My 2016 pictures in Iraq and Syria
Happy New Year!
I want to share some pictures of places I have seen and people I met during this past year.
The sun doesn’t always rise in Qayyara
Last month I travelled with photographer Joey L. in Iraq and Syria. In the first part of the journey we worked with Oxfam around Mosul area. It was an amazing reporting experience, especially in Qayyara where the burning oil wells, set on fire by ISIS while retreating. The scene is almost apocalyptic. Oxfam is doing an amazing job on the ground. I have seen first-hand.
The Sunday Times Magazine published Joey’s amazing pictures and my article with the title: “The Day the Sun Never Rose.” Below you will find the longer version of it.
QAYYARA (Iraq) – A haze of thick black smoke obscured the view of the sky. The only source of illumination was a wall of flames at least three-stories high. A constant humming drone came from boiling oil which looked like lava ready to spill out from a volcano. Suddenly a small pin prick of light revealed itself through the thick, noxious clouds- a reminder that it was actually the middle of the day.
Hashd Al-Shaabi, the Shia militia in Iraq recruiting Sunni and Christians
It has been described as unpredictable, sometime violent but the Shia militia Hashd Al Shaabi, also known as Popular Mobilization Front, is gaining momentum in Iraq.
Hashd al Shaabi, was formed in 2014 as the Iraqi Army was defeated by the Islamic State in several areas of the country. In September 2015 the Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared at the UN General Security Council they were part of the official state forces. Hashd Al Shaabi takes order directly from Baghdad.
When a fiery oil well in Iraq becomes a playground for children
Qayyarah, Iraq – Ayad leans against the black wall of a partially destroyed home, gripping an AK-47 in his hands.
He takes a deep breath and sprints across the road, between puddles of spilled oil, towards another house that he imagines is full of fighters. Ayad is followed by five fellow soldiers. Ahead of them, tongues of fire lick upwards from burning oil wells. The scene is apocalyptic.
Suddenly, a worker shouts towards Ayad and his group: “Get away from there, kids – it’s dangerous.”
