Lee Hoagland -Current Location: Between Abu Dhabi & Dubai Magenta Flash Forward 2010 College Photographer of the Year IPPA NPPA VII New York Tim

Essays: Iraqi Kurdistan: A Work In Progress (on going)

The Kurds are the largest people without a country. In Iraq, at the beginning of Saddam Hussein's rule, there were 5,000 villages, at the end of it there were 500.

Today Iraqi Kurdistan, though riddled with problems, is quietly building itself up. This ongoing essay is an attempt to re-define this country's visual lexicon being ammassed by foreign media. Iraq has layers beyond war and occupation.

A young girl runs up towards Erbil's citadel. In the background are carpets with the faces of Mustafa Barzani, Massoud Barzani, and the Virgin Mary.
  
In Erbil (the capitol of Iraqi Kurdistan) new complexes are being built for the city's more affluent citizens.
   
Ebril: A man works on a construction site. Like this piece of land, much of the city must be built from the ground up after years of devastation.
     
  
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq:What started as a peaceful protest on February 17 turned into a violent explosion as government troops (mostly belonging to the PDK and PUK political parties) fired on and killed 10 unarmed civilians during a 5 day period. Rebin Hardi, seen here in an office, is a well known intellectual in Iraqi Kurdistan, primarily for his books on politics. When he heard about the violent aspect of the protests he went down to the square to convince everyone that the ony way to achieve change was through words, not fists. While trying to pacify the protestors he was picked up by plain clothes policemen, dragged to a bus and beaten severly before being carted off to prison.
   
A security checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Kurdistan's ruling party, the KDP.
   
A vendor in Sulaymaniyah's market prepares to greet potential customers.
     
  
A female university student plays tennis while her male counterparts look on.
  
Massoud, a young Iraqi Kurd sits in a barber shop where he is getting his face bleached. After years of persecution he, and others, can now focus on more frivolous acts of life.
  
This 14 year old boy was shot in the chest by government troops during a protest against corruption. Though much of Iraqi Kurdistan is blossoming it still has alot of issues to deal with.
     
  
A gun belonging to a member of PJAK, a communist guerilla group which uses mountains in Iraq as a base, rests on the wall of a hut. Their goal is to create an independent Kurdish state. The Kurds cannot decide what to think about them.
  
A dress shop in Erbil, next to it is one of the area's many liquor stores.
  
A vendor at Erbil's largest park sells cotton candy and sponge bob square pants balloons.
     
  
A soldier dressed in traditional Peshmerga clothing stands guard inside of Iraqi Kurdistan's parliament.
   
Haider, an Iraqi Kurd, spent most of his life in the Peshmerga. After years of fighting he is now trying his hand at farming.
   
A series of lights strung up on top of a fountain serves as a christian monument of sorts in Erbil. Different religions are are practiced by the Kurdish people, openly, without conflict.
     
  
A man waves good bye to a friend inside of Sulaymaniyah's main marketplace.