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Invisible Soldiers: Homeless Iraq War VeteransSince the war in Iraq began, about 130,000 veterans have returned home. Although the 67 known cases of Iraq veterans ending up homeless may seem like a small number, the people providing services for them are alarmed. "We know this is the tip of the iceberg, because vets tend to be a group that doesn't seek out help," says Ricky Singh of the Brooklyn based group Black Veterans for Social Justice who is aiding over 100 Iraq vetts, 30 of which are homeless. On any given night, there are somewhere between 300,000-500,000 homeless veterans, most of them from Vietnam. However, it took 9-12 years before Vietnam veterans ended up on the streeets. The people providing services for the homeless Iraq veterans are so alarmed becuase its taken less than two years for people to start ending up homeless, and they fear that it may turn into another massive problem for the country.

Herold Noel

Noel, 25, was born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn. He enlisted in the army in September 2000. He was attracted by both the promised benefits and the chance to "see some new scenery." Noel served in the 3rd Infantry Division 7th Cavalry as part of the original invasion force, working in fuel re-supply. He witnessed serious battle carnage soon after he crossed into southern Iraq. He also watched friends lose life and limb as his unit was repeatedly ambushed by rebels near Falluja. He left Iraq in August 2003. When he returned home, Noel was a changed man and found it difficult to keep a steady job. He, his wife and three children slipped through an almost nonexistent safety net and quickly became homeless.

6 pictures, last one added on Apr 02, 2005

Nicole Goodwin

Nicole Goodwin was one of the first Iraq war veterans to end up homeless. Her daughter, Shylah, was only a few months old when Nicole left for Iraq. Soon after her return to the United States, Nicole and her daughter found themselves homeless. After weeks of struggle with the Department of Homeless Services, spending her nights on buses and in shelters with her baby, Nicole found a place to live after being profiled by the New York Times and receiving approximately $17,000 in donations. She now lives in Harlem.

4 pictures, last one added on Apr 02, 2005

Wanda Borders

Borders has been homeless the majority of the time that she's been in the military, since she switched from active duty to reserves in 2000 (excluding the time when she was recalled for active duty to go to Iraq.) Borders was in Iraq a total of 10.5 months, and left in February 2004. She has two children, Alaysha, aged 3 and Kayriece, aged 4. Alaysha was one when she left for Iraq, and stayed with her grandmother while she was away. When she returned, after trying to live in her grandmother’s two-bedroom apartment with 8 people, she moved into a shelter for two years. She quickly became homeless again after returning from Iraq and now stays with her Godmother in a project building in the South Bronx.

3 pictures, last one added on Apr 03, 2005

IraqIn the past half-century, Iraqis have lived through 35 years of the brutally repressive regime of Saddam Hussein and the Baath party, 8 years of the bloody Iran-Iraq war during which there were more than 1 million casualties, the Gulf War, 11 years of crippling sanctions which were responsible for the deaths of 500,000 to 1.5 million children (depending on which source you site), as well as the current war and occupation of their country by US led forces. People now struggle just to meet basic needs as there is precious little food, water and electricity for much of the country. While most Iraqis were happy to see Saddam go, support for the continuation of a US military presence in their country has dropped to almost nil as a result of everything that has transpired since the war officially ended.

The General Company for Vegetable Oils Industry

The vegetable oil company produces cooking oil, hand soap, laundry detergent, shaving cream, and shampoo. In July of 2003, the company’s manager was shot to death with his driver. Press reports speculated that the manager was murdered because he was in favour of privatizing the plant in the midst of the new economic changes being imposed throughout Iraq, but workers are convinced that he was killed because he opposed the plan. A new manager who was in favor of privatizing the plant took over, and a fight where shots were fired and the manger's bodyguard was stabbed three times in the back broke out between the management and workers. If the factory is privatized, two thirds of the wokers will lose their jobs, their only way of making a living.

5 pictures, last one added on Jul 06, 2004

The Light Industries Company Refrigerator Factory

The refrigerator factory was completely burned and looted after the war officially ended. Sabah Asaad, managing director of the refrigerator factory outside Baghdad, told us that while the looting was going on, he went to a nearby U.S. Army base and begged for help. “I asked one of the officers to send two soldiers and a vehicle to help me kick out the looters. I was crying. The officer said, ‘Sorry, we can’t do anything, we need an order from President Bush.’” Back in Washington, Donald Rumsfeld shrugged. “Free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.”

5 pictures, last one added on Jul 06, 2004

Electricity and water

Since the war began, Iraqi people have struggled with electricity and water shortages. Electricity is sporadic in most areas, and in some neighborhoods, people have gone without water altogether. In the summer, temperatures can reach 120 ºF, and so going without water is a dire situation. The nature of electricity and water is interdependent, since water pumps are dependent on electricity to run. Electricity is also needed to run coolers in extreme temperatures. In Sad'r City and other poor areas, people have been forced to drink water known to be contaminated with cholera and typhoid since there is no other alternative.

5 pictures, last one added on Jul 06, 2004

Destroyed buildings

Walking around Baghdad can be like walking through an eerie dreamscape. Destroyed buildings are everywhere, sometimes the grid blinks out at night and it becomes so black that its difficult to see five feet in front of you. All of the destroyed buildings are like post-apocalyptic work stations for scavengers, as people hunt through the rubble looking for anything of value that can be sold.

4 pictures, last one added on Jul 06, 2004

Advertising billboards and flood of cheap imports into Baghdad

The Karrada business district in Baghdad is starting to look like an Iraqi Times Square. New advertising billboards spring up daily, heralding the flood of cheap imports. Since the war officially ended, cheap imports have flooded the country and made it almost impossible for Iraqi companies to compete, which has put many state-run companies out of business.

6 pictures, last one added on Jul 07, 2004

Blast walls

Blast walls are everywhere in Baghdad, and are used to provide protection against explosions. During the time of Coalition Provisional Authority administrator Paul Bremer, they were nicknamed by Iraqis "Bremer walls," in refernece to the fact that since he assumed power they had taken over the city.

1 pictures, last one added on Jul 07, 2004

Mount Lebanon Hotel

On March 17, 2004 the largest attack of its type to date rocked Baghdad. The target was the Mount Lebanon Hotel, where it was believed that there were foreign contractors staying. Instead the blast leveled a block of Iraqi flats, and early reports stated that there were at least 27 dead.

1 pictures, last one added on Jul 07, 2004

Moqtada al-Sad'r

Muqtada Al-Sad’r is a firebrand young cleric who quickly turned himself from a marginal figure into a national hero as he made a radical stance against the US led occupation of Iraq. Although not all Shiite Muslims trust his political aspirations, he has a wide following in poor Shiite areas. The Mahdi Army, the militia that has organized under him was originally started to provide security in Shiite areas and to provide services like traffic direction and garbage collection in the failure of the coalition forces to do so. They have since gone on offensives around the country and successfully taken and held several cities and neighborhoods.

7 pictures, last one added on Jul 07, 2004

Al Muajaha, Iraq’s first independent newspaper

Directly after the war officially ended, a group of Iraqi students got together with Chicago based anti-sanctions group Voices in the Wilderness and started Al-Muajaha (The Iraqi Witness), Iraq’s first independent newspaper. Al Muajaha aims to fill the information gap between Iraq and the rest of the world, to help the world understand Iraq and to help Iraqis understand the world, especially after the long period of isolation that Iraq has been through over recent years. The newspaper is all volunteer run and exists from donations made by individuals and foundations.

1 pictures, last one added on Sep 09, 2004

Attack on Sad'r City

In response to Muqtada Al-Sad'r and the Mahdi Army's radical stance against the occupation, US forces moved in to Sad'r City in early April 2004 and began attacking portions of the Baghdad neighborhood. Although the excact figure of Iraqi casulalties is unknwown, hospitals reported them in the hundreds.

15 pictures, last one added on Jul 07, 2004

Kurdistan

2 pictures, last one added on Sep 09, 2004

Squatter Camps Around Baghdad

Since the war officially ended, Iraqi people have slid further and further into poverty, creating a sizeable homeless community. People have resorted to squatting the many abandoned buildings and have created communities of mutual aid and support to survive. People have also squatted large garbage dumps and built makeshift homes in them, as they scavenge through the debris trying to find recyclable materials that can be sold.

11 pictures, last one added on Mar 30, 2005

The People of Sad’r City

Sad’r City, a neighborhood within Baghdad, is home to two million people and one of the poorest areas in the city. Being a Shiite area, it was largely neglected under the rule of Saddam Hussein and continues to slide further into poverty today. However, people have banded together in the communities there and there is an extensive network of mutual aid and solidarity that exists. Although poor, the community remains alive and vibrant throughout all the oppression the people have faced.

2 pictures, last one added on Sep 09, 2004

Protest

After the first anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the country erupted into protest against the occupation. These protests spread and grew until US troops started opening fire on unarmed protesters. The protests waned, and turned to open combat around Baghdad and throughout the country.

10 pictures, last one added on Mar 30, 2005

Doctors without Borders in Iraq

Médecins Sans Frontières (also known as Doctors Without Borders or MSF) delivers emergency aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics, and natural and man-made disasters, and to others who lack health care due to social or geographical isolation. The group has been in Iraq since before the war and operates three clinics in the Sad’r City that have held over 100,000 consultations since January. They were planning to open another center in Fallujah, but have terminated operations in Iraq as "It has become impossible for MSF as an organization to guarantee an acceptable level of security for our staff, be they foreign or Iraqi," said Gorik Ooms, general director of the organization in Belgium.

1 pictures, last one added on Sep 09, 2004

GreenlandThe US Air Force evicted the Inuit of the Thule region from their traditional hunting lands in 1953, when they came to build a base there. They gave them four days to leave the place they and their ancestors had been living for close to 1000 years, promising them new modern homes with electricity that never materialized. In 1968, the US Air Force crashed a B52 bomber carrying four MK28 nuclear weapons into the ice, forever contaminating their hunting grounds. Since then, they have created a new home for themselves in the town of Qaanaaq, the second most northerly town on the planet, and are fighting in international court to regain their land. They have retained their relationship with the animals, the land, and the weather that play such a defining role in the austere arctic environment, while coming face to face with the modern world in a very short period of time.

Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)

7 pictures, last one added on Aug 07, 2004

CalcuttaCalcutta is infamous for its poverty and is one of the worst examples of urban decay that there is in the world. It is home to 100,000 street children, 150,000 slum dwellers, and 200,000 homeless people. 50% of Calcutta’s residents live below the international poverty line. Street children are incredibly vulnerable to drugs and prostitution. All slums in Calcutta have been deemed illegal, and therefore face frequent demolitions by police. However many problems the poor in Calcutta face, they rely on very tight-knit communities of extended family and friends to survive, and it is these warm and vibrant communities of support that makes life bearable.

Street kids and slum-dwellers

7 pictures, last one added on Sep 27, 2004

Protests against the Republican National ConventionAn unprecedented number of anti-RNC events swept New York City during the week of August 29-September 4, 2004. Some highlights include a 5000 bicycle strong Critical Mass, a banner drop on the Plaza Hotel, ACT-UP activists disrupting White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card's speech, 500,000+ people flooding the streets during the mass march on the 29th, the gathering in Central Park of thousands after the march defying the Mayor's ban on a rally there, the 'Mouse Bloc's' disruption of Republican delegates excursions to Broadway plays, The A31 day of direct action which included street parties, spontaneous marches, die-ins, and sit-ins blocking delegates, the 'Billionaires for Bush' hilarious street theater interventions all over the city, and a candlelight vigil in Union Square to remember those who have died as a result of the Bush Administration’s policies. The protests were the largest against a political convention in U.S. history, and police arrested more than 1700 people. Of course the events are too numerous to mention here, for a full archive of coverage of the events, visit nyc.indymedia.org.

Banner Drop on the Plaza Hotel

A group of activists calling themselves "Operation Sibyl," describing themselves as a concerned group of students and professionals, dropped a banner off of the Plaza Hotel on 58th St. and 5th Ave the morning of August 26. The banner read "Bush" with an arrow pointing one way, and "Truth," with an arrow pointing in the other direction. Police were slow to respond, and by the time they arrived on the scene the banner was ready to be unfurled. Police attempted to rush up with a team of specialists equipped with climbing gear and stop the banner from being dropped, but arrived too late.

6 pictures, last one added on Aug 26, 2004

Critical Mass

The ride was New York's largest Critical Mass, with well over 5,000 bikes. Critical Mass consisted of a 45 block long brigade of cyclists, skaters and pedestrians. The ride lasted about 2 hours, went through Times Square and Madison Square Garden (MSG), site of the RNC. Approximately 800 Critical Mass bicyclists ended up at St. Mark's church in lower Manhattan, home to much of the organizing for the counter RNC mobilizing. Police arrived and began arresting participants. Critical Mass riders elsewhere were caught and arrested by New York City Police along the way. Several riders were taken down after passing MSG, dozens more were arrested at the Lincoln Tunnel. Some of the arrests made were extremely violent, and the total number of arrestees reached 264.

3 pictures, last one added on Aug 28, 2004

A31 Day of Autonomous Actions

A documentation of events surrounding the "Shout Heard Around the World" A31 day of autonomous actions during protests against the Republican National Convention.

13 pictures, last one added on Sep 02, 2004

A29 United for Peace and Justice March and Other Actions

A documentation of events surrounding protests on A29. The day proved to be the largest protest in history against a U.S. president, with over 500,000 peole participating in the UFPJ march and actions happeing all over the city into the evening.

16 pictures, last one added on Sep 03, 2004

MaasaiAs tourism becomes more widespread throughout the Maasai Mara in southern Kenya, the Maasai are more exposed to western culture. As a result their economy is moving from being based on cattle to being based on tourism and currency. This has made them less self-sufficient and led to rapid cultural loss. The irony of it is that although they have been displaced from their land to create game preserves to protect the abundant wildlife in the area, the Maasai are the original conservationists in the vicinity. They are most likely the reason that the region still has so many thriving species. The only reason a Maasai will kill an animal other than their stock of cattle and goats is if it attacks one of their people or livestock. Still, through all the changes, the Maasai have retained more of their vibrant and colorful culture than most other African tribes. They are truly a people in transition, as many of them straddle traditional and modern ways of living.

A rapidly changing Mara

8 pictures, last one added on Sep 22, 2004

Robert Biswas-Diener

Robert Biswas-Diener is a cross-cultural psychologist who does research on subjective well-being, or happiness. His work focuses on what gives rise to a sense of emotional well-being along different cultural and economic lines. He has worked with the Inuit of Northern Greenland, the Maasai, street children, slum dwellers and sex workers in Calcutta, homeless people in Fresno, California, and the Amish in Illinois. In this gallery he is shown working with the Maasai of Southern Kenya.

7 pictures, last one added on Sep 27, 2004

Argentina's economic collapse and popular uprisingIn the winter of 2001, Argentina defaulted on its loans of more than 132 billion, the first time a country had done so in years. From this moment the economy was in free fall. People began looting shops and supermarkets so they could feed their families. The president, Fernando De La Rua, declared a state of emergency, suspending all constitutional rights, and banning meetings of more than three people. Over a million people took part in protest in Buenos Aires alone. That night the finance minister resigned, and over the next 24 hours of street protest, police killed 22 demonstrators. The president resigned shortly thereafter, and was evacuated from the presidential palace by helicopter. Within a fortnight four more governments fell.

Piqueteros

The piqueteros are a movement of the poor and unemployed who use road blockades and the economic disruption they cause to demand food, jobs and housing. Their unnoficial symbol is a burning tire, which they use to create barricades when they block roadways. Besides their impressive protest tactics, they also organize in their neighborhoods to provide each other with food and to create alternative economic structures in the face of poverty and rising unemployment.

5 pictures, last one added on Aug 20, 2004

Ahorristas

The ahorristas are a movement of the middle class that began when the government froze bank accounts across the country to prevent a run on the banks as the economy went into free-fall. They hold regular demonstrations outside of banks demanding that their money be returned, and regularly attack ATMs, armored cars and the banks themselves.

2 pictures, last one added on Aug 20, 2004

The Mothers of the Disappeared

The Mothers of the Disappeared (or Madres de la Plaza de Mayo) became internationally famous when they defied the ban on public gatherings and came out into the central square holding candles and demanded to know where their children were. Since then they have become a symbol of Argentinean resistance, and run a cafe in and infoshop in Buenos Aires that is a hub for activists and social movements.

1 pictures, last one added on Aug 20, 2004

Cancún: Protests against the World Trade OrganizationThe protests against the WTO in Cancún kicked off with the suicide of Lee Kyung-Hae, a Korean farmer who traveled halfway across the world to climb atop the security fence and plunge a knife into his heart, while wearing a sign that said “WTO Kills Farmers.” Although his was a tragic death, his act made a lasting impact. As a result of the protests both outside and within the meetings themselves, The WTO talks completely collapsed after the Kenyan representative of the Group of 22 (the developing-world alliance of 22 nations, led by Brazil, India and China, which represent more than half the world's people and about 80% of its farmers) said, "The meeting is over. This is another Seattle," and walked out on the last day of the conference.

On September 9th, the opening day of the demonstrations, there was a march up to the security fence that remained peaceful. The air was festive, with many people wearing colorful costumes and dancing in the streets. A ritual ceremony was performed where seeds were offered up by campesinos (farmers from Mexico and other parts of latin america) in symbolic protest of the WTO's agricultural policies.

4 pictures, last one added on Mar 31, 2005

S10

On the second day of the protests, a Korean farmer climbed on top of the security fence and plunged a knife into his heart while wearing a sign that said "The WTO Kills Farmers." He died soon after in a local hospital. As soon as he was dragged away, the crowd erupted in anger and tore the security fence down. Clashes with police ensued, and the rioting contiinued for hours.

12 pictures, last one added on Mar 30, 2005

S11

On the third day of the protests memorials were erected to the memory of Lee Kyung-Hai and things were mainly quiet as plans were laid for the coming days. In the evening there was a cacerolazo (a traditional Argentinean form of protest involving banging pots and pans as a symbol of hunger) which ended with a mass moment of silence at Kilometer Zero, where Lee Kyung-Hai took his life.

5 pictures, last one added on Mar 31, 2005

S12

On the fourth day of the protests, activists infiltrated the secure Zona Hotelera where the WTO was meeting by disguising themselves as tourists. A few hundred protesters converged directly in front of the conference center and blocked the street for some some hours. They then negotiated with the authorities for a bus to take them back out of the Zona Hotelera and there was a triumphant ride on the roof of the bus through the streets of Cancun.

6 pictures, last one added on Mar 31, 2005

S13

On the final day of the protests, after a march to the security fence, women from around the world gathered around it with bolt cutters in front of the crowd and began to dismantle it. When they had taken out most of the infastructure of the fence, the Korean delegation came up to the fence with massive coils of rope, attached them to thee fence and threw the lengths out into the crowd. The crowd heaved on the ropes again again until the fence was completely destroyed.

6 pictures, last one added on Mar 31, 2005

Independent media photography exhibit featuring Andrew SternGigantic Art Space (GAS) http://giganticartspace.com
59 Frankin St. (btwn Layfayette and Broadway)
NYC
August 19th - September 6th

The show opened on the 19th and was a huge success and great party, but is now down. If you missed it, you can view the work in the album "Iraq photo exhibition." My portion of the show is from two different trips to Iraq: one in June/July of 2003 and the other in March/April of 2004. The work reflects two different very different periods for the Iraqi people as they struggle against the massive force of repression that the U.S. led occupation has unleashed upon them. GAS has made a selection of prints and will keep them for sale in their flat collection, which is available for viewing by appointment.

Opening night