Violeta Santos Moura
Women Photograph
Lisbon, Portugal
I am a freelance photojournalist and journalist from Vila Real de Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, born in the glorious '80s. While working as a wire reporter in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv I began to shoot and visually document my written stories.
Since then, my reporting has taken me from covering political and social tension in my home country Portugal, amidst the European economic crisis, to the Middle East, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as on less visible issues in the region, such as the lives of African asylum seekers in Israel.
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the arrival of Indian troops to Kashmir, I documented the effects on the lives of Kashmiris of what is now the longest case of military rule over a civilian population. More recently I produced a visual account on the connection between conservative politics in Poland and air pollution.
In 2017 I was named by TIME one of '34 Female Photographers to Follow'. I'm also a 2021 National Geographic Society grantee, a member of Women Photograph and a recipient of the Kim Wall/IWMF Memorial Fund.
I'm interested in how collective narratives intersect and/or clash along national or communal lines within societies or countries and its consequences on the lives of people navigating those lines.
Back in Portugal and Europe, I'm seeking to examine my own society while continuing my overseas work.
My photographic and written reporting has been published in Al Jazeera English, The Guardian [UK], Newsweek [Japan], Foreign Affairs [US], Courrier International [Portugal], El País [Spain], New Internationalist [UK], NRC Handelsblad [Netherlands], The Sydney Morning Herald [Australia], Woz Die Wochenzeitung [Switzerland], Profil [Austria], Il Reportage [Italy], Informatìon [Denmark], The International Business Times, Aftenposten Innsikt [Norway], Haaretz [Israel], among many others.
- Breaking news
- Conflict
- Crisis
- Reporting
Between Wars
Violeta Santos Moura
Children play in the dome of a bombarded mosque in the town of Khuzaa in the Gaza Strip. Buried in rubble and ruins are an estimated 7000 bombs, rockets and other unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the Palestinian enclave.
Trapped in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli siege, having survived three wars in six years and less than a year after the latest military operation, many in Gaza fear and ask themselves when will be the next.
The last Israeli military offensive in July 2014 against the Palestinian movement Hamas in control of the densely populated enclave was the bloodiest, ending with close to 2200 people killed, the majority Palestinian civilians. On the Israeli side 66 soldiers and 6 civilians were killed.
Between Wars
Violeta Santos Moura
The ruins of residencies are seen in the heavily destroyed Gaza City's neighborhood of Shuja'iyya. Many thousands remain homeless months after the last Israeli military offensive against the Palestinian movement Hamas in control of the densely populated enclave in the summer of 2014. Close to 2200 people killed, the majority Palestinian civilians. On the Israeli side 66 soldiers and 6 civilians were killed. Gaza Strip, 24th Nov 2014
Breaking Their Silence
Violeta Santos Moura
Left [ soldier's personal archive, 2005-2008 ]: 1st Sergeant Nadav Weiman, Nachal Brigade Reconnaissance Unit, Jenin [Palestinian Territories, West Bank], poses for a photo with a sniper rifle during his military service.
Right [ Violeta Santos Moura, 2013 ]: Nadav poses for a portrait at the laundry facilities of a shelter for adolescents where he works as a youth counselor in Tel Aviv.
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"Breaking Their Silence: Former Israeli Soldiers Speak Out Against the Occupation"
A group of Israeli ex combat veterans is speaking out about their missions in the occupied Palestinian territories and challenging Israel’s military occupation. Their aim is to show the Israeli public how long-lasting martial rule over a civilian population is “morally wrong and stands at the heart of the conflict.” Considered by the Israeli establishment as traitors and for fear of retribution, those who denounce their missions remain largely anonymous. In defiance, some have agreed to give their words a face.