Throughout my life, I've always felt easier to look the other way when watching political or social events unfold. I'm not sure why, but it made it much easier to see things the way I wanted to see them. Whatever the media presented in front of me was all I needed to see. It's not that I felt apathy towards those who were suffering or exploited, but I never felt compassionate as well. It was easier to focus on my own world.

And then I saw a movie. After watching Michael Moore's film, Bowling for Columbine, I was filled with familiar feelings, yet unfamiliar thoughts. I felt anger and sadness differently because for once, it was not about me. Everything I didn't want to see was presented in such a way that I did not want to look in the other direction. As he uncovered more and more evidence about how the world, in particular the United States, acted in the political arena, I was more and more interested in seeing what else has been hidden from the public's eye.

I started browsing the internet and borrowing books at the public library to learn more about the conflict in the Middle East. Two books that really stood out for me were Deliberate Deceptions and Silent No More, both by Paul Findley. The more I looked, the more I became curious in the one sidedness of the conflict. As I scoured the internet for photographs, I ran across several images that changed the way I viewed the struggle in a land that many of us have never visited. Most of us are so isolated from the war that occurs in the Middle East that we have no true sense of what is happening. It's almost as if it's a far away land that only exists in our imagination or on CNN. We are safe in the haven of our living room and we know that we can always change the channel. That is the danger of living in isolation.

My purpose in this photo essay is not to uncover everything or to change anyone's mind, but rather, to document what I've learned so far. Do not be alarmed. Although they exist, I did not see the need to share the images of extreme cruelty and the product of daily violations of human rights. It's difficult to imagine, let alone actually see, that anyone who has a soul would be capable of the insanity that are evident in those photographs. May God have mercy on them.


(Photo: "Awakening" by Richard Calvo)