This post is also available in: French

In times of war, all restraints collapse and people are swept up in a wave of hatred, violence and fear. Many invoke fervently a one and only, true, almighty, infallible God. But where amidst this bloodlust frenzy can he be found, this one and only God who represents peace? This book throws light on the period from the dissolution of the Soviet Union until today. 30 YEARS SHAPED BY WAR. It delivers an unsparing picture of all the madness that people are capable of who carry their convictions like a banner before them. These photographs show us the possible consequences of political, economic and religious decisions. They reflect the arbitrary behaviour of those who steer the fate of whole nations. The International Court of Justice, which large powers have given themselves, is losing membership states and is beginning to resemble a holding company pursuing well understood interests. Horror and destruction drive millions of people to flee to Europe, which appears to them as a paradise, a paradise that in turn looks at this phenomenon with suspicion while becoming a target of Islamist attacks itself. So it is going round in circles.

Noël Quidu is a major French photojournalist who reports from almost any conflict zone in the world. He has documented strife in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq, former Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Albania, Israel, Palestine, Rwanda, Congo, Chad, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Liberia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, Ukraine or Pakistan. This book of Noël Quidu’s harsh and startling images does not want to be beautiful, but reminds us that peace and liberty in our globalized world are more than ever under threat.