I began my journey at the United Nations as a Tour Guide at UN Headquarters in New York. I led delegations, schoolchildren from around the world, and visitors through the building, recounting the history of the institution, the symbols it houses, and the gifts offered by many countries, such as the Guernica tapestry near the Security Council or the Rockwell mosaic.
It was in those memory-filled corridors that photography quietly entered my life. One image after another, I learned to see differently.
When I left New York for my first peace mission in Kosovo with UNMIK, everything took on a new meaning. I presented my first black-and-white exhibition in a city still marked by the scars of conflict.
The image was no longer only aesthetic, it became testimony.
It was about capturing resilience without betraying dignity and conveying complexity without simplifying pain.
This guiding thread then took me to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with MONUC and later MONUSCO.
I photographed the first democratic elections in forty years and covered institutional and field missions with the Human Rights, Protection of Civilians, Gender, Child Protection, and DDR sections.
I accompanied children released from armed groups, flew over the forests of North Kivu in helicopters to reach inaccessible areas, and witnessed the eruption of Nyiragongo, camera in hand, alongside volcanologists and fleeing populations.
My work relies on constant collaboration with mission sections, local actors, and communities. It requires me to adapt continuously to multicultural and fragile contexts.
Through every image, I strive to respect the person, their story, and their voice. Questions of ethics, representation, and protection remain essential.
Still serving in United Nations missions, first in Mali with the MINUSMA and now in the Central African Republic with MINUSCA, I seek to capture the human drive behind every action.
For me, photography is a way to serve peace. What words sometimes struggle to express, light reveals.
About the Author:
Myriam Asmani is a photographer with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
