Livio Senigalliesi: Imagine No Heaven
© Livio Senigalliesi, Bosnia, Sarajevo, 1996
Artist Statement
I became a photographer by chance. I grew up in a poor family in an industrial area of Milan in the north of Italy. My destiny was to be a factory worker. After military service, a friend asked me to assist him in the photographic studio and so my life had an unexpected turn.
When I was young I loved reading adventure books, stories of people living in other continents who have different cultures ... so with the first earnings I began to dream of making travel a profession. With great humility I approached reportage, social photography studying the technique of the great photographers of the past and those reporters who documented the Vietnam War. The 1970s were dominated by political ideals, pacifism and anti-war sentiments. This issue has been important for my generation and I believe that I chose to become a war photographer to live on the ground my commitment against war, against violence and death.
For a few years I dealt with social issues in Italy, then I devoted myself to Eastern European countries. Living long periods in countries under Soviet occupation allowed me to understand many things and to learn Slavic languages, Russian.
When the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, I was already there. I was based in East Berlin. I had a rare permit that allowed me to travel and photograph in the GDR. It was my lucky moment. I was in the right place at the right time. I began to collaborate with major international newspapers and to experience history as it happens.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A particular thankyou is due to all the interpreters, drivers and ‘stringers’ to whom I owe a good part of the success of my reportage. Their courage and their professionalism have been decisive for the realisation of my work.
A heartfelt thanks to Fuad Foco, my inseparable photographer friend, with whom I shared hard work, cold, hunger and danger during the Siege of Sarajevo. Unforgettable.
My deep nostalgia for my friend Andrej Mironov, russian dissident, human rights activist and extraordinary interpreter. The best guide for understanding Russia and the conflicts in the troubled republics of the Caucasus.
The most piercing thoughts are for those dear friends who’ve been killed in the field in years gone by: Maria Grazia Cutuli, Julio Fuentes, Gabriel Gruener, Anja Niedringhaus and the Spanish cameraman Miguel Gil Moreno.
Special thanks to Nguyen Huy Quang, an official at the Foreign Press Centre in Hanoi, for the support received during the delicate reportage done in Vietnam 40 years on from the War.
A warm hug and all my respect to Raffaele Masto who has Africa in his heart.
Thanks a lot to Riki Larma and Santiago Lyon of the Associated Press in Sarajevo, who more than once pulled me out of trouble by providing providential passage in an armoured car.
My gratitude to Médecins Sans Frontières, whose medical staff have given me ground support in various conflict zones, and backed the organisation of the "Inside the Balkan Route" project.
A deep and sincere thankyou to Okihiro Terao and my friends at the Association of Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Survivors. Their firm anti-war commitment – which nourishes memorialisation and feelings of peace and harmony between peoples – sets an outstanding example to all of us.
A special thought goes to the late Predrag Matvejević, a distinguished writer, great friend and source of extraordinary inspiration when it comes to the Balkans and the cultural histories of the Mediterranean. I miss his sharp irony and continue to love his books.
And last but not least, thanks to Vania and Stephen, for working so hard in translating my book into English.
This book is dedicated to all victims of war, and to my sons Alessandro and Dario, who have filled my heart with joy after so many bitter experiences.
Milan, 25 February 2020