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David Gross
Numaniya, Iraq
Go to Slide Show Go to Light Table
These pictures were shot for the Washington Post. We drove out to find a little, tiny village, got lost, and finally were led to it by local boys. Al-Shemary didn't seem crazy at all, just an intense man. His story seems to check out, and given the risk of being discovered, it isn't unreasonable, either.
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
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photos/slides/030604-DG-140.jpg
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) and his mother, Azeeza Masikh Dehash (74), in their house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) and his mother, Azeeza Masikh Dehash (74), in their house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
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photos/slides/030604-DG-060.jpg
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) casts the shadow of an Islamic cleric in the hiding place in his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) casts the shadow of an Islamic cleric in the hiding place in his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
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photos/slides/030604-DG-019.jpg
Teeth of Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) lost all his teeth from malnutrition while hding in his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. He keeps them in a matchbox. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
Teeth of Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) lost all his teeth from malnutrition while hding in his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. He keeps them in a matchbox. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
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photos/slides/030604-DG-006.jpg
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) descends through the trap-door entrance to his hiding place in his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) descends through the trap-door entrance to his hiding place in his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
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photos/slides/030604-DG-146.jpg
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) outside his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary, 2003
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49) outside his house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
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photos/slides/030604-DG-123.jpg
Azeeza Masikh Dehash, 2003
Azeeza Masikh Dehash (74), the mother of Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49), in their house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Dehash took care of her son for 22 years while he hid behind a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
Azeeza Masikh Dehash, 2003
Azeeza Masikh Dehash (74), the mother of Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary (49), in their house in Shammar village, near Numaniya, Iraq. Dehash took care of her son for 22 years while he hid behind a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
PHOTO BY DAVID I. GROSS/JUNE 4, 2003
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Bad Things
The Man in the Wall
The Man in the Wall
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David Gross
Numaniya, Iraq
Go to Slide Show Go to Light Table
These pictures were shot for the Washington Post. We drove out to find a little, tiny village, got lost, and finally were led to it by local boys. Al-Shemary didn't seem crazy at all, just an intense man. His story seems to check out, and given the risk of being discovered, it isn't unreasonable, either.
Jawad Amer Said Al-Shemary hid for 22 years in a false wall in the house to avoid arrest and execution by Saddam Hussein's regime. He had joined the Shia political party "Dawa" in 1981, and after two friends were arrested and killed, he went into hiding.
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