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1996 Visa d’or News: Patrick Robert. “I became interested in the war in Liberia at the very beginning of the conflict, in 1990, and covered it until 2003, when I was wounded by gunfire three weeks before the end of the war, while working on assignment for TIME. Liberia was fascinating because it was a futile conflict, with no way out and no hope. It was extremely violent, but journalists could move around and were fairly free to work, particularly as there were so few of us. It was absolute bedlam and anarchy, but strangely enough I feel comfortable in the midst of chaos. Once again I was surprised to get a Visa d’or for the work, firstly because the war was of no great interest to magazines and I hadn’t had much published, and also because I didn’t feel like I had finished the story. The war was far from over, and while I made regular trips back there, after going off to Sarajevo, Baghdad or Kabul, I felt I’d missed out on important events. That’s the really great thing about this festival: it focuses on events that have not been picked up by the magazines but which definitely record our history. The catalog of exhibitions at Visa pour l’Image is a genuine “panorama” covering the history of our time! I like going to the festival every year so that, at last, I can see the full stories (not just the five or six shots that have been published), and also to meet my fellow photographers and friends, and to see the picture editors from around the world and understand what their expectations are. This is my family. Visa pour l’Image is reassurance for me, it’s my equilibrium in my working life”. (Photo by Patrick Robert/Sygma/Corbis)
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