Charlestown, MA — 09/12/2024 – Anas Abumuhaisen, 13, bent to fill a container with water that he would later throw at his little brother, Aser. The brothers have been in Boston since March receiving medical care for the injuries they suffered from the bombing. Anas suffered multiple fourth degree burns and Aser lost his right leg. Their transport and attention was made possible by HEAL Palestine, a non-profit organization providing medical assistance to Palestinian children in the Gaza strip and Egypt. The Abumuhaisen boys are the only surviving members of their immediate family. Both of their parents and three siblings died in the bombing. Relatives of their extended family also perished.
2nd. David Goldman/Associated Press
Young girls, part of a wedding party, hold hands as they leave a hotel to attend the ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. About 76% of Uganda’s 43 million people are under 35, according to government figures making it one of the youngest countries in the world. While Uganda has a population known for its huge number of young people, it has been seeing growth in the number of older people. From 2000 through 2019, life expectancy in Uganda rose from 48.76 to 66.69, an increase that outpaced all but three other countries in the world. By 2050, the number of older people is expected to quadruple. What awaits Uganda’s young population though, is a country wholly unprepared. Few government safety nets and pension programs exist. Medical care is lacking. And routine problems of age go unaddressed.
3rd. Erin Clark/The Boston Globe
Joanna Desire holds her 2-year-old daughter Rosalinda while her eldest, Debourha, 5, descends the stairs of their one-bedroom apartment in the El Bosque neighborhood of Santiago, Chile, Sept. 5, 2024. The family previously attempted to migrate to Massachusetts but returned to Chile after three months when their savings ran out. Now, with Desire working overnight shifts at a supermarket and her husband driving for Uber, they’re planning another journey north – this time to Texas, where they’ve heard rents are more affordable. “For me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Trump, Joe Biden, or Kamala [Harris],” says Odenes Bellevue, Desire’s husband. “I’m still going to go.”HM. Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe
Concord, VT — 01/04/2024 – Lynda Bluestein’s family members: (L-R) Husband Paul, son Jake, granddaughter Abigail, daughter Aimee, and granddaughter Josie, gathered around her to tell her how much they loved her before she took the medication that would end her life. Months earlier while speaking to a crowd at her church in her home state of Connecticut Bluestein said, “I love my children and I’m going to love you always, we’re connected by love.” She said, “Staying connected with love is to be truly present in your grief because you don’t grieve unless you love someone.” Editors Note: Last year a reporter/columnist and a photographer set out to chronicle Connecticut resident Lynda Bluestein on her mission to die on her own terms in Vermont, which has a “medical aid in dying” provision. Vermont’s law required two witnesses to sign a form attesting that Bluestein was in a clear state of mind when she made this decision, and they could not be family members, doctors, any beneficiaries, a nursing home owner or employee, etc. Bluestein, with the support of her doctor, asked two people who were with her on July 10 to attest to this for her. The reporter was one of those people and he agreed to do so — a decision he regrets. It is a violation of our standards for a reporter to insert themselves into a story they are covering. That it was intended primarily as a gesture of consideration and courtesy does not alter that it was out of bounds. After reviewing these details, we have concluded that this error did not meaningfully impact the outcome of this story — Bluestein died on Jan. 4 and she likely would have found another signatory in the months before then. For that reason, we chose to publish this story, while also sharing these details in full transparency. The photographer was neither present for this nor aware that this had happened until after the reporting was over.
HM. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe
West Roxbury-06/18/2024 A gravestone unveiling and dove release in honor of Mary Louise Powell was held at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Powell’s son, Michael Powell(left) looks on as Hope Ralph releases a dove at the conclusion of the ceremony. Powell was the matchmaker for Martin Luther King and Coretta. She had been in an unmarked grave for 33 years.
