The photograph shows a boat carrying more than 300 Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees desperately trying to collect food supplies dropped by a Thai army helicopter in the Andaman Sea on May 14 last year.

“These are not art,” the person who captured this moment, Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Christophe Archambault, insisted during his talk before an audience of about 50 people at White Box, Publika, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Archambault was referring to the photo and several others related to the event on display at the ‘Odysseys: A Photographic Exhibition of Asia and Europe refugees crises by Agence France-Presse (AFP)’ event.

“It was a nightmare, a shock of emotions for us,” he said, as he remembered his experiences covering the incident.

Based in Bangkok, Thailand, Archambault and his team had responded to intelligence from an NGO, which said a boat of refugees was struggling through the tides of the Andaman Sea, close to the Thai-Malaysian border.

They then rented a boat and departed from Ko Lipe island, and encountered the boat of refugees by chance.

“They were yelling for help. The messages were simple enough. Help. Food. Water. We had gallons of water on board, and we gave it to them.

“Our boat stayed close to the vessel, for we thought by staying close, we would raise attention to the Thai authorities.” Archambault added.

According to the veteran photojournalist, the refugees were rescued by a fishermen’s boat large enough to accommodate them after a week of drifting at sea, and they were put on Indonesian shores.

Asked how the refugees felt when they were being photographed in their times of crisis, Archambault said: “They were so weakened after weeks of travelling in bad conditions.

"I believe they understood and knew that we needed to highlight this to the world… I think putting faces on these human tragedies will trigger more collective action from communities, from the politicians.”

The Odysseys photographic exhibition will be held at White Box, Publika, from June 7 till 18.