J.B. Russell Images

Christianity came to Iraq in the first century AD. The Christians of Iraq are believed to be one of the longest continuous Christian communities in the world. The two thousand year presence of Christians in Iraq is in danger of coming to an end. In 2003, before the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States and its allies, there was an estimated 1.5 million Christians in Iraq, about 5% of the population. Fewer than 400,000 are thought to remain. In a single decade more than two thirds of Iraq’s Christians have fled the country. In recent years, the Christians of Iraq have been caught in the middle of Iraq's severe sectarian violence and Islamic fundamentalism. As a result, Iraq’s Christian community has become a victim of an open and systematic campaign to cleanse the country of its religious minorities. The Christians who remain in Iraq have for the most part sought refuge in the historic heartland of Iraqi Christianity – the Nineveh Plain and parts of Kurdistan. In the relative security of these areas Christian communities attempt to preserve their culture, traditions and religious heritage despite the threats and their dwindling numbers. The seizure of Mosul and much of the Nineveh Plain by the Islamic State severely aggravated an already precarious situation, forcing many Christians to leave the country and to seek refuge in the United States, Canada, Sweden or Australia among other places

The 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq by the U.S. and its allies killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, injured many more and devastated countless lives. Violence and sectarian strife have displaced 2 million Iraqis within the country and caused 2 million more to flee Iraq. At the height of the exodus in 2008, five years after the invasion, the United States had only accepted a few hundred Iraqi refugees. The scale of the Iraqi refugee crisis forced the U.S. government to change its policies and to begin facilitating the resettlement of Iraqi refugees who were threatened due to their association with the occupation. In the past five years, between 10,000 and 15,000 Iraqi refugees have been arriving annually in the United States to begin rebuilding their lives, however they are arriving during the worst economic crisis the U.S. has known in over 80 years. Resettlement benefits and assistance last a very short time and refugees soon find themselves competing for jobs and housing with millions of out-of-work Americans. Contrary to some refugee populations, the majority of Iraqi refugees are well-educated, middle class people who had a comfortable standard of living in Iraq despite the insecurity and violence. They struggle to adapt to American culture and to accept menial jobs to survive despite their skills and experience. Over the past few decades, Iraqis have and continue to suffer ineffable human tragedies. The United States has a moral obligation to assist those Iraqis who can no longer live in their country as a result of the American intervention.

On July 9th, 2011 Southern Sudan became the Republic of South Sudan, the world's newest nation. Decades of brutal civil war fueled by a mixture of religion, ethnicity, ideology and the strategic control of natural resources decimated the population, infrastructure, the economy, the way of life and the social fabric of the country. The fragile young nation is plagued by spiraling inter-ethnic violence, the effects of climate change, displaced populations, land mines and explosive remnants of war, corruption and political instability. While the country faces enormous challenges, the Independence Day ceremonies were steeped in joy and celebration, a brief moment of respite for a population that has suffered immeasurably.

In the span of a few short decades the inhabitants of the Western Sahel transitioned from being predominantly nomadic pastoralists to a more sedentary way of life. While populations remain mobile, agriculture and livestock breeding activities have become the primary means of sustenance. Global warming and climate change induced drought, along with cheap food imports, have made agricultural livelihoods increasingly unsustainable for much of the population. This has caused rampant food insecurity, a rural exodus towards urban centers and abroad and has been a multiplying factor for violence and instability in the region.

From the slave trade to King Leopold I of Belgium, through the kleptocratic dictatorship of Mabutu Sese Seke and the civil war that has become known as Africa's World War, few places have a history of suffering as long as that of the DRC. A vast country the size of Western Europe, the DR Congo has enormous natural resources and potential yet the country is in ruins and the majority of the population subsist in dire poverty. Over 1200 people die everyday as a result of the conflict and lack of services, primarily from preventable causes such as malaria, tuberculosis and malnutrition.

The West Bank city of Hebron has a Palestinian population of approximately 160,000. The Maarat HaMachpelah (Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriacrhes) in the city's historic center is the burial site of four biblical couple: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. Its is venerated by all three Abrahamic faiths. In the midst of the Palestinian majority, ninety Jewish settler families live in the old quarter around the tomb protected by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). They see themselves as the guardians of the site and have a profound conviction that a Jewish presence must remain in Hebron. In early November thousands of Jews come to Hebron for the Haye Sarah Shabbat when the story of Abraham's purchase of the burial cave and land in Hebron is read from the Torah. The Shabbat is highly symbolic as proof of Jewish rights to Hebron among the settler movement.

The mangrove ecosystems along the coast of West Africa are among the most important in the world. Mangroves are extremely carbon-rich habitats, containing on average twice the biomass of tropical forests, making them highly effective carbon sinks in the fight against global warming. Thirty-one percent of West Africa's population live along coastal zones and rely on the region's natural resources for their livelihoods and way of life. Climate change induced drought and rising sea levels are causing the salinization of the coastal ecosystems and the degradation of vast swaths of mangrove forests, fisheries and agriculture lands. According to Achim Steiner, the executive director of the UNEP, "The escalating destruction and degradation of mangroves ... is occurring at an alarming rate, with over a quarter of the earth's original mangrove cover now lost. This has potentially devastating effects on biodiversity, food security and the livelihoods of some of the most marginalized coastal communities in developing countries, where more than 90 per cent of the world's mangroves are found."

In 1991 following decades of Cold War isolation and embargo, Soviet economies were crumbling and inflation was rampant making the cost of essential commodities and daily life untenable for average citizens in the Soviet Union. In an attempt to revive the Soviet economy, Mikhail Gorbachev’s Glasnost and Perestroika reform policies allowed Western brands and businesses such as McDonald’s and Lancôme (businesses that are now closing their operations) to begin operating in Russia. Many Russians flocked to the novelty of the Western brands, but few could actually afford to purchase Western commodities, spending most of their time waiting in bread lines and searching for inexpensive food items in street markets. The Soviet Union had reached a tipping point and the tentative reforms only opened a flood gate of popular desire for change, freedom and democracy. After an initial all-Soviet coal miner strike in July 1989, in early March 1991 coal miners in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine conducted a large-scale work stoppage, however this time they boldly demanded Gorbachev’s resignation, the dismantling of the Congress of People’s Deputies and the Supreme Soviet, and the transfer of mines and their assets to respective republican governments, recognizing that demands for wage increases or better working conditions would only be wiped out by inflation and meaningless without systemic change. At the end of that year, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly (90%) for independence, effectively putting an end to all hopes that the Soviet Union could remain intact. Vladimir Putin is a product of this time period – the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has built his power on Russian nationalism and it is no secret that he has long had the ambition to establish a kind of Russian-centric empire among the former Soviet republics with himself as a tsar-like leader to counter the military, political and economic influence of NATO, the EU and the U.S. in the region and the world. This is, at least in part, why he was willing to invade Ukraine at all costs to prevent the country from pursuing closer ties with the West. Regardless of the war's outcome, Vladimir Putin’s colossal miscalculation will make him an international pariah and will once again isolate Russia from the rest of the world under crippling economic sanctions, much like the Russia of 1991.

On February 24th, 2022 Russia launched a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Russian forces have systematically targeted civilians, civilian infrastructure and there is abundant evidence of wide-spread war crimes. The war has caused the largest displacement of people since World War II, with more than 12 million people forced to flee their homes, and had severe effects on economies, energy prices and food security across the globe. Despite being faced with a much larger and more powerful enemy, Ukrainian's have courageously and doggedly defended their country, unified as a nation and rallied the support of the international community to their cause. In late 2022, the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted a major counter-offensive that liberated large swaths of territory in Kharkiv and Donetsk Oblasts from Russian occupation, a major turning point in the war.

Food insecurity affects children under five and women disproportionately, especially in rural areas. Located in the Western Sahel, Niger is at the cross-roads of the climate crisis, Islamic extremism and global rising food prices. Temperatures in the region are rising 1.5 times faster than the rest of the world, leading to erratic rainy seasons and a cycle of droughts that are eroding the 14% of land that is arable. Many parts of the country have not had a good harvest in a decade. Niger has one of the highest demographic growth rates in the world, exacerbated by the fact that Jihadist violence spilling over from neighboring Mali and Nigeria has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Soaring food and energy prices on global markets due to conflict and economic turmoil abroad are having severe consequences on a country that has one of the highest rates of poverty in the world. The Maradi region of southern Niger is one of the hardest hit by food insecurity and the influx of refugees. Mothers, suffering from malnutrition themselves, are often unable to breast feed which in turn contributes to malnutrition among their children. At a clinic supported by Save The Children in the town of Aguié, understaffed and under resourced medical personnel attempt to treat the sharply rising numbers of acute malnutrition cases entering the hospital from surrounding villages.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the New York and Washington, DC, Afghan refugees streamed across the border into Pakistan fleeing the imminent military reprisals by the United States against Al-Qaeda and their Taliban hosts - the beginning of the U.S.‘s longest war. After decades of conflict as well as severe drought, the UNHCR estimates that more than 2 million Afghan refugees already reside in Pakistan. Life is difficult for the refugees and a significant new influx onluy exacerbated an already fragile situation. Among the most effected are children who must often forego an education to work and help support their families. For many, the only opportunity for learning is the local Madrasa religious schools.

In the rainy season, from June to September, the majority of health issues treated at health centers in Burkina Faso are related to malaria. Burkina Faso is one of the ten countries the most affected by malaria in the world and malaria is the country's deadliest disease. Pregnant women and children under five are particularly vulnerable to the disease. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 2017 there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria in 87 countries. Africa carries a disproportionally high share of the global malaria burden with 92% of malaria cases and 93% of malaria deaths. Considerable financial, human and logistical resources must be mobilized to fight malaria. Dr. Landaogo Ouedraogo, the General Secretary of the Burkina Faso ministry of health, says that changes in rainfall, flooding, drought and shifting seasons due to climate change could favor the development of malaria in new regions, further complicating the existing challenges in the fight against malaria such as growing resistance to insecticides and medications, requiring governments and health workers to adapt their strategies.

The advent of the darkest time of year has begun and therefore It is the season to spread light. The 2023 year-end print sale is running from now until Christmas. For a limited time, each of these twenty-five unique, written with light photographs (no AI) from around the world are available for just 125€ (plus shipping). They are professional archival quality pigment ink jet prints on Fine Art HAHNEMÜHLE Baryta paper. The prints are 20 x 30 cm (7.87 x 11.8 in) with a 25mm (1 in) white border. Other dimensions available upon request. This is an affordable opportunity to purchase or gift a collectable work of photographic art that will illuminate your home and can be enjoyed for a lifetime. For a more personal and collectable acquisition or gift, get a signed print with certificate of authenticity for just 25€ extra. CLICK TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOS, "i" FOR INFORMATION, THEN CLICK THE CART ICON TO PLACE YOUR ORDER !