[ Alvaro Ybarra Zavala ] - European External Action Service...[ 273 ] Ramadi, Iraq Since the beginning of the war Iraq has caught itself in a hornet’s nest with a very difficult

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[ Alvaro Ybarra Zavala ]

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Ramadi, IraqSince the beginning of the war Iraq has caught itself in a hornet’s nest with a very difficult exit. As a photographer I have tried to show a realistic view of real daily life, far away from politics, away from what is associated with the conflict and everything that comes with it. In general every war is analyzed from a political angle forgetting that, in most cases, the supporters are human beings.

Human beings form in one way or another part of the drama called Iraq. This is a drama that not only affects the Iraqis who have to say goodbye to their family before leaving their homes; it has also influenced the firmest beliefs of people who have voluntarily embarked in a conflict defending their values and who have with time seen themselves become relegated to a simple and primitive political weapon.

Iraq is the birthplace of broken ideals — a place without future — which for those who sur-vive marks them for life, regardless if they are Iraqi or part of the international forces. It is a scenario which every day suffers from increasing dehumanization and with every passing day becomes an even sadder and more forgotten armed conflict.

Iraq is a conflict forgotten by the media, as the coverage of the war diminishes day by day. Statistics and numbers are the only reality shown to the rest of the world to describe this tragedy. Since when can you summarise a human life into a figure? A conflict forgotten by the large non-governmental organisations who barely approach or speak about the situ-ation in Iraq. Why are they actually there? A conflict forgotten by the large powerful na-tions, who no longer see solutions to introduce order in a country which bleeds to death. As photographer I have committed myself to showing Iraq from the inside, from the daily life, from the familiar side. I wanted to show that daily life in Ramadi, Faluja, Baghdad… isn’t very different to ours in the tranquillity of our own homes. The only — and biggest — difference is that our days aren’t marked by death, while in Iraq they are.

alvaro yBarra Zavala

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A former member of the militia,

now member of the local police of Ramadi.

© Alvaro Ybarra Zavala / Agence VU /

Iraq, Ramadi, November 2006

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Landscape of central Ramadi.

Ramadi is still a battlefield for

the coalition forces.


Iraq, November 2006

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Iraqi police recruits line up to be screened

at Camp Defender, an Iraqi Army base linked to

the Americans' Camp Ramadi. These recruits will

become part of a new quick reaction police team

called the Emergency Response Unit.



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Ahmet, a former Suni militia man,

now works for the special unit

of the Iraqi police in the Karrada

neighbourhood in Baghdad.

© Alvaro Ybarra Zavala / Agence VU

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Iraqi police recruits wait to be screened at Camp

Defender, an Iraqi Army base linked to the

Americans' Camp Ramadi. These recruits will

become part of a new quick reaction police team

called the Emergency Response Unit.



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Policemen from the special unit of the

Karrada neighbourhood inside their base

before going out on patrol.


Iraq, Baghdad, November 2006

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Lieutenant Larson and Iraqi chief of the Iraqi

special police of Karranda neighbourhood

preparing a mission.



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Checkpoint on the road

to Ramadi from Baghadad.

(Iraqi policemen are ex-members

of a local Suni militia in Ramadi).



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>

Policemen from the special unit of the

Karrada neighbourhood inside their base

before going out on patrol.



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Police unit searching a house in their

own Karrada neighbourhood in Baghdad

with Bravo Company, second platoon

of the first cavalry division, from Fort

Hood, Texas, USA.



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Police unit searching a house in their

own Karrada neighbourhood in Baghdad

with Bravo Company, second platoon of

the first cavalry division, from Fort Hood,

Texas, USA



>

During a house search by Iraqi police

and American forces in the Karrada

neighbourhood of Baghdad, a policeman grabs a

little girl while her father is searched.



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>

Checkpoint on the road into Ramadi from

Baghadad. (Iraqi policemen

are ex-members of a local Suni

militia in Ramadi).



<

Iraqi police and US army working

together in a police station in Ramadi



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Major Megan Mc Lung, 43, from

Coupeville, is taking a picture of the

son of one of the most important tribal

families in Ramadi, the new ally of the

US army in Ramadi. The new strategy

of the US troops is to create an alliance

with the local Suni tribal groups to fight

against Al Qaeda.

One hour after this picture was taken,

Major Megan Mc Lung died in an ambush

set up with an IED (improvised explosive

device), in the territory of this tribal ally,

in Ramadi.



Documents

[ Alvaro Ybarra Zavala ] - European External Action Service...[ 273 ] Ramadi, Iraq Since the beginning of the war Iraq has caught itself in a hornet’s nest with a very difficult