24.4.10

...Love and Hate...

...never have I hated a place so much and yet felt like I’m where I should be. It’s a conflict I’ve been wrestling with for over a month now. My bank account continues to decrease, I’ve yet to see anyone care enough about Iraq to consider publishing my work/Giunta’s writing, and as I hear about my friends getting hit and rolling over vehicles, I think at what cost is my life and/or appendages for this story. Thank God the worst injuries so far have been a broken leg, five staples to the head, and concussions. That being said, there is still enough crap flying around on the sides of the roads to make you un-easy every time you jump in a vehicle.

So back to my hating yet feeling right in this place. Why? I still don’t know. It could be the promise I made to this unit over three years ago, stating that no matter what, I’ll do everything I possibly can to cover their tour. Or it could be the fact that many of these men and women are now good friends of mine and I want to share the suck with them filled with moments of hilarity that resembles a bunch of ten year olds at a sleep-over slap happy from excessive sugar and lack of sleep. Oh wait, we usually are filled with excessive sugar from energy drinks and lacking in sleep….Or maybe I enjoy the adrenaline that comes with the few “oh shit” moments. Possibly all of the above, maybe none of the above.

All I do know is this place is not Afghanistan; nobody really cares other than immediate family and friends. This merely is the documentation of the suckage, boredom, and moments of joy that come with a deployment. I may have missed the war, but there is still a story that people need to see and read. All I can do now is keep taking photos and leave it up to the population’s current ignorance or lack of caring for the war in Iraq.

- The Exodus

No comments:

Post a Comment