18 Jan 2013 | no comments » people, war
Mustafa Kazemi was an influential member of the parliament at the time of his assassination, was a former Trade Minister in President Karzai’s cabinet. He was also the spokesperson for the opposition movement known as the United National Front. Kazemi and his parliamentary delegation visiting the sugar factory in northern Baghlan province was the target of a suicide attack on November 6, 2007.
Around 100 others were also killed in this blast and 80 others were injured. The majority of the people who were killed were school children who came to welcome Mustafa Kazemi and his team.
Most of the killings happened when bodyguards and security forces opened fire into the crowd out of fear. Some even believed that Mustafa Kazemi was killed as a result of rogue shootings by security forces. They found evidences like bullet holes in his skull and his body.
His picture on a torn electricity pole has a symbolic meaning about his death and the country that has been through three decades of wars. Afghanistan is a brutal country where everything and everyone is torn apart either physically, emotionally or otherwise. Those who have shown mercy either torn like this pole or forced out. Merciness, kindness and tolerance are replaced with cruelty, intolerance and meanness.
08 Jan 2013 | no comments » people, war
The war-torn Afghanistan is one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. As a result, around 2,000 Afghans become disabled each year due to mine blasts and related incidents. In 2011, USA TODAY wrote: According to a U.S. Agency of International Development assessment, one in five households have at least one person with a disability, putting a financial strain on many already impoverished families that count on everyone to contribute to the household income.
The Afghan government estimates that between 800,000 and 2 million people are disabled, the majority of whom were injured during the past three decades. As the population approaches 30 million, Afghanistan has among the highest percentage of disabled people in the world.
Over half of Afghanistan’s disabled population is under 19, say organizations helping people with disability. Over 72 percent of all disabled people over six have not received any education, Afghanistan’s National Disability Survey (NDS) said in 2005.
IRIN News adds: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has donated prostheses and orthoses (artificial aids such as a brace) to over 80,000 disabled people since it launched its orthopedic services in Afghanistan in 1988.
23 Dec 2012 | 3 comments » war
An Afghan Mujahid in prayer over a Russian tank wreck in Balkh, Northern Afghanistan. The wreckage of destroyed Russian tanks are everywhere, especially in the north part. This person who was a teacher in a local school told me that he had lost thee members of his family during Soviet occupation. Praying over a destroyed Russian tank is funny but it carries a bitter metaphor about the Afghans and their perception of the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Many Afghans like this Mujahid lost a member of their families, praying on tank wrecks provide them a sense of relief.
Click Image to Enlarge.
12 Jan 2010 | no comments » war, women
Mursal is a 26 years old Afghan widow. She has an 8 years old son. She lost her husband, her son and a nephew in US air strike after September 11. They were living nearby a Taliban military base in northern Kabul when the US bombed Taliban base, the bomb missed its target and hit their houses. Now, she is returned back to her father’s house but his older brother is also a victim of war who lost one of his legs. Afghan Widows struggle to survive because of limited options for women to earn an income. Options outside the home are limited where the Taliban holds sway in Afghanistan.
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