Unhealed wounds
In October 2019, thousands of Iraqi youth went on the street to protest against corruption, unemployment, and poverty. It was called Thawra Tishreen- October Revolution- a romanticized title that Iraqis are not unfamiliar with. It happened at least six times in modern Iraqi history. These protests that had shaken Baghdad and other major cities, mainly in the south of Iraq, weren't tolerated by the same people they were protesting against, the Iranian-backed Shiite militias. It left at least 600 protesters, activists, journalists and lawyers killed, either shot dead during the protests or assassinated afterward. Thawra Tishreen failed, but its dreams were carried by many young people in the country of revolutions and counter-revolutions. On the other hand, the threat of armed militias is still present in the streets of Baghdad, Basra, or Karbala. The victims' families are in deep grief without any sign of justice for their beloved ones. Iraqi society is long a fractured land. The existing sectarian gap widened by people in power and militiamen. Whoever wants to stand against them would be targeted this time regardless of their sector beliefs. The picture of those protesters killed in October 2019 onward can be seen on the broken walls of the narrow streets of Baghdad's Sadr neighborhood. The graffiti and slogans of Baghdad's Tahreer square are fading away, as the memories of other revolutions. Despite this, the survivors of the Tishreen revolutions and the families of the fallen victims want something to lean on. In this project, I have visited dozens of families who lost at least one family member during and after the 2019 protests. Most of the victims were young educated men and women who dreamed of a better and fairer Iraq. The project portrays a group of these victims through the eyes of their parents, friends, and comrades. Remembering them is the only way to carry their dreams. These photographs are taken in Baghdad, the holy city of Najaf, Karbala












