How a Beautiful, Raw Photo Series Captured Libya’s Uprising
“Be merciful to others, and you will receive mercy. Forgive others, and Allah will forgive you.” — Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
On 17 February 2011, Libya reached a point of no return. This photo series documents a country in the middle of massive, historic change. I started by photographing the very first protests outside the Libyan Embassy in London, but as the conflict grew, I knew I had to see the reality for myself. I ended up hitchhiking across the Tunisian-Libyan border during the height of the fighting to capture the real, everyday human faces behind the headlines.
These photos were taken during a time of complete instability. There was no time for careful staging or perfect lighting. Instead, I focused on raw, candid street photography: the sudden moments of hope when the eastern uprisings began, the exhausting grit of the people resisting, and the quiet, heavy confusion that followed the NATO intervention.
When you document a war, you carry a heavy responsibility to the people in your photos. In curating this collection, my main rule was to do no harm. I have intentionally chosen to leave out certain photos, including those of pro-regime supporters, to protect individuals from any danger or retaliation today. My goal is for this work to serve as a quiet space for memory and reflection, not a spark for more division.
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