Syria2013

Scars / Looking at the picture in this book give you a rare glimpse into a country at war. It is not a book which tells you a given truth, nor the opposite – I see a people which have been separated by a war which is destroying future. probably for a long time to come…The Future for the comming generations – for children who have to grow up without a parent or parents. parents have to continue their life without a child or children – families separated and scared for life. The contrasts between the dailylife in Damaskus, and the fighting in Aleppo are gigantic – it is  hard to comprehend how life can look so different from another in the same country, the same conflict – the same war.

There are an innocence to these picture – an innocence which gives the pictures a great value. Ii is a true journey into a conflict in an honest investigative form – a traveller who opened his eyes to what was going on in front of him, weather it was a scene form everyday life in the streets, or fighters who rest – a man who shows his tattoos, or a woman in grief over a lost husband. The modern life in Damaskus are a big contrast to the life at the frontlines – I sit back wondering about the other side of the war – their lifes, their thoughts.. The book makes me reflect upon the differences of a frontline – of a war. And for me, this is the most important. The pictures leave me with questions, not answers – it makes me reflect and never leaves me “ not caring” – it makes me want to know more and understand. This is what photojournalism is all about !

Jan Grarup / Copenhagen – Jan 20 – 2016