Peshmerga Soldiers

• Photographer
  Douglas Diaz
• Prizes
  Silver in Editorial/Conflict, Silver in Editorial/Personality, Bronze in Editorial/Political

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some are previous college students that left school to defend their homes against ISIS. Others are stalwart fighters with battlefield stripes that stretch back into the 80s against Iranian forces. On the other hand, many are soldiers who recently left their families to enter the battlefield. Regardless of individual background, there is unanimous solidarity from the amassed force to prevent ISIS from seizing their lands. Village leaders comment that war has altered the social landscape with no alternative.

I'm a student at UCLA studying Physical and Cultural geography, Digital Humanities, and Geo-spatial Information Systems. My career goal is to work as an investigative journalist covering war, crime, and/or environmental issues. The goal of my photography is to capture the natural state of events, objects, and people for preservation and for future generations.