Litauen: Fotoprojekt über Zwangsdiener im Heer

Two women in Lithuania are using photography to approach a very controversial topic – military conscription, which was suddenly reinstated by the Lithuanian government just a few months ago. The series is a collaboration between Lithuanian actress and TV host Beata Tiskevic-Hasanova and Lithuanian photographer and political science student Neringa Rekasiute.

On May 11th, more than 37,000 men, aged 19-26, woke up and found their surnames on Lithuania’s compulsory military service list. 3,000 were needed for the first wave of recruits, but 2/3 of this first group were filled by volunteers. Some of these men took to social media to express their thoughts about what many called a sudden and random ‘lottery.’ The most disturbing thing was the very harsh and unforgiving public opinion of men who didn’t want to go to the army. They were called “unmanly,” “cowardly,” “disgraceful,” etc. This negativity caught Beata’s and Neringa’s attention and they decided to respond creatively.

Hier geht es weiter.