LAURENT VAN DER STCOCKT FOR "THE WORLD"
TestimonialsPhotographer Laurent Van der Stockt filmed some of the young people who have occupied the “Turkish restaurant” since October, an abandoned tower in the heart of Baghdad.
Studying at Baghdad University or shining shoes, they occupy the Turkish restaurant night and day, this disused 12-storey building overlooking Tahrir Square in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. Young Iraqis entered it on the evening of October 24, a few hours before the resumption of protests against the ruling power. Their objective, to prevent snipers from taking a position. Because they seem convinced that it is from this promontory that shooters – whose identity still raises questions – mowed down part of the 157 demonstrators killed during the first week of October.
Not only has the initiative proved effective, but it has also created an unprecedented situation: these thousands of young people cannot be dislodged without power, already scrutinized by the international community, committing carnage.
Without the existence of this improvised fortress, Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the Iraqi national protest movement, could easily have been subdued.
Photographer Laurent Van der Stockt met several of these young demonstrators, figures of the opposition in power, and collected their testimony in this disused building. Among them, Najim, 18, from Anbar province, came to Baghdad to "To voice the demands of the people to liberate the country from the corrupt and from parties" :
Downstairs, on the barricades, the demonstrators look like petty criminals, agonizing the police. They harass them, dance topless in front of the guns, standing on the concrete wall that separates them from the "green zone", this enclave sheltering the palace, power, wealth. Many are injured. There have been more than 460 deaths since the start of the protest movement. Without them, Tahrir Square might not have stood up either.
Hold the place
By opposing the government and the militias, they know that they risk arrest or disappearance. No one will know who removed them; it has happened to several of them who wanted to return to their homes. If the building is attacked, the attackers will probably not be identifiable: the uniforms are exchanged and no longer determine membership of a corps or any force, thus guaranteeing their immunity.
Ahmed, 13, lives in Baghdad (Sadr City) and joined the protest to demand the most basic rights: water, food and electricity. He denounces the violence of the situation: "I'm wearing a bulletproof vest, what have I done? They shoot us with live ammunition when we demand essential things they should get us " :
