As anti-government protests in Thailand continued this month, Reuters Chief Photographer Jorge Silva captured an iconic image of the movement, showing a lone protestor pushing against rows of Thai riot police behind their shields. The photo has become one of the most widely published images from the months of demonstrations calling for the ousting of the government and for reforms to the monarchy, while the video footage shot by Silva was widely used by international media.
Silva describes what it has been like covering the protests: “It’s been extraordinary witnessing large crowds of anti-government protesters breaking taboos and openly demonstrating against the establishment, talking about topics previously forbidden in the Thai political culture. It’s the most interesting story I have covered in Thailand in 5 years of being in the country.”
Describing the moment he captured the image of the demonstrator facing up to police after a ban on protests, Silva said, “I was standing next to the police officers when they advanced towards the protesters and I saw the lone man arriving to try to stop them. When I realized the police were preparing to use a water cannon, I ran to a higher position and that’s where I shot the image of him again alone in his attempt to block police before the water cannon started to spray the protestors.
You can read more about the lone protestor captured in Silva’s picture here.
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[Reuters PR Blog Post]
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