Don't shoot the clowns : taking a circus to the real Iraq

"Don't Shoot the Clowns" is Jo Wilding's account of living with Iraqi people during the war and its aftermath.

She tells what daily life is really like in a country coping with invasion and occupation, and how she and a hastily recruited troupe of circus performers brought clowns, laughter and some moments of respite to the children of Iraq.

As a human rights observer, Jo Wilding, a young British trainee lawyer and solidarity activist, witnessed and recorded in her blog some of the worst atrocities committed against ordinary people.

Out of the trauma grew the circus, travelling round the squatter camps, schools and orphanages, putting light and hope back into people's lives. 'I want to thank you for coming,' said one observer. 'This is the first time since the war that I have seen the children laugh this way, from their insides.' Jo Wilding isn't a journalist looking for stories.

In simply playing with children, helping where possible and instinctively recording events, she provides a unique and independent perspective.

Her daily accounts have an immediacy and accuracy that bring the scenes sharply into focus. From the shocking, painful stories of the siege of Falluja - where, for a terrifying day and night, she was taken prisoner - to the crowds of mesmerized children, every episode vividly describes life in occupied Iraq.