Translation: Teresa Galarza (Versión en español aquí) Shortcuts. On the shoulders of a country at war Reaching a battlefront is much more complicated than it seems. Rarely, perhaps never, do we talk about the preliminary round after the bang-bang; the bureaucratic nightmare of special permits, photocopies, stamps, accreditations and meetings […]

Translation: Teresa Galarza (Versión en español aquí) Shortcuts. On the shoulders of a country at war Some village in Raqqa. Clay houses cooking under the sun, a lot of sun, in the middle of nowhere. In Serran there are no sidewalks, no roads, no streets, no shops; just a donkey […]

Translation: Teresa Galarza (Versión en español aquí) Shortcuts. On the shoulders of a country at war Two years have passed, but Amina remembers the day of the heads as if it was yesterday. Heads appeared punctured on garden trellises, traffic signs … There were also some in glass jars, up […]

Translation: Teresa Galarza (Versión en español aquí) Shortcuts. On the shoulders of a country at war The truth is that it’s not bad at all, twelve dollars a night for a room with a fan and a bathroom to yourself. We are the only guests of the only hotel in […]

Translation: Teresa Galarza (Versión en español aquí) Shortcuts. On the shoulders of a country at war They are 1,500 men, between the ages of 18 and 30, who graduate after their 45-day training. Many have a moustache, others are not old enough to grow one. They are Arabs and Kurds […]

Translation: Teresa Galarza (Versión en español aquí) Shortcuts. On the shoulders of a country at war On the world’s shoulders, the shortest distance between two points is rarely a straight line. Often, roads are blocked by checkpoints, mud walls or concrete blocks that require a diversion. It might also be […]