Anton Skyba presents the image nominated for the National Newspaper Award. Photos: Mykola Swarnyk
Mykola Swarnyk
for NP-UN
The Globe and Mail newspaper announced the winner of their National Newspaper Award on May 5, 2023. One of the nominees was photojournalist Anton Skyba, in the category ‘Breaking News Photo’. The picture was shot for the Globe and Mail in Kyiv, Ukraine of a young girl standing on the edge of the crater which was made by a Russian cruise missile in front of a destroyed apartment building in Kyiv on Feb. 25, 2022.
On Saturday May 6th Anton Skyba, who is a relatively young man with delicate mannerisms, appeared sensitively and thoughtfully at the KUMF Gallery where he discussed his work and his techniques presenting the war.
Victor Malarek, renown journalist and author, gave a short introduction to the presentation. Victor has been in journalism for more than 40 years. He said a journalist is always telling the story, explaining what happen to the viewers, always on the foreground.
However, a cameraman, who is working behind the scenes, delivers the story, because there is nothing more powerful than the visual presentation. And while you may write or say a compelling story, the main message is delivered by the picture. You see the picture, and you see the suffering. You see the photograph, and you see the heroes.
Victor Malarek made an introduction
The visual is a most powerful tool to get to a person’s heart and mind. And photographers and cameramen are unsung heroes who can tell the story more poignantly than anyone else. “Every time I see the picture, or see the video, I say ‘wow!’ Sometimes my heart is heavy, sometimes my heart feels pride for the heroes, who go and fight, and put their life on the line. And you see that day in and day out. And what is done by those pictures and videos to people who are second and third generation Ukrainians – it fills our heart with pride: we are Ukrainians. It’s really important” – said Victor Malarek.
Victor Malarek congratulated Anton for the work he is doing as he is documenting history: this girl, this woman, men coming back in caskets, who stood and fought for Ukraine.
Anton was thankful for the acceptance he was greeted with in Canada. It was not easy for him even to leave Ukraine due to the conscription restrictions for young men. He expressed his gratitude to the Ukrainian Diaspora, which wholeheartedly supports Ukraine in its fight for independence. Real strong connections between Canada and Ukraine exist thanks to what the Ukrainian community is doing.
Anton was born and raised in Yenakieve in the Donbas – the home town of Victor Yanukovych. Anton started his journalistic career in 2014, when the Russians captured Donetsk. He said he did not expect that the conflict would ignite the worst war of this century. Also, he never expected to be to standing on Canadian soil, asking for support of Ukraine’s struggle for independence and freedom.
Anton is working for the big Canadian newspaper , which is covering not only the war zone in Ukraine, but also various smaller military issues that are covered by the newspaper. And while he said he is lucky because he is not being always in the most dangerous places, like the frontline trenches, his task is different: he helps Canadian journalists to cover stories, to explain them and to take the pictures, that speak to the Canadian people’s hearts. He finds Canadians’ feedback most interesting, and he wonders if there they are tired of the Ukraine issue? What do ordinary people think about Ukraine? How much attention they pay to these issues in their everyday life, economics, government? Ukrainians are very interested in having a constant line of communication and a constant connection to people.
Anton showed photos which were published in the Globe and Mail. He and his colleagues go to the most dangerous places in this war, trying to find heroes, attempting to film war crimes, and bring those stories to the reader. This is not a constant hunt for heroes, but rather it having an eye open to what is really happening and telling the story with the simple, accessible visual resource. The main task is to speak, to communicate, to explain that despite the war, life continues. People get married, they go to school, they are living their life, they give birth to babies. Ukraine is a democracy in transit, and all these processes are very lively.
Anton was surprised on how calm and easy-going Canadians are. Even in downtown Toronto – everything is moving slowly, steadily. Ukraine is more tense, more dangerous, but also more dynamic.
Many of Anton Skyba’s image’s of the war are disturbing
Anton also shared his darker moments, like when he had to talk to parents who had lost their child in the missile attack or visiting an exhumation site. He had a psychological breakdown when he couldn’t work for a week and had to take a break. He knows how important it is to detach work from his personal life, but in reality, it is not easy to do. Ukraine is losing its best people, and it affects us through our friends and relatives, through places which we love and through personal impressions too.
The photojournalist’s job is to bring light to the truth not only in Ukraine but also internationally. This helps us raise awareness about the war and maintain the support of the community regarding Ukrainian issues.
The guests atthe KUMF Gallery were thankful to Anton Skyba for his constant hard work, and of helping to elevate the stories of the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian people. Jurij Klufas, journalist himself and the president of the KUMF Gallery, wished Anton Skyba the best of luck in winning next year’s Globe and Mail’s “Breaking News Photo” competition.
This article is written under the Local Journalism Initiative agreement
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