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Portrait of a pacifist: Jo Metson Scott's images of dissenting soldiers in Iraq Portrait of a pacifist: Jo Metson Scott's images of dissenting soldiers in Iraq
(6 months later)
"After I made my public testimony about the atrocities I had experienced, my brother publicly disowned me on Facebook for everyone to see. He left comments about how I was a puppet, and being used ... He said I wasn't his brother any more, that I wasn't even a man. I've taken a lot. ""After I made my public testimony about the atrocities I had experienced, my brother publicly disowned me on Facebook for everyone to see. He left comments about how I was a puppet, and being used ... He said I wasn't his brother any more, that I wasn't even a man. I've taken a lot. "
These words belong to Ryan Endicott, who joined the US Marine Corps in 2004, aged 20, and served in Iraq for seven months in 2005. He was given an honourable discharge in 2008. The following year he spoke about his experiences at an Iraq Veterans Against the War event in 2009. He has the words "Forgive me, for I have sinned" tattooed on his back.These words belong to Ryan Endicott, who joined the US Marine Corps in 2004, aged 20, and served in Iraq for seven months in 2005. He was given an honourable discharge in 2008. The following year he spoke about his experiences at an Iraq Veterans Against the War event in 2009. He has the words "Forgive me, for I have sinned" tattooed on his back.
Endicott is one of several dissenting soldiers that photojournalist Jo Metson Scott has photographed over five years for her book The Grey Line. She describes it as "a reflection on the war told from the perspective of Britain and American soldiers who have spoken out against the invasion of Iraq." It is also a reflection of the fallout of such a stance. "Their voices," she adds, "have been met with varying consequences, from being outcast to imprisoned, shunned to celebrated."Endicott is one of several dissenting soldiers that photojournalist Jo Metson Scott has photographed over five years for her book The Grey Line. She describes it as "a reflection on the war told from the perspective of Britain and American soldiers who have spoken out against the invasion of Iraq." It is also a reflection of the fallout of such a stance. "Their voices," she adds, "have been met with varying consequences, from being outcast to imprisoned, shunned to celebrated."
The Grey Line is a thought-provoking and timely book, published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the invasion. It is comprised mainly of colour portraits of the ex-soldiers accompanied by their own handwritten testimonies – journals, emails, letters home to loved ones. Many of the soldiers are what used to be called "conscientious objectors", though, as Metson Scott noted at a recent talk at the Frontline Club in London, that term has all but fallen out of usage.The Grey Line is a thought-provoking and timely book, published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the invasion. It is comprised mainly of colour portraits of the ex-soldiers accompanied by their own handwritten testimonies – journals, emails, letters home to loved ones. Many of the soldiers are what used to be called "conscientious objectors", though, as Metson Scott noted at a recent talk at the Frontline Club in London, that term has all but fallen out of usage.
Their reasons for speaking out are as varied as their experiences. But all seem to hinge on a personal epiphany that came after a long period of grappling with their conscience about how they were trained, and what they were being asked to do. Tank Crewman Robin Long, for instance, went AWOL from Fort Knox when he was deployed to train soldiers to go to Iraq. "I had started speaking out within my unit about the way that officers were being trained," he writes. "They would march around singing songs about death and destruction. Calling people 'ragheads' or 'hajjis'. I thought we were going over there to liberate people, so I didn't understand why we were training 19 and 20-year-old kids to call an entire race hajjis ... I didn't want to be supporting this machine."Their reasons for speaking out are as varied as their experiences. But all seem to hinge on a personal epiphany that came after a long period of grappling with their conscience about how they were trained, and what they were being asked to do. Tank Crewman Robin Long, for instance, went AWOL from Fort Knox when he was deployed to train soldiers to go to Iraq. "I had started speaking out within my unit about the way that officers were being trained," he writes. "They would march around singing songs about death and destruction. Calling people 'ragheads' or 'hajjis'. I thought we were going over there to liberate people, so I didn't understand why we were training 19 and 20-year-old kids to call an entire race hajjis ... I didn't want to be supporting this machine."
Others are even more defiant and outspoken, including two of the women soldiers Metson Scott tracked down. Katherine Jashinski, from Austin, Texas, refused to "train with a weapon" in preparation for her deployment to Afghanistan. She was given a bad conduct discharge and 120 days in prison. Another woman , identified only as Maggie, publicly threw away her military medals as part of an IVAW event, saying: "I'm angry about being lied to about the 'weapons of mas destruction'... I'm angry about all the lives – American, Iraqi and Afghan – that were sacrificed for no good reason. No amount of medals, flags or banners can cover the amount of human suffering. I don't want this garbage."Others are even more defiant and outspoken, including two of the women soldiers Metson Scott tracked down. Katherine Jashinski, from Austin, Texas, refused to "train with a weapon" in preparation for her deployment to Afghanistan. She was given a bad conduct discharge and 120 days in prison. Another woman , identified only as Maggie, publicly threw away her military medals as part of an IVAW event, saying: "I'm angry about being lied to about the 'weapons of mas destruction'... I'm angry about all the lives – American, Iraqi and Afghan – that were sacrificed for no good reason. No amount of medals, flags or banners can cover the amount of human suffering. I don't want this garbage."
There are some who will no doubt point out the so-called naivety of these young soldiers, but, as Metson Scott's book of testimony attests, their stance took considerable courage at a time when any action perceived as unpatriotic towards America was met with moral outrage, or even banishment by family and friends. Interestingly, in her five years of research, Metson Scott found only one British veteran willing to participate. Ben Griffin served with the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland, Macedonia and Afghanistan, before going to Iraq in 2005. By then, he was in the Special Air Service. Morally disillusioned by the war, he refused to return to Iraq after a period of leave. He was released from the army with an exemplary record but when he began speaking out, the Ministry of Defence took him to court. His photograph is the only one in the book unaccompanied by a first-person testimony.There are some who will no doubt point out the so-called naivety of these young soldiers, but, as Metson Scott's book of testimony attests, their stance took considerable courage at a time when any action perceived as unpatriotic towards America was met with moral outrage, or even banishment by family and friends. Interestingly, in her five years of research, Metson Scott found only one British veteran willing to participate. Ben Griffin served with the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland, Macedonia and Afghanistan, before going to Iraq in 2005. By then, he was in the Special Air Service. Morally disillusioned by the war, he refused to return to Iraq after a period of leave. He was released from the army with an exemplary record but when he began speaking out, the Ministry of Defence took him to court. His photograph is the only one in the book unaccompanied by a first-person testimony.
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A debut British show for the German photographer Joachim Brohm at Brancolini Grimaldi in London, Places & Edges contains work from throughout his 30-year career, including images from Culatra, his series based on everyday objects from the small Portuguese island of the same name. Also on show will be his more recent series, Ohio, where the vernacular and the strange sit side by side. Poetic and thought-provoking images from a master of atmosphere.A debut British show for the German photographer Joachim Brohm at Brancolini Grimaldi in London, Places & Edges contains work from throughout his 30-year career, including images from Culatra, his series based on everyday objects from the small Portuguese island of the same name. Also on show will be his more recent series, Ohio, where the vernacular and the strange sit side by side. Poetic and thought-provoking images from a master of atmosphere.
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