
UNICEF PHOTO OF THE YEAR 2012
THE AWARD
Each year, UNICEF Germany and GEO Germany (from the publishing house Gruner +Jahr AG & Co KG) grant the “UNICEF Photo of the Year Award” to photos and photo series that best depict the personality and living conditions of children worldwide in an outstanding manner.
Alessio Romenzi, Italy

© Alessio Romenzi/Agentur Corbis Images
Syria: Children between the lines
The war between opponents and supporters of President Bashar al-Assad has turned into a destructive stalemate all over Syria. Civilians find themselves caught between the lines. And the most innocent of all: the children.
The picture taken by Italian photographer Alessio Romenzi captures the insanity of the situation. A prettily dressed up young girl stands on the bloody floor of the frequently targeted Al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo at the end of September 2012. Surrounded by men armed with Kalashnikovs, she is holding her father’s hand and waiting for her own medical treatment since she fell down at home and hurt her head. Romenzi’s deeply moving photo reportage also shows the faces of many others who have been gravely affected by the civil war. It is a collection of distressing images of souls forever wounded or lost because of despair, expulsion, destruction, injury and death.
By now, around 2.5 million people have been displaced within Syria. Half of them are children. According to the UN, up to 4 million people will need humanitarian assistance by the end of the year. UNICEF, therefore, called on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and to make sure that all children are protected at all times.
As the so far unsuccessful efforts for a ceasefire continue, UNICEF initiated a winterisation strategy for children in Syria and neighboring countries. Together with its partners, UNICEF provides families with clean water, vaccines, winter clothing and hygiene items. The United Nations Children’s Fund organizes care for unaccompanied children, helps searching for relatives and makes sure that refugee children can continue to go to school.

© Alessio Romenzi/Agentur Corbis Images
INTERVIEW WITH ALESSIO ROMENZI
BIOGRAPHY: ALESSIO ROMENZI (CORBIS IMAGES)

Photographer Alessio Romenzi.
© UNICEF/Zimmermann