the photographer into war torn afghanistan with doctors without borders

There are many photos and illustrations of the country's rugged natural beauty-as well as the destruction caused by the ongoing war. It then documents the mission's trip to Afghanistan's Yaftali Sufla District (part of the Badakhshan Province), to the town of Zaragandara, to establish a field hospital and staff another one. The book opens in Pakistan, with the then-29-year-old Lefèvre meeting the members of the team, including leader Juliette Fournot. The book divides the three-month trip into three parts: the journey into Afghanistan, the medical mission, and the trip out. Īlthough Lefèvre lived to see the success of the book in France, he died from heart failure in 2007, before the American edition was published. The project was synthesized (and colored) by designer Frédéric Lemercier. Lefèvre's friend, cartoonist Emmanuel Guibert, encouraged Lefèvre to combine his photos with Guibert's artwork to make a book about the experience.

(He also lost 14 teeth due to malnutrition and exhaustion.) The vast majority of Lefèvre's photos remained unpublished for decades after his return. Lefèvre returned from the mission with 4,000 photos. First Second published the English edition in 2009. It has been translated from the original French into 11 languages. The book interweaves Lefèvre's black-and-white photographs and Guibert's illustrations-combined with captions and word balloons-to create the narrative.įirst published by Dupuis in three volumes from 2003 through 2006, The Photographer sold 250,000 copies in France and won the Essentials of Angoulême award in 2007. The Photographer tells the true story of Didier Lefèvre, a French photojournalist, who accompanied a Médecins Sans Frontières mission during the height of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1986. The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders is a nonfiction graphic novel by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric Lemercier.

The photographer into war torn afghanistan with doctors without borders