War Torn: Stories of Separation

Combining stills and voices to convey personal stories of separation caused by the war in Iraq, 'War Torn: Stories of Separation' form part of the Dispatches 'Iraq: Legacy of Hate' season.

Through personal interviews and the use of letter correspondence between the soldiers serving in Iraq and their families, each of the following four films create an intimate portrait of the stresses that are imposed on a family when a loved one travels to a foreign country to risk their life in the most hostile of environments.

The result is a portrait of military life which is both moving and contemporary.

WARNING: These videos contain some strong language.

Monday 6 November
Anna & Russell
Russell Aston was in the front line during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. His wife Anna reads from the letters he sent home in those first few months.


Watch in C4 Player
mp4 version
wmv version

N.B. You many need to right click and save to your computer to download the mp4 and wmv versions.

Tuesday 7 November
Dani & James
Eighteen year old James Hamilton has spent much of the last year in Basra as part of OPTELIC 8. His mother Dani speaks candidly about the experience of seeing her child go off to war.

Watch in C4 Player
mp4 version
wmv version

Wednesday 8 November
Debbie, Mark & James
James Piotrowski was one of his regiments star recruits and was eager to play his part in the Iraq war. But after he came back from his first tour of duty things began to fall apart.

Watch in C4 Player
mp4 version
wmv version

Thursday 9 November
Donna & Peter
Donna Mahoney was the daughter of a soldier and swore she'd never marry a military man. But husband Peter joined the TA and his experience in Iraq had devastating consequences for the family.

Watch in C4 Player
mp4 version
wmv version

Share this article

Send this article to a friend »