No matter how you feel politically about the war, right thing/wrong thing/indifferent, this commemoration speaks volumes. Put up by a peace delegation to mark the 5th anniversary of “Mission Accomplished,” it fills the entire quad at OSU. One red flag for every five Americans killed, a white flag signifies at least five Iraqis have died (the flags fill the lawn). Words cannot describe the magnitude of the feeling evoked here.
Here are some of the sobering visuals I had the opportunity to capture.
In The Know Traveler does not intend to be a political site and the preceding comments are not meant to hamper any efforts to make Iraq and stable place to live for the people who live there and for the rest of us.
We only want to point out that these flags represent real people and a serious situation that feels, all to often, overlooked. Through travel, I have learned to accept and appreciate cultural differences. I wonder if more people were more familiar and accepting of these differences whether war could be justified at all.
This is the cornerstone of ITKT’s philosophy. The more we know about each other. The more we understand a little about our differences, the less likely placing tiny flags to represent the enormous individuals, the less likely large scale disagreements will be accepted in the future by the people. The friends and families of these little flags will appreciate it.
Photography by Steve Smith
Editors comments by Devin Galaudet
