Postcards from Afghanistan
A people in search of a future after 40 years of war
Photo by Bruno Zanzottera
After 40 years of war, four years of drought, and more than a year after the Taliban seized power, the situation in Afghanistan gives great cause for concern. According to estimates by UNHCR and the World Food Programme, 24 million people are in need of vital humanitarian aid, the unemployment rate has reached 98%, and often those who do have jobs haven’t received a paycheck in months. The situation is even more dire for women who, despite numerous assurances from the new government, are subjected to increasingly severe restrictions. They are effectively living in a giant prison and their main
objective is survival. And yet, in spite of all this, there is perhaps one slightly positive development to report: the population is tired of endless wars, and these days the roads are relatively safe. And so, Afghans have begun to travel, in some cases for tourism. This reportage, which covers several provinces of Afghanistan, offers a series of images – we can even call them postcards – of a country that has a great will to live. This in spite of a despotic regime that does not believe in governing a population, so much as dominating it.
(2022)
