Pain is universal, evil is real. Elena Guseinova analyzes the photo of the week

I met her in December on the train from Przemyśl to Kyiv. There was a free seat in my compartment, and the conductor sat her next to me. She apologized—the train from Prague was late, and she had missed the train to Kyiv for which she had a ticket. I think I felt sorry for her. Or maybe I didn't. I don't remember much of what she said before she uttered the words, “My husband is in captivity.” But I remember everything that happened after that. Especially her husband's first and last name. Since our chance encounter, there have been two exchanges. On January 31, 207 prisoners were returned to Ukraine. The names I remembered from the train were not among them. In this photo, Danila Pavlov is one of those whose name was there.

The man is crying and covering his face with a Ukrainian flag and someone else's cell phone. It seems that the photographer had to get close and crouch down to take this picture. And now I, too, am looking at this man from close up and from below. This view left almost everything out of the frame. I see nothing but the blue sky and a man hiding behind a flag and a phone. He is also hiding from my gaze. I look at him and feel ashamed. A distance is revealed between us, on one side of which he is trying to hide, and on the other, I continue to watch him. Only the photographer's chosen position — looking up from below — allows me to come to terms with my shame. I am scared and want to close my eyes. But I continue to look at the photograph. I have to look in order to bear witness: pain is universal, it affects everyone; evil is real, it cannot go unpunished. I am an observer who must remember this man: his shaved head, short-cut nails, finger phalanges, wrists, black jacket cuffs, yellow and blue flag, someone else's cell phone. The man has just heard his family's voice and now has to accept this new reality in which he has been freed.

I am a chance passenger, and I must listen carefully to the woman talking about her husband in captivity. Six months ago, she received news from him — one of the released prisoners confirmed that her husband was alive. This is their only connection. Invaluable information that moves from one source to another. A communication system that transmits signals over long distances. And allows her to believe that one day he will call her from someone else's mobile phone.

On November 17, 2023, the Commission on the Establishment of the Fact of Captivity at the Ministry of Reintegration confirmed that 4,337 Ukrainians are being held captive. On January 24, 2024, during a meeting of the Council on Human Rights, Gender Equality, and Diversity at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was reported that more than 8,000 Ukrainians were being held captive in Russia. We do not know exactly how many Ukrainians are currently being held captive in Russia.

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Olena Huseynova is a Ukrainian writer, radio host, and radio producer. She has been working at Radio Culture (Suspilne) since 2016. She is currently the editor-in-chief of the radio theater and literary programs department. Since February 26, 2022, Olena has been working as a live host of a round-the-clock news radio marathon on Ukrainian Radio (Suspilne). She is the author of two poetry books, “Open Rider” (2012) and “Superheroes” (2016). She writes essays and short prose.‍

Danylo Pavlov is a photojournalist since 2009. He worked in regional media in Donetsk, and later in the media holding company Segodnya and the UNIAN agency. He also worked as a commercial photographer for several Ukrainian companies. In photojournalism, he focuses on creating social photo stories and illustrating long-form reports.
In addition to working in traditional media, Danylo also contributed to the online magazine The Ukrainians and later became responsible for the visual direction of a separate publication, Reporters, which now exists both online and in print.
Danylo continues to photograph and cover events following the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. He reports from de-occupied territories and military positions and is currently working on a long-term photo project documenting the impact of the war on military personnel and civilians in need of plastic surgery. He also collaborates with the State Emergency Service, for which he was awarded a state medal of honor last year.

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