Photojournalism
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Global Press Journal reporters carry their cameras as they work and live. The moments they capture highlight human connection across the globe.
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Karambakurichchi, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Vallikkodi Paramananthar gathers palmyra sprouts while harvesting her field in Karambakurichchi, a village on the Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lanka. This work is an ancestral tradition for Paramananthar, and it helps to provide for her family.
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Paramsothy Kaliyugavarathan sells traditional oil lamps on the roadside in Jaffna, the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Each lamp sells for about 50 Sri Lankan rupees (29 cents), earning Kaliyugavarathan 600 to 800 rupees ($3.48 to $4.64) per day. These traditional lamps are popular during Hindu religious holidays.
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Farmers Kirusnapillai Nahulenthiran (left) and M.I. Alavudheen harvest their “short season” paddy in Mannar, a city in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Once a year, during what is known as the “short season,” the government gives its agricultural land to farmers, so they can harvest and earn wages.
Vavuniya, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
In Vavuniya, a district in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, students from the Empowerment Campus of Social, Economical and Environmental Developers, or SEED, perform a street drama advocating against child abuse. The drama’s theme was, “We, today’s elders, were yesterday’s children; protecting children and [encouraging] them to move forward is our responsibility.” SEED was organized in 1996 to aid those affected by Sri Lanka’s lengthy civil war.
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Visakan Perinpanathan, 26, and his father sculpt statues of Hindu gods at their workshop in Jaffna, a city in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Perinpanathan has pursued his family’s craft for eight years.
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Cobbler Iyanaar Uthayakumar, 42, repairs a shoe while sitting next to a bus terminal in Jaffna, a city in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Uthayakumar, who has worked as a cobbler for 10 years, earns about 1,200 Sri Lankan rupees ($7) per day to support himself, his wife and three children.
Sornapuri, Sri Lanka
Children from Sornapuri village in Sri Lanka laugh and play on the side of a road.
Vavuniya, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Vocational students gather to play elle, a popular Sri Lankan sport similar to baseball, at the VICTA Empowers Elle Championship Sports event in Vavuniya, a district in northern Sri Lanka.
Madukkulam, Sri Lanka
Young people train in Silambattam, a traditional Tamil martial art, at the Sri Muthumariamman Temple in Madukkulam, a village in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. The training was arranged by Pasumaikkana Puratchi Iyakkam, a local organization that aims to restore this traditional martial art.
Nallur, Sri Lanka
Muniyasamy Rasenthiram works at his family’s shop in Nallur, a suburb of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Rasenthiram, who has been making clay pottery for 30 years, is paid about 3 to 5 Sri Lankan rupees (2 or 3 cents) per item.
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Velan Rajenthiran repairs slippers on the roadside in Mannar, a town in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Rajenthiran, who started this business two years ago, fixes torn footwear, leather bags and umbrellas.
Mannar, Sri Lanka
John Anthonipillai sells fresh fish on the side of Mannar Bridge, which connects Mannar Island to the main island of Sri Lanka. Every evening for the last three years, Anthonipillai has sold fish to travelers on the bridge to Mannar Island, which has a thriving marine industry.
Thirunelvely, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka
Every day for the past 35 years, Thangarasa Lingarasa (right), Thampu Thevarasa (center) and Rasaiah Pathmanathan (left) have gotten together to roll tobacco in Thirunelvely, a village in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna district. They make about 2,200 cigars per week, earning 1.80 Sri Lankan rupees (a little more than 1 U.S. cent) per cigar, so each man earns about 4,000 rupees (about $25) per week.
Cheddikulam, Sri Lanka
Tamil Hindus gather at Vavvala Lake in the Sri Lankan village of Cheddikulam for the annual Aadi Amavasai, or the new moon for the Tamil month Aadi, which occurs in July and August. To pray for the souls of their departed fathers, the group observes several rituals on the occasion.
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Sivakumar Sarusan, 18, carries heated tar to repair Sornapury-Adampan road, in Sri Lanka’s Mannar district. At 6 a.m., Sarusan and the road repair team begin by heating the barrels of tar. They then fill in damaged parts of the road with crushed limestone, over which they pour the tar and sand.
Battaramulla, Sri Lanka
R. Raja, known as Nai Maama, or Uncle Cobra, charms a snake alongside his monkey, named Punchi Mahattaya, or Little Gentleman. Raja, a member of the Ahikuntika community, an ancient Sri Lankan nomadic group, lives in Ape Gama, a replica of an old Sri Lankan cultural village, in Battaramulla, a suburb of the capital, Colombo. In Ape Gama, people go about their daily routines, explaining village life to visitors to this historical theme park.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Thuan Farzan receives a treatment at a fish massage center at the Floating Market in Pettah, a neighborhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The center says that unexpected benefits of the massage include improved circulation, reduce depression and anxiety and helps to prevent headaches.
Dehiwala, Sri Lanka
Sanjeewa Pubudu Nanayakkara measures the dimensions of a handmade nativity scene for a customer at his roadside stall outside St. Mary’s Church in Dehiwala, Sri Lanka. Nanayakkara, who has sold these Christmas decorations for more than 15 years, makes the nativity scenes out of wood and straw. His cousin makes the clay figures.
Negombo, Sri Lanka
S.M. Kanthi, 40, lays fish out to dry in the sun at the Main Fish Market in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Kanthi, who has done this job for five years, is paid 400 Sri Lankan rupees ($2.60) per barrel of fish. The job requires turning the fish over after several hours, protecting the fish from rain with a plastic sheet and loading them into baskets when they are fully dried.
Dehiwala, Sri Lanka
Along Robert Road in Dehiwala, a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, boys with decorated bicycles lead a procession of devotees, known as a “perahera.” Participants of this Buddhist ritual walk through their community to the local temple carrying baskets of flowers, cloth wicks and coconut oil to light lamps as offerings to Buddha and offerings of robes for the temple priests. This traditional ritual takes place throughout October and November, and the processions are usually arranged by a few families who live on the same street.
Rakwana, Sri Lanka
Dharmapala Ralahami, a volunteer with the Rainforest Protectors of Sri Lanka, holds a “wanda,” or praying mantis, that he found while working with a group to remove invasive plants from threatened rainforest near the Melawatte temple in Sri Lanka’s Rakwana mountain range. In the Sinhala language, wanda means “one who worships.”
Kandy, Sri Lanka
During the Kandy Esala Perahera festival on Aug. 7, a dancer performed a traditional routine that involved balancing a spinning hand drum, or Ath Raban, on his finger. This 10-day festival in Kandy, in central Sri Lanka, celebrates the city’s Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, and features a procession of dressed-up elephants, acrobats and musicians, along with a variety of local and cultural dances.
Wadduwa, Kalutara District, Sri Lanka
Lal Perera, 60, a toddy tapper, walks between coconut trees, from which he extracts the sap of the coconut flowers for a beverage called toddy. He works in Wadduwa, a town in Sri Lanka’s Kalutara district. Perera, who has been toddy tapping for 30 years, says he taps around 80 trees every day, except during heavy rains. Learn more about toddy tapping here.
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
A lagoon fisherman sorts his prawn catch by size before placing his haul for auction at the Gurunagar fish market in Jaffna, a city at the northern edge of Sri Lanka. Fishermen can auction large quantities of their seafood at this market, and they group the bigger specimens to sell at a higher price.