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Photographer  Joel Preston Smith 

 The images in Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq
were taken over the course of two trips I made to Iraq in 2003—one trip
prior to the March 20 U.S. invasion, and one after.  I spent a total of
four months in Iraq, all but 12 days of it in the company or homes of
Iraqis.
 
Before the invasion, most foreign journalists were focused on the
reactions of Iraqi officials to the threat of an invasion, or on the
activities of the United Nations weapons inspection teams as they
raided Iraqi factories and government offices, searching for evidence
of a weapons-of-mass-destruction program. While the journalists and UN
officials searched for weapons, I searched faces.

As a freelance writer and photographer I worked alone, nearly all the
time, walking the streets, riding in cabs and buses, mostly in Baghdad,
but also in Karbala, Mahaweel, Ar Ramadi, Tikrit and other cities and
villages. I visited Iraqis in their homes, in their workplaces, went to
concerts with them, ate meals with them, and sat in cafes with them
talking about life in Iraq and life in the U.S. We talked about what we
each loved, what we each feared, and the happy and sad times we'd seen
in our lives. Everyone agreed, this was a sad time, and likely to get
sadder still. They were gracious, hospitable, welcoming. I slept in
their beds. We cooked meals together. We went swimming together. All
the while, I photographed.

After the invasion, I photographed them in surgery, lying in their
hospital beds, grieving the loss of loved ones at home, or presenting
their wounds in press conferences or in the streets. They were civil,
warm and welcoming. They were hospitable. They were often angry now,
but reserved their anger for the U.S. government, not its citizens.
They were broken, frustrated and sometimes hopeless, but still
hospitable. Still generous.

The stories and photos in Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits
of Iraq document those moments of kindness, and some of sadness, that
we found together. They are an expression of a wish that I have—that I
could preserve the life, as well as the beauty, I find in the people I
photograph.

The title Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq is
taken from the central essay of the book, which describes the first
night of the Gulf War from the perspective of the patients in the
children’s cancer ward of Sadaam Pediatric Hospital in Baghdad. The
children in the ward ran to the windows, screaming, after seeing bombs
fall on the city. Rasmeyah Abduhl Sattar, the head nurse for the ward,
convinced the children that stars—not missiles—were falling on the
city. She believed that the next few hours might be the last hours they
would ever see, and if they were indeed to die, she wanted their last
hours to be filled with beauty, even if what they believed was
beautiful … was an illusion.

Bio: Joel Preston Smith 
Joel Preston Smith, born in South Charleston, W.Va., is a freelance
writer and photographer based in Portland, Ore. He served as a U.S.
Army journalist/photojournalist from 1987-1991. His publication credits
include Gobshite Quarterly, The Irish Times, The Wall Street Journal,
The Oregonian and others. His photography is featured in the
French-Canadian film Le Nerf de la Paix, (The Sinews of Peace, directed
by Alexandre Kozminksi: 2007).
His books include:
l  "Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq" (Nazraeli
Press: 2006; author/photographer)
l   "The Library at Night"  (Alfred A. Knopf: 2006; contributing
photographer)
l  It's A Boy (Ballantine Books; in production; contributing
photographer)
           
l  Untidy: The Blogs on Rumsfeld (William, James & Co.: 2005; co-editor)
l   Special Plans: The Blogs on Douglas Feith (William, James & Co.:
2005; co-editor)
 
He also serves as a Chautauqua Scholar for the Oregon Council for the
Humanities, lecturing on conflict in the Middle East, and as a
communications consultant for academic and non-profit institutions. His
website is: www.joelprestonsmith.com.
 
Media Quotes:
On Night of a Thousand Stars and Other Portraits of Iraq: “…a splendid
encounter with war and heartbreak.”
—           D.K. Row, The Oregonian, Jan. 5, 2007.
—

-------------------------------------
Brenda Ivelisse Maldonado
Multicultural Coordinator
Oregon Leadership Institute

Portland Community College-Rock Creek
Bldg. 3, Rm. 223b * Portland, Oregon
office 503-614-7279
 

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