Dar Yasin, born in 1973, in Indian Kashmir. Studied bachelor’s in computer science and technology in South of India.
Dar has extensively covered Kashmir conflict, South Asia Earth Quake and its aftermath and the historical opening of bus route between divided Kashmir.
On assignment in Afghanistan has covered Afghan War, Afghan Refugees and Daily life of war-torn Afghanis. Dar has also covered Rohingya refugee crisis who fled large- scale violence and persecution in Myanmar. His works have appeared in almost all the major newspapers and news magazines around the globe.
Dar has won dozens of international and national photo awards including POYi, Atlanta Photojournalism, China Press Photo contest, the National Headliner Awards, finalist in WARS Photography Award, the Sigma Delta Chi Award by the Society of Professional Journalism. And Indian’s most prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award twice for the stories from Kashmir. Dar also was part of the Associated Press team that won the Hal Boyle Award for the Rohingya Exodus in the Overseas Press Club and a Robert F. Kennedy Award in the International Print category. In year 2017 he received NPPA (National Press Photographers Association) Humanitarian Award which is presented to an individual for playing a key role in the saving of lives or in rescue situations.
Most recently his work was exhibited in Visa Pour L’images in Perpignan.
Dar Yasin, on winning the Yannis Behrakis International Photojournalism Award 2019
It was day 65 of the internet and mobile blackout in Kashmir. It took Thanassis relentlessly messaging my brother, Rafiq in Mumbai, Rafiq calling my neighbour on their landline, Thanassis then calling on Rafiq’s cell and Rafiq using his wife’s cellphone to patch the call, for me to faintly hear Thanssis congratulating me on winning this award. As you can imagine, I obviously thought I was hearing voices in my head and I kept telling Thanassis, “thank you for letting me know I have been shortlisted!” He had to repeat it a few times before I finally heard, “You are the winner!” Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. I was happy. But that happiness was tinged with helplessness too.
I have won this award for my documentation of the situation in Kashmir. Not just these past few weeks or months, but years. Years of bearing witness to bloodshed, violence, strife and unrest. Not in someplace far away. But in my own homeland. In my own city. In my own neighbourhood. It doesn’t get more personal than this. To win an award for recording mayhem and devastation in my backyard almost seemed absurd. But then on the heels of that thought, a voice inside me remembered the lines I had read when I was preparing images for this award, and I quote, “I truly believe that photojournalism and journalism in the right hands can make the world a better place,” Yannis Behrakis had said. Yannis’ compass was to make sure history was duly reported. That is when I felt that I DID deserve this award. It felt right. It felt, not like a celebration, but an acknowledgement and encouragement from a fellow traveler who knew only too well of the price we pay for every image we take. Winning this award, an award instituted in memory of Yannis Behrakis, the man and the photojournalist, is a healing balm that will go a long way towards reminding me, in my darkest hours, that no matter what, I should have courage and persevere. Just like he did.
Elisavet Saridou Behrakis, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and Athens Photo World – thank you for instituting this award. Now more than ever, we as photojournalists need every last bit of encouragement to continue doing what we do. Thank you to Thanassis and Lefteris. And to the jury. It can’t have been easy.
To Benny Snyder and AP, you have been there every step of the way. I’m very grateful and very blessed.
To my friends and my family, thank you for being there. Always. It is only because of you and with you, that I can do any of this. Thank you. To the world out there, we have done our best.