When Saddam Hussein was in power, he banned the Arbaeen Pilgrimage in Iraq. In doing so, many pilgrims were killed or imprisoned for a minimum of two years. Local Iraqis living on this route offered shelter to Shia Muslims and allowed them free passage during the night. They would mark their homes to signal they were safe and cook all through the night. These children are from a large family who housed Shia Muslims during the days of Saddam Hussein.
The Sun bear is the smallest bear in the world. Sun bears depend on forests and the large scale deforestation that has occurred throughout Southeast Asia over the past three decades has dramatically reduced their tropical habitat. In addition to this Sun bear numbers have been reduced by an uncontrollable exploitation for their bile. This bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine and has led to an insatiable demand for wild bears and their organs. A recent report found that 48% of Malaysia's traditional medicine shops were selling bear bile.
Iraqi’s are increasingly seeking medical treatment abroad. Zainab has traveled to Bangalore, India for an operation on her spine, “Shortly after giving birth I had an MRI and they discovered a tumour in my spine. For the past 14 years, the pain has been increasing but I haven’t been able to afford the $6,000 surgery required, and Iraqi doctors said they wouldn’t risk the operation in case I was paralyzed. I was nervous to leave Iraq and journey to India. I’m thankful we were offered free treatment and that other countries are helping support us as we rebuild. We want to be self-sufficient, but it’s still early days”.
This is Ghazale. She’s 19 years old and receiving an eye test at a hospital in Qom, Iran. She has a message, “I must believe I am a powerful woman. It is my heart that makes me powerful and I cannot doubt it”.
An elderly gentleman walks back from lunch in Calcutta, India
My father in Surrey, UK
Self portrait in Beirut, Lebanon
Khushboo is from the Musuhar caste, one of the most marginalised communities in India. The threat of child marriage and trafficking is critically high amongst these communities. Female empowerment organisations like Nari Gunjun provide support, safe houses and education for young girls. Khushboo now lives at Nari Gunjun's boarding school in Bihar and has won nationally in karate.
Women bake khubz [Iraqi flatbread] at a mokeb on a rural route to Karbala, Iraq during the Arbaeen Pilgrimage.
Boys play in the concrete washing vats inside Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai. Dhobi Ghat is Mumbai's largest open-air laundry service.
A tourist stands on a dock in Tromsø, Norway wearing a snow leopard coat. Snow leopards are a critically endangered species. She explained she had bought the coat illegally in South India. As she walked away she said, “If you can’t wear fur at my age, when can you?”
A woman stands on Westminster Bridge in London, UK
A young man washes with soap at dawn on Lake Malawi's waters edge in Malawi.
Ben, my neighbour in London
Marzieh Hashemi is driven to her home on the 27th of February, 2019 in Tehran before a conference in Mashhad, Iran.
Nightbus in Calcutta, India
Trainee Buddhist monks play in the grounds of their monastery in Ranong Province, the least populated region in Thailand.
Inside a school classroom in Yayu Wildforest, Ethiopia
Men watch a vintage car race at Goodwood Revival in England.
Palm tree electrical pylon in Casablanca, Morocco
Pine forest in Ghum, West Bengal
A biker outside the famous Bagel store on Brick Lane, London
An Iranian teenage boy on hunger strike in the Calais Jungle. A total of 12 men stitched their mouths and remained on hunger strike for 25 days.
An Afghan man in the Calais Jungle, 2016
A young boy rests in a fishing net hammock in Sandakan, Borneo.
Goodwood Revival in England, UK
My mother in Paros, Greece
Olivia Squire in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo
CJ during a fundraiser for St Giles Trust, a charity that support ex-offenders in the UK.
A mahout’s daughter with vitiligo stands beside her family's elephant in Jaipur, India
An abandoned car in Western Sahara, a disputed territory bordering Morocco
Rush hour in Mumbai, India
Taxi drivers in Mumbai, India
Three sisters feed seagulls in Mumbai, India
Night bus in London, UK
A coffee worker lies on a bed of coffee cherries in Yayu Wildforest in Ethiopia
A young man flees the south Calais Jungle during its closure in February 2016.
Women queue at the entrance to Zeynab's Hill in Karbala, Iraq.
Liverpool Street walkway in London, UK
Louis on the train to London, UK
San Gimignano, Italy
Children play on the beach of Lake Malawi, Malawi.
A woman jostles through the crowd to view a Porsche engine at Goodwood Revival in England.
Within moments of being granted access to Iman Ali's Shrine in Iraq I saw an elderly woman sitting in her wheelchair. As most people were seated on the floor lying on blankets, she was instantly noticeable. She had come from Afghanistan with her brother, who stands behind her in the photograph and it was their first Arbaeen. Their journey to Karbala will be an unusually long one for them, requiring an immense amount of effort. The brother explained that once he is tired and weak from pushing her in the wheelchair, she will push him.
An Asian elephant stands visibly traumatised, chained to a temple pillar following a six-hour procession. It was paraded through the streets of Varanasi, noisy with crowds and rocketing fireworks, in the build up to Diwali, the festival of lights. The elephant was swaying and its bloodshot eyes swirled, as its owner looked on anxiously. There are an estimated 3,600 domesticated Asian elephants in India, belonging either to the government, wealthy families or temples and used in festivals throughout the year. They are an endangered species, their wild counterparts under threat from habitat loss and conflict with humans in agricultural areas.
Adrian at home in Highgate, London
A young mother poses in a local restaurant on the outskirts of Pushkar, Rajasthan
My grandmother in Jersey, Channel Islands
A woman working at a paper recycling plant in Kolkata, a city recently celebrated for its waste management schemes which deserve to be implemented around the rest of India
Mirror shop in Udaipur, India
Beach walkers in Koh Phangan, Thailand
| Local children prepare tea known as ‘chai abu Ali’ to serve pilgrims in Najaf, Iraq during the late hours of the night before pilgrims find shelter. The boys took turns to stoke the fires, regularly switching teapots and all the while calling out to the crowd "Chai! Chai!” [Tea! Tea!] |
Serpentine in London, UK
Jamie in Surrey, UK
Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan, Thailand
Turbine Hall inside the Tate Modern in London, UK
A passenger on a bus en route to Aceh in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Portrait at the port of Kota Kinabalu in Borneo