This photograph was shot deep within Tamil Tiger territory in Sri Lanka in 2007. I was just out of university and this trip was one of my first as a photojournalist, when I was dreaming about being a war photographer. With no experience or media contacts, it took me a year to get the story published; it ran eventually in VICE magazine. Most of the pictures were of soldiers with guns, or suffering victims.

A few years ago I had a look through all the material form the trip, and I discovered this picture. The boy worked at a local police station and his job was to protect the remains of killed Tamil civilians (at least that’s what they told me). Back in 2007 I didn’t even consider including this image in the edit, which was all about the action. Today, I think this picture is the strongest one I shot during that trip.

Maiken Stene

Stephanie Von Spreter