Streets of one the cities we visited in North Iraq.
Since 2014 more than 3 million Iraqis have been displaced due to the ISIS war in Iraq. During that time many Iraqins were forced to find asylum in other countries, but for those who remained to rebuild their lives they faced a different set of challenges. That in particular was having the finances to rebuild their lives.
Unlike many countries around the world where banks provide a lot of security with holding our money for us, in Iraq the bank system doesn't provide the same level of security. So only a fifth of the population actually have bank accounts and attempt to secure their life savings themself. Doing so created a big problem for displaced Iraqins as everything they owned was not digitized, making it harder to transport their savings and worst meant when ISIS took over towns, they took everything people owned.
The Micro Loan Solution
The organisation we worked with saw these people were in need, but rather than just giving people hand outs they wanted to do something more sustainable and empowering. It's like the good old saying, you can give someone a fish and he has a meal for a day, or you can give him the tools to fish and he has food for a life time.
So it was simple, they gave internally displaced people a small loan to help them start up their businesses again, then they had one year to pay it back off. Now due to their resilient hard working nature, alongside the level of honour and integrity these people hold amongst their communities. They had a 100% success with every single project paying back their loans within the first year.
Doing so both helped all these displaced people and families get back on their feet, and ofcourse helped the economy get back into motion.
Below is a series of photos documenting some of the projects we visited in Iraq. Due to security issues most peoples faces, locations and the name of the organisation has remained secret. If you wish to find out more visit the partnered organisation Open Doors.
Project: Hydro Power
In this remote area in Erbil, North Iraq, a lot of homes didn't have access to power. So this project focuses on providing power to the neighbouring area using Hydro power.
Project: Taziki Factory
After the Hydro power project we weaved our way through the hills in North Erbil to a hidden taziki factory. When I heard "factory" I didn't picture a stone structure with a corrugated roof tucked on the side of the road. Never the less though this project has equipped the locals in this area with everything they need to produce, and earn an income selling taziki.
The Iraq Shepherd
When we arrived to the project there was no one around apart from this one man who was taking care of his goats not far from us. So ofcourse being a group of strangers in the middle of no where we "introduced" ourselves to each other, and despite the language barrier we still had a very warm encounter.
After waiting a moment listening to our guide and this man talk, I had to ask if it would be ok if I could take his portrait. The man happily agreed. At first I took his portrait outside but the natural sunlight was very harsh, but to my luck I found this empty room inside the taziki factory that provided the perfect environment. It was almost completely empty, had this nice rendered concrete room and a single window to the side that was filthy, so it defused the light beautifully.
I never had the chance to learn more about this man, not even his name, only that he is a goat shepherd in Iraq. His portrait though still remains one of my favourite portraits I've taken to date, maybe because his story remains a mystery yet his portrait says so much.
Telling stories through hands
As a documentary photographer working for Non Profits it's all about helping connect supporters with the people they are helping. How am I suppose to connect them with the people though if I'm unable to show their faces due to potential security risks.
I had a similar experience when working with sex traffic survivors in India on a previous trip, so what I did instead was focus on telling their stories through their hands. So adopting that same solution I started to create a series of images that showcase each person standing in the store, whilst holding something that reflects what they do.
The following days we then visited multiple projects in different towns and cities, from cafe owners, barbers, dry cleaners, shop owners and more.
Cafe owner who lost everything during the wars, and was able to rebuild his cafes.
Photographer who was able to purchase a storefront, all the gear he needed and offered photography services.
Pastor of a church standing in his Church's shop that sold religous materials and goods.
Man who was able to purchase a barber shop and run his barber business.
Project: The Medical Centre
One of the final projects we visited during our time in Iraq was a medical centre the organisation helped set up. Here they are able to give people access to all their medical needs.
Humans are Resilient
We often see on the news stories of war, destruction, devestation but not so much about what follows the aftermath.
Not dismissing the physical and emotional scars some people will carry with them for the rest of their lives, what's always a beautiful story though is how humans always come together and rebuild. No matter how deep those scars may be or how many times we may get knocked down, humans always manage to get back up and rebuild.
So meeting these people, visiting these projects and seeing how they've rebuilt despite how hard things were is nothing less than inspiring.