Portrait of a generation at war

by Luca Catalano Gonzaga
Part of A shameless life
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War has the ability and the power to transform the spiritual approach which usually every human being has with existence. Try to ask a child of Aleppo, Homs or Damascus what he wants to be when he grows up.  He will respond enthusiastically: “A soldier!”. There are no “pop-stars” around there, the local heroes have become the Army generals rewarded with medals for bravery, injured or dead on the front. Then suddenly a whole generation, young people between 18 and 25, found itself leading a life that many had not even imagined. Some of them threw themselves in the front lines to fight with weapons, while others have chosen to stay in the back, in war hospitals, to repair any kind of trauma. “Portrait of a generation at war“ is the photographic reportage by Luca Catalano Gonzaga telling the story of young nurses who medicate young soldiers who in turn sacrificed themselves to defend their future. Hand in hand, united by one goal: to free Syria against foreign invasion. In this reportage, photos of young men admitted to the hospital Youssef Al Asma Damascus, in traumatic conditions, which nevertheless proudly display on their smartphone images taken directly in the hot zones of conflict, strictly in military uniform. On the other side, the nurses , in their uniforms, as they pose, timidly, just moments before going in to surgery. (text by Sebastiano Caputo).

  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Lubna, 22 years old, who has just graduated in medicine, has started working as a hospital nurse at the Youssef Al Asma Hospital in Damascus only a few months ago.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Hamer, 20 years old, had enlisted as a volunteer in the Syrian army . A mortar in the military post where he was on guard, caused for him to be hospitalized. On his skin still the signs of the violent impact.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Ruta, 23 years old, has just graduated in medicine and has been working as a hospital nurse at the Youssef Al Asma Hospital in Damascus for three years now.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Mohammed, 30 years old, fought the historical battle of Khan El Sheh remaining unscathed by shrapnel from a bullet that just grazed his right eye, now infected.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Rula, 23 years old, has been working as a hospital nurse at the Youssef Al Asma Hospital in Damascus for two years.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Mohammed, 20 years old, enrolled as a volunteer and was then sent to the front lines in Aleppo. He was shot in his lower back in a firefight with insurgents. In the photo on his cell phone he appears proudly dressed in his military wear. He used to be very strong, now because of the paralysis in his body, he weighs only a about fifty kilos.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Maran, twenty years old, has been working as a hospital nurse at the Youssef Al Asma Hospital in Damascus for only four months.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Hussein, 23 years old, hit on the side by a bullet a few months ago, is lying on the hospital bed, paralyzed, wrapped in a woolen blanket. In the photograph he shows the corpse of the enemy. He was in Deir Ezzor, a city literally surrounded by Daesh militia men , that survives thanks to a handful of 800 soldiers who control the airport where soldiers, food, drugs, weapons and ammunitions are parachuted.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Dara, 21 years old, has been working as a hospital nurse at the Youssef Al Asma Hospital in Damascus for one year.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Ala, 25 years old, was rushed to the hospital in Damascus after the explosion of an anti-tank mine exploded in the village of Khan El Sheh. The burn only took a few minutes to make the boy’s face unrecognizable.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Selwa 27 years old, has been working as a hospital nurse at the Youssef Al Asma Hospital in Damascus for seven years.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Ahmad, 20 years old, was with Ala in the tank destroyed by a mine in the village of Khan El Sheh. The burns have damaged his eyesight.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Ala Bilal, 40 years old, a graduate in Medicine and Surgery, is married with five children. She is a Syrian army medical officer.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Samar, 32 years old, was driving a Syrian Army tank in the village of Khan El Sheh when he suddenly passed over a land-mine planted in the ground.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Alia, 24 years old and Mohammed, 30 years old, both medical nurses, have recently married after having met at the Youssef Al Asma hospital of Damascus, where they are currently working.
  • Youssef Al Asma Hospital, Damascus, Syria 2016. Alia, 24 years old and Mohammed, 30 years old, both medical nurses, have recently married after having met at the Youssef Al Asma hospital of Damascus, where they are currently working.