Faces of the New War

The world is bearing the weight of a global pandemic and I am continually struck not only by the monumental scope of this event, but also the moment it will occupy in history. Nearly every corner of the earth, nearly every life, will be touched by it. Whether directly through contact with the virus, or indirectly as societies shutter themselves against its ravages, we all are sharing the same burden. I struggle to comprehend the scope of such an event. The closest parallel I can draw in recent history is that to the world wars, globe spanning conflicts that shaped history and swept up countless lives in their wake.

As I draw that parallel, the images of the soldiers from those conflicts stand out to me. It seems that no matter where they were in the world the images of people who fought those conflicts, whether out of duty, or patriotism, or simply having no other choice, all share the same small details. It’s these small details that bring them out of history and makes them human again. It’s the look in their eyes, and the items they kept close at hand, their weapons, their protection, their kit. As we fight this new war, a new soldier has taken the field. Instead of helmets and rifles, they go to war with goggles and surgical masks. Yet their images too carry the weight of history to come.

The subjects are taken primarily from news articles. They include a selection of doctors and medical workers from different parts of the world. They include: Pavla Kovarikova a doctor from the Czech Republic, Nicola Sgarbi, an Italian medical worker, Dr. Au from Emery St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta, and Dr Li Wnliang, the doctor in Wuhan who first raised the alarm about the virus only to be censored and punished by his government. Dr Li Wnliang died on Feb 7th, succumbing to the virus he tried to warn the world about. I chose these individuals because they come from all over the world, and though their stories are different, they are all fighting the same fight.

Like the great wars that have come before, the pandemic has touched every corner of the world, every life. And just like those conflicts of the past, this fight too will take compassion and sacrifice to see us through. Those on the front lines should be honored in the way that we honor those soldiers who sacrificed their youth, innocence and sometimes lives. These new soldiers deserve to have us meet their gaze and for us to see what they sacrificed in order to keep us safe. Unlike the wars of the past, this fight is humanity’s and we are all on the same side.