Afghanistan is a buzzing place with plenty of aid work and military activity. It felt relatively safe but that was behind the reassuring feel of armoured glass in the vehicle I was travelling in (apart from the yellow cab I used in the capital...) and within the confines of guarded compounds. That said, I managed to get out onto the ground and interact with the local people... something I got the impression that more of Afghanistan's more 'long term' expatriate community need to do more of.
First up is a picture of my driver, Samy... this was taken in the Kabul 'holiday resort' of Gharka, where the renowned Kabul Golf Course had its mine and unexploded ordnance cleared a few years ago.
The next photo is on the main road north out of Kabul. It shows some of the thousands of discarded vehicles left by the Soviets after they fled in disarray in 1988/ 89.
This next pic was taken just before the Salang Pass, the world's highest road tunnel.
Here we see a fuel stop... built on top of old armoured personnel carriers!
What a view from the office; the HALO Trust compound in Pul-i-Khumri with Soviet missiles as gate guardians...
This is a photo of a T55 tank taken through wheat, somewhere east of Kunduz.
I'm standing in an area cleared of mines by the HALO Trust in Khanabad, Kunduz province. The view is from a former Northern Alliance/ Taliban trench.
A baker in Kunduz town. Despite the fact that Kunduz province was a former 'bread basket' in central asia, the region now imports wheat from Pakistan due to food insecurity stemming from 3 decades of conflict.
HALO's manager in the north of Afghanistan is a former opera singer with no military experience. He's in charge of 1,400 Afghans and is doing bloody well.
A beautiful view of the Hindu Kush mountains in Keshim, Badakshon province.
That's all...
No comments:
Post a Comment