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

KASHMIR 

"My name is Tazim Ahmed Wani; I am 29 years old. I am a constable. My enemy is the one who sees my country as the enemy. I joined the police forces nine years ago because I saw Kashmir burning and this was hurting my heart. I have seen the eyes of my enemies. I am not afraid while I am on an operation. I have killed many enemies. I know it is not right to take a life, but the one who see[s] my country as an enemy, I have to kill him and I am feeling proud of doing that. The result of every war is peace. In the coming 20 years, I will help to put my country within the developed nations of the world. Freedom is everything for us. I wish the same thing as every human is wishing, love, peace, and happiness."

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.