Shahidul alam biography of william

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He was arrested for merely speaking his opinion about the ongoing student protests taking place in Bangladesh. Returning to Dhaka in 1984, he documented the democratic struggle to remove Bangladesh’s autocratic ruler General Hussain Muhammad Ershad. “In my country, all the institutions have been demolished: the police have been turned into a private army; the judiciary is toothless; the education system has been dismantled.

Many international humanitarian organizations and news media called for his release without charge. The establishment has educated hundreds of photographers. He was the guest curator for the Auckland Festival in New Zealand, and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Dali Festival in China in 2017.

The same year, one of his exhibitions on extrajudicial killings, titled "Crossfire", curated by Peruvian curator Jorge Villacorta, was widely acclaimed, but closed down by the police, leading to nationwide protests. In 2012, Alam participated in the inaugural Kochi-Muziris Biennale, held in Kerala, India.

On August 5, 2018, Alam was arrested and detained shortly after giving an interview to Al Jazeera and posting live videos on Facebook, that criticized the government's violent response to the 2018 Bangladesh road safety protests.

If convicted, he could serve 14 years in jail.

Despite no longer being able to move freely in Dhaka due to safety concerns, Alam remains steadfast against leaving Bangladesh. His book “My journey as a witness”, listed in “Best Photo Books of 2011” by American Photo, has been described by John Morris, the former picture editor of Life Magazine, as “The most important book ever written by a photographer.” “Birth Pangs of a Nation” edited by Alam, was voted the best book of 2012 at Asian Publishing Convention.

On August 5, 2018, he gave an interview to Al Jazeera about the anti-government corruption protests which followed the deaths of two students who were struck by a reckless bus driver. I go to sleep raring to wake up for what I want to do the next day.”

“I have a roof over my head. As a result, exhibitions throughout his long career become major, and frequently contested, events.

Many of the problems he addresses exceed the borders of his home country. Approximately 400,000 people attended the impromptu show at a gallery that until then had refused to show work critical of the government.

In 2017, he sought permission to stage the exhibition Embracing the Other within Dhaka’s Bait Ur Rouf Mosque—a controversial choice because of the belief held by some Muslims that photography is haram.

“I didn’t want to be third of anything,” he says. Then, he went on to study at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Genetics in 1976. Because these are elitist spaces is not a reason for me not to occupy them. Not only do we demand the immediate release of Shahidul, we stand as a united front against these kinds of attacks to journalism wherever they arise in the world.