The deaths of Americans do not justify the collateral damage of Afghan citizens, say representatives from a traveling exhibit.

“Eye for an Eye,” which illustrated the casualties of Sept. 11 and the U.S. air attacks on Afghanistan, made a stop on campus Wednesday.

After appearances in Madison, Wis., Grand Rapids, Mich., Iowa City and Cornell College in New York, the exhibit was displayed at Parks Library.

The idea for the exhibit came after Karly Whitaker of Iowa City read several obituaries in the New York Times of victims of last year’s terrorist attacks.

“They were heart-wrenching and very moving,” she said. “There were little anecdotes about these people’s lives that made them so real.”

Whitaker, who drew faces of Afghan victims for the display, said the subjects for the exhibit came from pictures in newspapers and other books. The pictures showed both American and Afghan casualties.

“Right now, the number of casualties in Afghanistan are almost equal to those from September 11,” she said. “I think there needs to be a balance in the empathy extended to these losses.”

Whitaker discussed innocent civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

There was a wedding party of 40 Afghan people who were killed in July when they fired gunshots into the air. This is a traditional part of their wedding ceremony, but the United States bombed and killed them, she said.

The title for the display came from a quote attributed to Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr., Whitaker said.

“The saying is, `An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,’ which is why our artwork is focusing on eyes and faces,” she said.

“An eye for an eye doesn’t solve a problem in any way.”

Whitaker said she felt good about the discussion from people who stopped to look at the display or sign the petition against potential bombing in Iraq.

“We have about 750 signatures on the petition right now,” she said. “Our goal is to get 1,000.”

Matt Denner, junior in political science, distributed petitions at the exhibit.

“We clearly want to show the problems with the attacks on Afghanistan and our opposition to bombing Iraq,” he said.

Denner participates in the campus organization Time for Peace, formed on Sept. 11 to unite community and campus members in demonstrations of nonviolence. On Wednesday morning, representatives of Time for Peace spoke about the art exhibit on WOI Radio’s Talk of Iowa program.

“We want people to know our group exists and people should feel comfortable to talk with us,” he said. “We want to tap into all sorts of groups all over campus.”

Denner said the beginning of the academic year is a good time to get involved with Time for Peace. “It’s a new year, and we hope to find new ways of reaching new people,” he said.

Karina Zidon, senior in linguistics, stopped by to see the exhibit.

“Seeing how many innocent people on both sides have died because of a few people really brings the issues home,” she said.

The exhibit accomplishes its purpose because it shows these familiar faces in a new way, Zidon said.

The exhibit will be back in Iowa City next week.