24 Jan 2010 | no comments » Children, hazara, people
Children in Behsud, Kajaw village, after Kochi (nomad) attacked and destroyed the plantation and burned the house of Hazaras, thousand of people became homeless. The people of the central Afghanistan have been victim of historical, institutional discrimination for over 100 years. Due to this systematic discrimination, this region is the least developed place in the country and their people are the poorest in Afghanistan. From 1889 to 1891, Abdur Rahman’s regime carried a genocide process against Hazaras in which 60% of Hazara population put to death and their lands have taken.
19 Jan 2010 | 2 comments » Helmand
Helmand river is the longest in Afghanistan by the length of 1,150 km. the river rises from Hindu Kush and ends Hamun-i-Helmand in Sistan & Baluchistan province of Iran. One of the two primary arms of the river crosses through Lashkar Gah, imparting an attractive air of a riverside city to it. It makes for a pleasant setting for the citizens of Lashkar Gah to picnic. The river is deep enough at Lashkar Gah to allow for varied water sports, including swimming and boating. Boats are available for hire to the citizens.
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.
08 Jan 2010 | no comments » people
This picture is taken in Balkh, (the birth place of Mawlana Jalalud-Din Balkhi) in Northern Afghanistan. I was assigned to photograph the birth place of Rumi and his school that had spent learning until he was 12 before he had left Afghanistan for Turkey. Donkey cart is used in rural areas normally by farmers where there is no proper road and transport system. Today, in major cities every type of car, bus, mini-van, horse cart and donkey cart can be found in the congested streets of Kabul.

05 Jan 2010 | no comments » people
Zebulon Simentov is a 50-year-old is believed to have become the last Jew in Afghanistan after the death of the caretaker of the only functioning synagogue in Kabul. It has emerged that the caretaker, Ishaq Levin, another Jew, aged about 80, died of natural causes. According to media around 5,000 Afghan Jews left the country after the creation of Israel in 1948, with others leaving after the 1979 Soviet invasion. Early biblical commentators regarded Khorasan as a location of the Ten Lost Tribes. Today, several Afghan tribes including the Durrani, Yussafzai, Afridi and Pashtun believe they are decedents of King Saul. They call themselves Bani-Israel, similar to the Hebrew, B’nai Israel, meaning the children of Israel. Even some Muslim scholars and writers accept this. In 2001, the Taliban stole all the synagogue’s supplies and the two Jews had to close their synagogue and leave the country. Worldwide Jewish organizations say that Jews have been in Afghanistan since the eighth century, mostly in Kabul and Herat. But in recent times many have emigrated to Central Asia and India.