Complexities in Conflict

For the people of Syria, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, reminders of conflict are ever-present. In over a decade of travels throughout the world, I have spent time with people on all sides of conflicts. Interacting with them and sharing their life experiences, I have found that individual stories are the key to dispelling stereotypes, fighting misconceptions, and opening paths towards real understanding. This belief is interwoven in my photography, presentations and lectures, and the work I do with business leaders on opposite sides of geopolitical and religious divides.

The images in Complexities in Conflict are neither graphic war photographs nor a naïve oversimplification of normalcy. They are Rorschach tests of our own belief structure and backgrounds. Our initial reaction is often based on personally-held stereotypes of “Them,” yet when we look again - in the midst of signs, fences, graffiti and flags we see human beings playing, studying, shopping, and doing laundry. It takes constant and conscious effort to see past the stereotypes that we create. Failing to do so, preconceptions are all that we see, missing the context and nuances of a given situation.