Everyday people talk about starting another war without remembering that war is hell. Thank God for the War Journalist who helps us remember. One such a Journalist is the Frenchman
Gilles Caron who first saw war as a French soldier in Algeria and hated it so much that he stopped fighting and spent the last 4 months of his Military service in French chains.
He then went on to fashion photography which he found boring and returned to the front this time without a gun but with a camera and has given us some of the most thought provoking photos from various conflicts including our own Biafra.
My favourite ( if we can call it that ) is this one of wounded Biafran soldiers being left by their mates as the battle turns and the Federals advance.,
Just as you see the back of the fleeing Biafrans you can take inventory of the fright and horror of the surviving wounded soldier in his eyes pleading with the remaining troops ( Caron included ) not to be left behind to a certain death.
Instances like this made Gilles Caron drink heavily and you sure can’t blame him because I would be shooting heroin just to be able to go to sleep.
So as you rattle your swords and gnash your teeth crying for war…remember this side and that the young man on the ground is someone’s son, brother or even a Father. Worse still he may never get to be a Father.
WAR IS HELL - Photo Biafra April 1968 © Gilles Caron for the Gilles Caron Foundation
- Iwedi Ojinmah -
In WAR, no city or village is safe!
