Democratic desert

Since February of 2012 Robert King has documented anunprecedented tragedy of the blatant targeting of civilians andhospitals by the al-Assad regime as well as a number of other serioushuman rights violations and war crimes. As the conflict is entering itsthird year there has been little if any international support fromdemocratic leaders to end the killing despite the fact that over100,000 Syrians have been killed, and over 28,000 that have gonemissing. 4.5 million Syrians are displaced within their country andover 1.5 million Syrians are now refugees in neighbouring countries."As a photographer it is not my job to aspire towards aesthetically pleasingimages of war that are palatable to the public or the photographiccommunity. Many viewers find it easier to condemn the image makerrather than the perpetrators of war crimes against humanity."Democratic Desert is the first comprehensive photo journalistic bookabout the war in Syria. Robert King entered the country when almost allconflict photographers had left, and he stayed. Therefore King is theonly photographer able to show us what really happens there. This bookshows a gruesome story without any constraint. It contains a DVD witha forceful documentary film made by King during his stay in Syria.