Slain Italian Photographer's Last Photos Unveiled
Source: Khaosod

(17 May) Glimpses of 2010 Bangkok protests captured on camera by Mr. Fabio Polenghi, the Italian photographer shot and killed when the military moved in to quell the protesters, were displayed to the public for the first time in a photo exhibition at the Foreign Correspondent Club of Thailand (FCCT).
The FCCT organized the event with collaboration from Ms. Elizabeth Polenghi, Fabio′s sister, who discovered the photos on her brother′s computer. Out of "500 or so" photos that her brother took, she selected 33, which now lined the wall of the FCCT clubhouse.
The event drew a considerable crowd at the clubhouse; Friday night is also a jazz night when the club members meet and mingle at the bar. The audiences were treated to Mr. Polenghi′s snapshots showing diverse reflections of the protests: Redshirt mother feeding milk to her baby, a wounded soldier relaxing in his truck, Yellowshirts rally in Victory Monument, Multicolored-shirts at Silom, Commander Red (The rogue Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol) inspecting the Redshirts′ defense at the edge of their encampment.
A more gruesome work is photo of a man shot in his bloodied back resting against a tree, but most of the photos were notably absent of gory element; Ms. Polenghi told our correspondent that her brother preferred to use "peaceful way" to tell story of a not too peaceful situation.
As Fabio′s camera was stolen in the confusion after he was shot on 19 May 2010, these were strictly the last photos taken by the photographer. The ′last picture′ retrieved, taken on 18 May, shows a group of Redshirts cowering behind barricades made of car tires.
Speaking to the crowd, Ms. Polenghi said that she didn′t show these photos only because Fabio was killed, but also because she wanted to show her brother′s work to the world. Fabio, she said, spent his life deeply in photography, having started as a fashion photographer and later moving on to other fields.
He travelled to many countries, Ms. Polenghi told the crowd. He took photos of traffic, of people, of prostitutes. Anything that tells a story. Although he has been to troubled places like Myanmar, he was not "war photographer", Ms. Polenghi said, but a "human photographer".
Fabio travelled to many countries, she said, but "for reasons I don′t know" he had particular love and interest in Thailand. She told the audience the last time she talked to her brother, on 5 May 2010, Fabio told her he felt a big change was happening in Thailand, and that he was determined to stay in the country for a while to understand it.
"I could see that Fabio was emotionally involved in what was happening in Bangkok," Ms. Polenghi said.
Ms. Polenghi said she awaited the court ruling on 29 May, which will affirm whether the military had shot Fabio as many witnesses had asserted - a claim denied by the military. Ms. Polenghi said she expected the Thai court "to do the right thing".

Domenica 9 giugno• Omaggio a Fabio Polenghi • al cinema di Milano San Felice (Segrate)

Ore 15,30

FCCT • Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand • 7pm, Friday May 17, 2013
per info: FCCThai.com

Fabio Polenghi "Bangkok last pictures 2010"

Photojournalist Fabio Polenghi was killed in Bangkok on May 19th 2010 as the Thai army made its final assault on "Red Shirt" anti-government protesters.

Born in Italy in 1962, Fabio very early on chose the world as his home and photography as a means to tell the kaleidoscope of realities he saw: from fashion to reportage in forgotten places.

This exhibition is a way to remember Fabio's last journey through his pictures, which express better than any words, his love for humanity and justice. It is compiled from some of the best images found in his computer and is accompanied by brief notes taken from his diaries -- documenting one of the most bloody and dramatic periods in Thailand's recent history in which he was both a witness and a victim.

Nel libro "la mia fotografia" di Feltrinelli, in poche righe Grazia Neri riesce a trasmettere la vera essenza di Fabio Polenghi. Molto toccante, grazie.

"Nel Maggio 2010 l'agenzia non c'era più: era in liquidazione; e proprio in quei giorni, il 19, giunse la notizia dell'uccisione a Bangkok di Fabio Polenghi, mentre documentava l'assalto dell'esercito regolare alle camicie rosse.  Se si è trovato negli scontri di Bangkok, era per la sua serietà. In tempi in cui la professione del fotografo era già in grande crisi, lui aveva mantenuto integro il bagaglio degli inizi: intuizione giornalistica, passione, versatilità, documentazione; la capacità di non prendersi troppo sul serio, il desiderio di confrontarsi sul senso del lavoro, e la prontezza. Fatto non comune tra i suoi colleghi, Fabio entrava sempre in agenzia con un sorriso silenzioso e un idea ben calibrata. Tra i fotografi che hanno collaborato con l'agenzia, lui eccelleva per quella che si potrebbe chiamare un illuminata e intuitiva solidarietà. Tutti ricordano anche la sua incertezza sul dove stabilirsi. Sarebbe andato a stare li dove avesse trovato una più fertile geografia di storie e di problematiche da raccontare. Pensava il mondo in anticipo. Forse anche per questo si è trovato a Bangkok in quel giorno di maggio".

Grazie per il bel ricordo di Fabio che hai voluto regalarci, con affetto e stima, Isa Polenghi, Laura Chiorri e Arianna Polenghi.

Testo tratto dal Libro "La mia fotografia" di Grazia Neri edito da Feltrinelli

THAILANDIA: Giustizia, non vendetta, per la morte di Fabio Polenghi
Traduzione: terresottovento.altavista.org :

Elisabetta Polenghi, sorella del fotografo Fabio Polenghi, ucciso il 19 maggio 2010 durante la repressione delle forze di sicurezza thailandesi, ha fatto circa dieci viaggi a Bangkok anche se ne ha perso il conto. Ma quando si parla dei dettagli dell’omicidio di suo fratello la mattina del 19 maggio 2010 vicino all’incrocio Ratchaprasong, diventa ossessiva, pedante.

Sebbene i risultati della Corte Penale non si possano conoscere fino a fine maggio Isabella crede che, dopo le prove e le testimonianza, suo fratello Fabio fu ucciso da un cecchino delle Forze Armate.
“Non voglio dire che lo hanno preso di mira. Ma probabilmente, probabilmente i soldati hanno avuto paura Volevano che la gente scappasse, liberasse la strada. Quando si invia l’esercito a fare ordine pubblico, si invia gente addestrata alla guerra. Quando invii l’esercito vuoi uccidere. E’ qualcosa che non va con la tua cultura politica.” dice la Polenghi prima di aggiungere che suo fratello, in cui fu lei a suscitare l’interesse per la fotografia, fu ucciso nel cuore dalle spalle.
“Un colpo al cuore, uno che l’ha trapassato.” ha detto Isabella aggiungendo che questo in parte spiega la sua conclusione che suo fratello non fu la vittima di un proiettile casuale, ma di un singolo proiettile sparato da un cecchino. Ha aggiunto che quando degli uomini vicino provarono a salvare suo fratello furono sparati dei colpi per farli allontanare.
La fotografa di moda milanese ha studiato tutti i video e i dettagli, le prove e le testimonianze che poteva trovare. La donna che ha confessato di aver rivisto i tre video degli incidenti centinaia di volte, delle volte dice di aver usato più occhiali per avere una visione migliore, tanta era la preoccupazione che la spinge a cercare la verità sulla morte di suo fratello.

Sister of Italian journalist slain in 2010 seeks truth, not revenge
Source: The Nationmultimedia.com

Elisabetta Polenghi, the sister of slain Italian cameraman Fabio Polenghi, has made about 10 trips to Bangkok since mid-2010, although she's lost count of the exact number. But when it comes to the details of how her older brother was killed on the morning of May 19, 2010 near Ratchaprasong Intersection, she is obsessive, even pedantic at times.

Although the results of the Criminal Court's inquest into her brother's death will not be released until May 29, Polenghi, given all the evidence and witness testimony, believes Fabio was killed by a Thai Army sniper.

"I don't want to tell you they targeted Fabio. But probably, probably [the soldiers] were scared. They wanted people to flee, to clear the street. When you put the Army to clear out civilians on the street, you put people trained for war. When you put the Army, you want to kill. When you put an Army on the ground, something is wrong with the political culture," said Polenghi, before adding that her brother, whose interest in photography she sparked, was shot in the heart from behind.

"One shot in the heart. One shot through the heart," she said, adding that this partly explains her conclusion that her brother wasn't the victim of a random bullet, but of a single shot aimed by a sniper. She added that when men nearby tried to rescue her brother, shots were fired to scare them away.

The 48-year-old Milanese fashion photographer has studied all the videos and other details, all the evidence and witness reports she could find. The portly, grey-haired woman - who confesses to having watched the three videos of the incident hundreds of times - at times resorts to placing one pair of reading glasses over another to get a clearer view. Such is the pre-occupation that has driven to her to pursue the truth about her brother's death.