In 2005 Edinburgh Stop the War held an exhibition of photographs taken in Iraq by Annette Lamont and David Lynn.   The photographs were taken in Baghdad and Takri between February and April 2003; a period that covered the lead up to the US-UK attack and invasion and the impact of the attack itself.

Annette and David were among 40 ‘Human Shields’ who stayed in Iraq when it became clear that Bush and Blair had not been deterred by worldwide protest and were pressing ahead with the invasion.  They stayed in Takri, along with 5 other Shields, living alongside Iraqi families.  The Shields hoped that by their presence they might help to dissuade the American military from bombing the grain silos at Takri, which were vital for feeding the 5 million people who lived in Baghdad at the time.

The exhibition has not been on public display since 2005 and some of the printed images have deteriorated over time.  At a moment when the risk of another, potentially even more devastating, war in the Middle East is growing rapidly we felt that it was important to share some of the powerful images captured by Annette and David.  The printed photographs, mounted on board have been photographed and although they are not of the same quality of the originals they still capture the humanity of the Iraqi people in the face of invasion and the havoc and destruction caused by the bombing.  You can view the images on Flickr.

Annette was from Edinburgh and is sadly no longer with us.  We share this album in memory of the courage of the Shields and of the hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives through US and UK bombs in Iraq.  We hope that in doing so we can make a contribution to building resistance to a new war with Iran.