Braving the scorching heat of the desert sun, 22-year-old Hayat Mohammed Nasser, went about doing her daily chores in the sunny province of Al Anbar, Iraq. She had everything she could have ever hoped for. However, one fateful day, a massive explosion near her house changed her life completely.
It all happened in a flash. Souls were separated, dreams shattered and in the midst of all the chaos, life ceased to exist. Every grain of sand reverberated with anguish and cries of the helpless. As death lingered in the air, the deafening sound of silence after the explosion brought forth a whole new realisation of how fragile our life is.
Heavily-pregnant with her first child, Hayat suffered horrible injuries due to the blast. She was worried that her child might never accept her the way she is now. Today, Baker is one year old and shares a deep bond with his mother.
Portraying the brutality of war in powerful visual imagery, humanitarian photojournalist Niko Guido’s heart-rending photographs have successfully managed to highlight the plight of war-torn societies.
An exhibition titled Leave Us Alone which is a part of the anti-war photography project by Guido kick started on March 23 in eight countries to mark the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war. The exhibition will go on till March 30 at Sublime Galleria.
Apart from showing how war has affected the lives of Iraqi civilians; his photographs are a stark reminder of how barbaric and ruthless mankind can be.
It was in 2010 that Niko Guido embarked on a journey to Amman, to capture portraits of Iraqi civilians who had undergone plastic surgeries. According to the photographer, today, it has become extremely difficult for documentary filmmakers and photographers to draw attention to the problems of the world and humankind.
“Let us be clear: Our brains are fed up by visual media and are no longer affected by powerful imagery like a few years ago. So, we decided to have an exhibition where we brought ‘the voices and the photographs’ together. On my last visit, an Iraqi, who had more than 30 operations done on his face, said, ‘We don’t want your civilisation, money or modern living... just leave us alone’,” said Niko Guido.
For this project, voices of each photographed Iraqi was recorded. The wounded civilians introduced themselves and reminisced about their lives before the bomb went off. They also revealed how that particular event altered their lives forever.
Rich in warm tones and minimal hues, each of the photographs displayed were powerful portrayals of the devastating effect of war on human lives.
However, one glance at Qusay Saleh Hussain’s portrait will also reveal that a few victims have restored their faith in humanity despite what they have been through.
The 22-year-old’s beautiful eyes gleam with joy as he smiles into the lens. ‘I am the happiest person on earth’, said the 22-year-old in his recording. He suffered severe burns on his hands and legs when a mini pickup truck exploded nearby. Shockingly, he was even issued a death certificate. However, his father refused to believe that he was dead. ‘My father entered the emergency room and said, “No, my son is not dead. He is still breathing. He is alive’, said Qusay.
Likewise, another photograph captures the warmth and innocence of an 8-year-old, Suru, who was born in Kirkuk, Iraq. Tragedy struck her life one day, when a truck loaded with bombs exploded while she was playing with her dolls at home. Due to the impact of the explosion, the fuel tank in the house exploded too.
Suru’s face was covered with flames and burnt completely. Doctors tried to replace and stitch burnt parts of her face with skin from other parts of her body. However, her body reacted badly to this treatment and rejected the skin which caused the stitched parts to fall off.
Following her portrait, Niko Guido wrote some emotionally powerful lines that described the current state of mind of all individuals and also accentuated on the importance of embracing sensitivity and kindness: It was an intense strain, aching pain that I felt in my heart when I first saw you. I was looking at you but alas without seeing you at all. Probably you noticed; I was hidden behind my camera, and even when I didn’t take the pictures I pretended as if I did. You, in return, smiled at me. That is when I perceived your beautiful eyes and the burn stains on your face slowly faded away. Then, you approached me and cuddled me. We stayed embraced for minutes, motionless. I kissed your beautiful eyes, and your pretty cheeks and caressed your scorched face. You held my hands strongly without letting them slip away. I felt disgraced. It was me who was utterly perplexed and trying not to look at you, trying to avoid you. I apologise in the name of humanity. You lost your family, friends and your future because of this war. Even if the whole world will close their eyes in order to avoid you, me and my friends will never close our eyes. We will keep them wide open and look directly at your beautiful face. Don’t sorrow my beauty, don’t be sad my beautiful princess. My tears are because I have finally seen you. See, I no longer avoid looking at you. Simply because you are so beautiful and we are so monstrous.