Photographer Shafiqul Islam is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘Prisoners’. To see Shafiqul ’s body of work, click on any image.
Going to the zoo is one of many ways for people to entertain themselves. People also visit for educational or research purposes. However, the main purposes of the zoo is to protect wildlife and let all of us understand the importance of nature. There are many exotic animals that bear the chances of dying out in the wild. Therefore, zoos play the important role for saving the endangered animals. But in the Mirpur Zoo, the case is quite ironic. The visitors go there with the expectation to see the fun, playful side of the animals. Sometimes the animals and the birds are forced by the visitors to act in such way. But the visitors can’t see the actual situation inside the cages. The fear, the hunger, the pain and the sadness… it seems like the animals are kept as prisoners without committing any crime!
Here is a photo story of such animals in Mirpur Zoo in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The story is not about the carelessness or the poor job done by the zookeepers. It’s about the pain of the animals that are kept in insufficiently small areas or cages, out of their habitat. If people look in to their eyes and feel the emotion and expression deep enough, they might hear the silent scream as well.
All images and text © Shafiqul Islam
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By Shafiqul Islam
