Photographer Moises Saman Delivers Powerful Kageyama-Hunt Global Speaker Address

On Friday morning, February 14, 2025 photojournalist Moises Saman delivered the 2025 Kageyama-Hunt Global Speaker address. Established in 2012 by Belmont Hill parents Bill Hunt and Yuko Kageyama, the Global Citizenship Speaker Series features speakers who model global citizenship and can inspire generations of Belmont Hill boys to embrace the challenges and opportunities of an interconnected world. Following the half-hour address, which held nearly 500 students silent, spellbound and on the edge of their seats, Mr. Saman met with a group of 20+ students and faculty for a follow-up Q&A and conversation.

Illustrated with over 30 photographs from his life and career, Mr. Saman’s talk centered on themes of belonging and home. He described the arc of his career and personal journey vividly, observing how the dangers, cultural challenges, and adrenaline highs of photographing wars and their aftermath forged a fierce, loyal tribe between he and his fellow photojournalists. Since 9/11, when he was based in Lebanon and working for Newsday, Mr. Saman has documented societies at war or in upheaval — from Afghanistan, Iraq, and, Syria, to Guatemala, Peru, and Libya. He recounted his terrifying ordeal when, already in Iraq when the American invasion began in March 2003, he was arrested along with three other journalists by Saddam Hussein’s secret police and held for eight days in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. It took an international diplomatic effort — involving the Catholic Church and Yasser Arafat — to secure their release. 

Mr. Saman described his early career as chasing “the shot” — images that captured specific conflicts, soldiers and civilians in ways that complemented the news outlet’s story. Over time, as he explained it, Mr. Saman became dissatisfied with what he saw as two-dimensional depictions of complex circumstances, and he resolved not to contribute to such oversimplifications of people’s lives. Instead, he began focusing on individual stories that depicted human resilience in the face of conflict and uncertainty, such as his image of an Iraqi selling vividly colored jackets in front of a bombed-out building. He demonstrated this shift in his perspective by projecting two contrasting images on the screen, asking the boys to consider their differing reactions to the people depicted in a classic military action shot to that of people hunched down walking through a Baghdad sandstorm. 

Mr. Saman closed his talk with a challenge and invitation to the boys: to be alert to what sparks their passion; to learn from and evolve through life’s painful experiences; to be open to shifting their perspectives; and to seek experiences that affirm our common humanity. Following his final words, the Chapel erupted with applause and, for the rest of the day, boys could be heard speaking among themselves and with teachers about how they were moved and intrigued by Mr. Saman’s personal story, courage, and his photographs. 

As part of the Kageyama-Hunt program, through mid-May Belmont Hill is hosting an online exhibit or Mr. Saman's work. Click here to learn more about the Belmont Hill Speaker Program. 

Event Photos by Dan Duarte, faculty.