“When I make photographs, I often look into the eyes of the people I am witnessing,” says French-American photojournalist Peter Turnley, who recently published these images from his trip to Ukraine from Paris March 7-16. “Their eyes so often say all that I never could with words.”

Turnley spent his time, ten days, alongside Ukrainian refugees. He published his work, photos, and text in Blind Magazine. We wanted to share his diary and highlight his work with you.

March 7, 2022

“I flew today from Paris to Krakow, Poland, and then boarded a train to Przemyśl on the Polish / Ukrainian border. Already at the Krakow train station, I encountered many Ukrainian refugees that had fled the war in their homeland.

On the train from the airport in Cracow to the train station, I sat next to Liuba, 42, who fled from Zaporozhe, near the site of the Nuclear plant that had been bombed. She explained to me that she felt very guilty to leave her parents there. She is very proud of her husband who has stayed to fight.

At the train station, Vicka, 22, stood with Lidia, her 9-year-old daughter. Liliana and Sofia, from Dniepr, stood together as well. 

On the train, Andre, 30, sat across from me. He has been working in Poland and has a wife and a 5-year-old daughter. I asked him why he was returning to Ukraine, and he told me, “I am returning to throw Molotov cocktails to defend my country.”

On the train to the border, Julia, 5, held her pet hamster and rode with her mother Maria, 37. When I arrived in Przemyśl, as I descended from the train, I saw several thousand refugees that had just arrived from Ukraine, boarding a train that was going in the direction of Prague. I walked in the dark up and down the train track next to this departing train. I looked into the eyes of dozens of refugees looking out the train window, waiting to depart for a new world-leaving behind everything they have previously known in life.” 

Click HERE to read the complete diary and the photo essay.

Click HERE to read the complete diary and the photo essay.

Peter Turnley

Peter Turnley is renowned for his photography of the realities of the human condition. His photographs have been featured on the cover of Newsweek 43 times and are published frequently in many of the world’s most prestigious publications. He has worked in over 90 countries and has witnessed most major stories of international geopolitical and historic significance in the last 40 years. He has both American and French nationality.

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