Lina Issa
Bruises of Exodus
Lina Issa is a young and courageous photographer, presently working on the frontlines of conflict zones. She has worked with BBC, Baghdad-Iraq, NBC Channel, Erbil-Iraq, Hargul kurdish Newspaper, Spotlight newspaper etc. She has documented the troubled borders of Iraq and Syria. Her works are published widely, and her powerful photographs bring to light the challenges of people migrating due to the dreadful impact of conflict. This will be her first exhibition, and we are confident that her talents and determination will take her to newer heights.
Bruises of Exodus
The pictures in this series were shot in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2017 when the government army was liberating the city from terrorist elements, especially the so-called Islamic State. By then, the terrorists had been controlling the city and large parts of the country for over three years. The liberation operations in Mosul by the army went on for almost eight months during which the city witnessed a large-scale exodus of its residents from one area to another to escape the relentless bombing and gunfights between the two sides. Most of the displaced were children, women, and the elderly who lost their homes in the bombing. For a long time, many of them couldn't leave their homes as the terrorists were using them as human shields and didn't allow them to move out. The six-month-long siege of the city aggravated the miseries of ordinary people as they ran out of food and other essential items. Currently, many residents are living in camps outside the city. They won't be able to return to the city as many parts of it are still unsafe. Also, most of them don't have any money to rebuild their houses. The Iraqi government hasn't been able to find a solution to this issue so far. The government also fears that the city still has terrorist sleeper cells that are waiting to recapture the area if the government loosens its control. The government continues to try and control the situation there, especially the part that concerns sleeping cells.