cover the aftermath of the alumina industrial accident in the village of Ajka, which sent a flood of toxic red sludge pouring into the surrounding towns and countryside, marking the country’s worst ecological disaster. For the awesomely low price of $75 each (or $50 for student), I am offering up 17 different prints to choose from as part of this sale. Of course, if you see something you like more, …