They call themselves the Yalu River Swimmer’s Association, and some of them have been swimming together for 20 years or more. While on assignment in Dandong, China last December, ZUMA photographer Elijah Hurwitz happened upon a group of swimmers who took their laps in unlikely waters: the Yalu River. It’s a 500-mile long waterway that borders China’s Liaoning province on one side, and North Korea on the other. ‘The stronger swimmers will sometimes cross the entire width and then rest in the shallows of Sinuiju, North Korea before swimming back, but nobody I spoke with has ever run into trouble with North Korean border guards,’ Hurwitz said. ‘As long as they stay in the water they seem to be left alone.’ When Hurwitz first noticed people swimming in the river, it was about zero degrees Fahrenheit outside, cold enough that his camera batteries barely lasted. The swimmers, however, were doing laps in half-frozen water, many of them without wetsuits. ‘Seeing their big smiles and gusto for life felt like a stark contrast to the barren landscape of North Korea on the opposite shore and the doomsday specter of nuclear war,’ Hurwitz said.

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ZUMA’s talented staff Ruaridh Stewart, Julie Rogers, Mark Avery, Shalan Stewart, Seth Greenberg and POM Editor Jim Colton contributed to this show.

Photographers:
Alex Edelman • Andrew Mccaren • Arne Dedert • Martin Rickett • Ashraf Amra • Brett Coomer• Brian Lawless • Cheng Min • Colin Lane • Curtis Compton • Danil Aikin • Danny Lawson • David Davies• David Jensen • Dawoud Abo Alkas • Dimitris Lampropoulos • Dirk Waem • Dong Jun • Edward A. Ornelas • Evandro Inetti • Faisal Khan • Fang Dongxu • Feng Jun • Franck Dubray • G. Ronald Lopez • Go Nakamura • Hao Qunying • Ian West • Irene Perez • Joe Giddens • John Sheene • Joshua Sudock • Kay Nietfeld • Kristin Callahan Li Ziheng • Liu Shuyi • Mahmoud Ajour • Mahmoud Issa • Marc Ollivier • Marijan Murat • Mark Thomas • Martin Rickett • Matt Alexander • MD Mehedi Hasan • Mike Egerton • Mikhail Tereshchenko • Monika Skolimowska • Nathan Denette • Omar Marques • Patrick Pleul • Peng Huan • Pete Maclaine • Peter Hartenfelser • Phil Noble • Rodrigo Reyes Marin Ron Sachs • Ronen Tivony • Rouelle Umali • Samer Abdballah • Sebastian Kahnert • Sebastiao Moreira • Simon Cooper • Stefan Rousseau • Tom Williams • Vit Simanek • William T Wade Jr • Wissam Nassar • Yorick Jansens • Yuri Smityuk.

Agencies:
Ace Pictures • AFLO • APA • Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Belga • CNP • CQ Roll Call •   CTK• Depo Photos • DPA • EFE • Eurokinissi • The Orange County Register • Houston Chronicle • i-Images • Imago • Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps • Kika Press • London News Pictures • Maxppp • Metro Nashville Police Department • Mirrorpix • Newscom • NurPhoto • PA Wire • Pacific Press• Panoramic • Quds Net News • Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department • San Diego Union-Tribune • SanAntonio • Express-News • SIPA Asia • SOPA Images • Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets • TASS • The Canadian Press • The Orange County Register • TPG • Xinhua.

‘I love horses. Riding a horse makes me happy.. it makes me feel free.. sometimes it feels like flying’ proclaims 11 year old Muhtle, who has been riding horses since the age of three. In the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, horse culture plays a significant part of society, which can be seen through the communities in regard to the animal’s high economic and social value. To the people of the Eastern Cape horses are sometimes the only mode of transport to conquer the mountainous environment, and they are vital to the functionality of the community. Daily life in the remote rural villages has not changed much in the last thirty years. Politicians have made many promises, but large parts of the rural areas are still underdeveloped and remote. Public schools are heavily under resourced and student drop out rates are soaring. The majority of people live without reliable electricity, running water, or sanitation. There exist no cinemas, theaters, social clubs, youth organizations, arts clubs, and other kinds of entertainment or luxury. Small taverns are one of the few alternatives, and alcohol consumption is excessive and accepted as a part of the culture. At over 35 percent, the Eastern Cape Province has by far the highest provincial unemployment rate in South Africa.

“Thank you ZUMA Press for your support of  my documentary photojournalism on an intimate scale from my Pulitzer Prize winning series “A Mother’s Journey,” to my Eppy award winning project “No  Safe Place,” that chronicled Afghan Refugees who were granted Special Immigrant Visas for serving with U.S. Troops in Afghanistan but were sought out to be killed by the Taliban. Instead of arriving to a safe place in the U.S. they faced poverty and violence.” – R. B.