My Enemy, Myself

Who's your enemy? Why fight? Over the course of three years, Belgian-Tunisian photojournalist Karim Ben Khelifa has traveled to both sides of the world's longest-simmering conflicts to ask these pointed questions. What he heard from combatants in the Gaza Strip, the disputed Kashmir region along the India-Pakistan border, and tribally divided South Sudan captures the futility of wars that never end -- and can't be won. Tragically, bitter rivals are often fighting for the very same reasons.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KARIM BEN KHELIFA | JANUARY 2, 2013

GAZA 

"My name is Abu Obaidah; I'm 28 years old. I'm responsible for the central part of the Gaza Strip for the al-Qods Brigade. My enemies are the people who took our land. Six or seven years ago, I joined the fight. I think of dying for God and to reach God's heaven. For security reason, I can't tell if I killed an enemy, but I am not taking anyone's life; I am taking my right back. There is no other 20 years for me because the whole matter will be finish[ed] soon, meaning God is coming very soon, inshallah. Terrorism for me is to take something that is not yours or that you do not deserve. I wish that God accept what I'm doing right now."

Karim Ben Khelifa

 

Karim Ben Khelifa is a freelance photojournalist, CEO of emphas.is, and a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. He tweets as @KBenK. You can see more of his work at instagram.com/karimbenkhelifa.