Why we chose to publish a harrowing image of death in the Rio Grande

Publishing photos of trauma requires careful consideration. When it came to Oscar Ramirez and his daughter Valeria, we believe we were showing the world what they need to see

Were we right to publish the now-famous photograph of Oscar Ramirez and his daughter Valeria? Indeed, not only to publish it but to give it front full-page treatment in The Independent Daily Edition, and feature it prominently on the website?

We judge that we were.

In 2015, we published another controversial image – the photograph of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean. At a time when the migration crisis was being used and abused by populist politicians and right-wing newspapers set upon provoking anger, it was right that people should instead be confronted with the facts, and in the most graphic form.