Photo File: Andrew McConnell

“The suburb of Agbogbloshie in Ghana’s capital, Accra, has in recent years become a dumping ground for computers and electronic waste from Europe and the US. Of the 20 to 50 million tons of electronics discarded each year 70% will end up in poor nations, and in the EU alone 6.6 million tons of e-waste are unaccounted for every year.”

Children break apart CRT monitors to salvage metal from inside. Many children work at the dump salvaging metals which they sell to middlemen. They do not wear any protective clothing, exposing themselves to lethal doses of hazardous chemicals like mercury and lead.

“The Democratic Republic of Congo remains in turmoil 7 years later after the formal end of the 1998-2003 civil war. The International Rescue Committee estimated that 5.4 million people lost their lives in Congo during the last 10 years.”

IDP’s (internally displaced people) in the town of Kitchanga. People fled their homes in the surrounding area after fighting broke out between government forces and troops loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda.

Bio:
Andrew McConnell began his career covering the closing stages of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the transition to peace. He has since worked on stories worldwide, covering events in Europe, Asia and Africa. His work has appeared internationally in the New York Times, the Guardian, FT Magazine, L’Express, Sunday Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Time and National Geographic Magazine.

A couple embrace at one of the traditional 11th night bonfires in Northern Ireland. The bonfires are built by the members of the Protestant community ahead of the July 12 commemoration of William of Orange’s victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

“The people of Katwe in western Uganda have worked the nearby salt lake for centuries. It is the most important natural resource in the area and the only source of income for many, some 700 men, women and children work in and around the lake everyday.”

Early morning and locals arrive for another day of monotonous toil in the salt pans of Lake Katwe, Uganda.

“Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in May, 1991, after a brutal civil war ended the overthrow of military dictator Siad Barre. For the past 16 years the country has operated as a de facto state with relative stability; it has a constitution, a working political system, government institutions, police and military and its own currency. However, despite its success, no country formally recognizes Somaliland’s sovereignty, which has lead to widespread unemployment, a high poverty rate and a lack of medical aid.”

Mother and daughter are treated for Cholera at Save the Children’s Cholera Treatment Center in Burao.

See more of McConnell’s photography here

posted by: Brent Carter