From Middle East with love

I have been practicing photography for two years; I was in photography classes or reading books and seeing the works of famous photographers.

One of those days, I received a book on the biography of Kaveh Golestan, a prominent photographer of the war. I read it twice in three days. Yes, I realized that a war photographer is sitting in me and he is ready to take a picture.

It is his grandmother's house, the ruins of which remain

But I had a question that remained unanswered;

Did not the photos of the war itself reproduce violence and war?

There is a famous saying that says:

Is war owed to war photographers or war photographers owed to war?

Susan Sontag was a great guide to all my questions ....

I decided to be a photographer in war zones to do anti-war activities, or at least to base my photography projects on humanitarian and anti-war activities.

I come from a Middle East that has always been the headline of news of war, political inflammation and revolution. Where the competition is not over welfare but over water, oil and access to the high seas.

I have come from lands where the lives of ordinary people are the last thing on their minds for political and partisan interests.

The city of Aleppo in Syria. An old alley where children played, but not any more.

Khaled ; He hangs the laundry of the family in the sun every day. Latakia Civil War Refugee Camp

These days, as I teach art and photography and send my resume to schools, a question that has been on my mind:

I dropped out of university for the sake of art, I took pictures of defenseless and lonely people in war-torn cities instead of photographing soldiers, tanks and missiles.

?I used to study all the aesthetic theories for days, or instead of appearing in the media, I played with children in areas affected by earthquakes or wars and told them about art, etc ...

Maryam, a girl who returned home after the earthquake. Azerbaijan Varzeqan village

Maryam's family on the first night after the earthquake

Who am I really and what should I call these experiences in my resume?

The photos below are what I did.

Would you say that I am a war photographer or an artist and anti-war activist? Maybe none.

Maybe instead of asking for and sending a resume, I should go back to what I know and the way I believe.

The children in the camp are now taking pictures after learning to work with the camera. Latakia Syria

Near the city of Idlib in Syria. Area under the control of the central government.The young girl approaches the screen regardless of the photography team and is playing

Damascus Opposition neighborhoods occupied by the central government. Three children playing and cycling

2015 The Syrian civil war continues and I am in a small town in central Syria. The city's stadium is destroyed but usable. Dozens of teenage boys and girls are fascinated by dance, and I, with the help of a grassroots campaign , open the stadium and invite families to watch their children dance.

I am negotiating with local Turkmen leaders after the floods to get their consent for doctors to visit village women.

I spend the night with the children and my team after the earthquake