7.30pm, Thursday 9 February, in the Small Hall, Friends House, 173–177 Euston Road, London NW1 (opposite Euston station).
Organised by Peace News with Quaker Peace and Social Witness
Photojournalist Guy Smallman has been to Afghanistan four times, working independently of the NATO media system. He is the only western journalist to have visited the scene of the Granai massacre in which 147 people, including 93 children, were killed by NATO bombing. Just returned from his latest trip to Afghanistan this January, Guy will be talking about his work, which documents the everyday realities faced by ordinary Afghan civilians, realitities that are ignored or obscured in mainstream media coverage and in party political debates: struggles with poverty, drug abuse and unemployment, as well as the direct effect of the war. There will also be a screening of his short film “Fifteen million Afghans”.
You can view some of Guy’s photographs here: http://www.tinyurl.com/peacenews345
Former SAS soldier Ben Griffin served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2005, after three months in Baghdad, he left the British Army stating citing “illegal” tactics used by US forces there. In 2008 he stated: “I have no doubt in my mind that non-combatants I personally detained were handed over to the Americans and subsequently tortured”, and is now subject to a life-time gagging order, preventing him from talking further about the topic. He is a founder member of Veterans for Peace UK: http://veteransforpeace.org.uk
1 March 2012 onwards: “Afghanistan: Ten Years On” on tour
Peace News was honoured to be able to sponsor Guy Smallman’s stunning exhibition of photographs from Afghanistan for the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. “Afghanistan: Ten Years On” will soon be available for groups to host (it is appearing in Derry at the end of January). Please get in touch with the Peace News office on 020 7278 3344 if you are interested in hosting the exhibition. A copy of Guy’s 27-minute film about poverty in Afghanistan is also available to be shown on your opening night.
Guy has asked that the venue where the exhibition is shown must have free entry to the public, and preferably be close to a city or town centre. The full exhibition consists of 32 photographs. We can supply a version to fit the space available. The local host will have to raise around £100 towards the cost of the exhibition. This covers transportation (in person, by public transport) and hanging costs, including around £30 for velcro fastenings for the photograph (which are replaced at each venue).
To be a host for “Afghanistan: Ten Years On”, please phone the office on 020 7278 3344 or email your contact details to admin [at] peacenews.info. Some of Guy’s photos can be seen at: www.tinyurl.com/peacenews345
NB While the exhibition is about Afghanistan, it does not feature soldiers or warfare, and it does not contain any photographs unsuitable for children. It documents the lives of ordinary Afghans, struggling with poverty, drug abuse and unemployment, as well as the direct effects of the war.