Young Iraqis look beyond war: ‘We have everything’

BAGHDAD – Mustafa Nader is sitting in his eclectically decorated bedroom in Baghdad, complete with an Arabic translation of George Orwell’s 1984, the pages of French novels pasted on his walls as wallpaper, and a jumble of camera boxes.

The young photographer is one of a new wave of young Iraqis hoping to convey a more positive image of their country – away from political whitewashing of Iraq’s problems, but also removed from the pictures of war, massacres and invading troops.

“My work has shown peace in the middle of war. I search for positive things,” Nader told Middle East Eye.

Everyday Iraq

He wanders the lanes of old Baghdad and while at the book market on al-Mutannabi street, he and a friend make a short film about their city. “Say something positive about Iraq,” they ask passers-by; the answers will form the thrust of his video story. Nader enters the neighbouring souk, selling stationery, fridge magnets and the odd sectarian flag, and creates an Instagram photo story.

Read the whole story from Middle East Eye.

Featured image courtesy of AP