Alpeyrie, Jonathan

For a decade, Jonathan Alpeyrie – a French-American photojournalist – had ventured in and out of more than a dozen conflict zones. He photographed civilians being chased out of their homes, military trucks roving over bullet-torn battlefields, and too many bodies to count. But on April 29, 2013, during his third assignment to Syria, Alpeyrie became the story. For eighty-one days he was bound, blindfolded, and beaten by Syrian rebels. Over the course of his captivity, Alpeyrie kept his spirits up and strove to find the humanity in his captors. He took part in their activities, taught them how to swim, prayed with them, and tried learning their language and culture. He also discovered a dormant faith within himself, one that strengthened him throughout the ordeal.