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Notícies :: @rtivisme : guerra
Abu Gulag Freedom Park :: en record a les victimes de la tortura iraquiana
per migrant	09 jun 2004
els artistes iraquis mostren ferides lletges de la ocupació de Usa volia mostrar que darrere de la llibertat que nos oferisen els Estats Units, esta el patiment i les cadenes, diu un escultor.
Iraqi artists show ugly wounds of US occupation I wanted to show behind the liberty the United States offers us, there is suffering and chains, says one sculptor. By Sammy Ketz - BAGHDAD The sculpture in Baghdad shows another side to the American dream - an Iraqi view of the Statue of Liberty, her head replaced by chained hands, feet lashed together, her robe on fire, lit by her signature torch of freedom. "I wanted to show behind the liberty the United States offers us, there is suffering and chains," said sculptor Taher Wahib, 40, at an exhibition inspired by the US mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. The statue stands on a Baghdad street behind barriers and barbed wire, with a flag declaring it "Abu Gulag Freedom Park". Qassim al-Sabti, owner of Hewar Gallery, the best known in the capital, asked 20 artists for works inspired by the humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. One US soldier has been court martialed and six others face expulsion from the army in the fallout from the case that has stained America's reputation in Iraq. All of the art is inspired by the graphic photographs taken by the prisoners' tormentors - of nude detainees stacked in a sexual pyramid, forced to perform mock fellatio and threatened by a snarling guard dog. Ali Rissan, 40, presented five masks in bronze, representing the American soldier and his quick slide from good to evil in the eyes of much of the population. The bright-coloured first mask "represents the GI who brings freedom to Iraqis". The second more sombre "shows the GI oppressing the Iraqis", the third, a black face represents an aggressive soldier, a fourth is covered by nails and "represents danger". The last mask is covered with pustules of "disease and putrefaction". Next to the five is another, larger, one painted in blue to symbolise death, Rissan explained. One statue is made entirely of chains and depicts a prisoner standing up and wearing a T-shirt such as those distributed to Iraqis by the coalition troops, bearing the inscription "Iraq, progress and prosperity". The gruesome pictures of mistreatment which were beamed around the world are glued to another statue: hooded detainees, their hands shackled to a gate, piled up naked on the floor as US soldiers laugh. There is only one raw message from the "Abu Gulag Freedom Park". "The Americans behaved in an incredibly revolting manner," Qassim Sabti said. His exhibit shows the body of a woman under a white shroud smeared with blood between the thighs. "She was raped and murdered," he explained. Some object to the violence of the sculptures on display. "I am against it, because none of these artists did anything to show the exactions perpetrated by Saddam Hussein," said 28-year-old sculptor Haidar Wady. "Being against the Americans has become the trendy thing. But they brought us freedom. Just imagine for one moment if they had gathered here to depict Abu Ghraib in the time of the dictator. What's more, these works are really ugly," he added.
Mira també: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=10196
This work is in the public domain

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