Remnants of a war fought decades ago continue to devastate innocent lives in Iran.  During the conflict with Iraq in the 1980s, millions of land mines were buried throughout Iran’s western border provinces. Despite efforts by government demining programs, an unknown amount of undetonated ordnance still litters the countryside.  “It’s been 30 years since the war ended, and it’s still taking lives and hurting the people,” said Arash Khamooshi, a photojournalist from Kurdistan, Iran, who grew up with adults constantly warning him about the countless mines scattered about, even in areas that had been playgrounds. That danger remains ever-present today: each year, more than 100 people are killed or maimed by land mines. Many are adults working around the borders of Kurdistan. Natural phenomena, including rain and landslides, have shifted mines closer to residential areas.  In 2013, Mr. Khamooshi learned that six children had been seriously injured after one of them triggered a land mine buried underneath a tree. The incident compelled him to document child victims of land-mine explosions. For the last two and a half years, Mr. Khamooshi has photographed a dozen children under the age of 10 whose lives were altered by land mines. All suffered trauma; some lost limbs, or even their lives.  “These kids had nothing to do with the war,” he said, “but they are being hurt by the aftermath of that war.”  He has dual motives for his continuing project. Mr. Khamooshi says he believes the photos will serve as effective warnings, particularly for children. More important, he hopes that bringing attention to these incidents will motivate the government, along with nonprofit organizations, to take necessary steps to make the country safer.  Mr. Khamooshi is no stranger to advocacy. In addition to his work for the Iranian Students News Agency, he volunteers in Tehran for Nikgaman Jamshid, a partner of the United States-based nongovernmental organization Moms Against Poverty. The organization builds schools and medical centers in poor and remote villages, so that fewer children will have to trek to neighboring villages along potentially treacherous paths. Many of the children killed or maimed by the blasts in Iran lived in areas with limited access to resources.  His photographs depict the young victims, wounded and recovering in hospital beds; some feature close looks at scars and deformities. Others show the children at home, or outside at a favorite playing spot; their injuries and amputations are not prominent, or even visible.  “I mostly want to show that they’re not being kids, like other kids living in other parts of Iran or around the world,” Mr. Khamooshi said. “They don’t have the same childhood as other kids. They live in dangerous areas.”  Mr. Khamooshi chose black-and-white to mute the graphic impact of blood and minimize the grisliness of certain injuries. Although he wants to raise awareness, he prefers to be restrained in order not to undermine his purpose with disturbing, graphic images. He needs to draw eyes to the horror, not avert them from it, if he hopes to spur change and prevent further tragedy.  “When they are disabled like that, it affects their future very deeply,” Mr. Khamooshi said of his subjects. “I wanted to show that the future for them is destroyed.”  Follow @nytimesphoto on Twitter. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.
Decades after the end of Iran’s war with Iraq, countless land mines in Iran’s western provinces continue to maim and kill children.