Afghanistan

URSTAN PASS, AFGHANISTAN - MAY 2007: A soldier called Nehmat prays while on guard duty from the Afghan National Army, Weapons Company, 2¼ Kandak 3 Brigade 201 Corp., based in Gowardehs OP (observations post) 3 miles from the border with Pakistan (Nuristan Region). This company has soldiers from all the different tribes living in Afghanistan.

URSTAN PASS, AFGHANISTAN - MAY 2007: Afghan National Army, Weapons Company, 2¼ Kandak 3 Brigade 201 Corp., based in Gowardehs OP (observations post) 3 miles from the border with Pakistan (Nuristan Region), fire back to a supposed ambush near the Urstan Pass, one of the most usual transit points to cross the border for the Talibans. This company has soldiers from all the different tribes living in Afghanistan.

URSTAN PASS, AFGHANISTAN - MAY 2007: Soldiers from the Afghan National Army, Weapons Company, 2¼ Kandak 3 Brigade 201 Corp., based in Gowardehs OP (observations post) 3 miles from the border with Pakistan (Nuristan Region) take a break. This company has soldiers from all the different tribes living in Afghanistan.

URSTAN PASS, AFGHANISTAN - MAY 2007 Soldiers from the Afghan National Army, Weapons Company, 2¼ Kandak 3 Brigade 201 Corp., based in Gowardehs OP (observations post) 3 miles from the border with Pakistan (Nuristan Region) take a break. This company has soldiers from all the different tribes living in Afghanistan.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: A dog fight, which is a popular pastime in this country with little entertainment. It is a favorite activity on Fridays, after prayers at the mosque, and locals bet on the outcome of these dangerous fights, often even placing thousands of dollars on individual bets. A suicide bombing in Kandahar in 2008 at a dog fight killed 67 people. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Children working in the streets in Kabul. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009 A woman wearing a burqa, with a young girl, sit in the middle of a muddy road in front of a bonfire. Over 3.5 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan following the fall of the Taliban in 2001, to find a country in ruins, with no work or housing for them. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Drug addicts in the former Russian Cultural Centre in Kabul, where up to 1700 addicts come and go from this Soviet-style building, injecting and smoking heroin amongst the ruins and rubbish. It is like a huge shooting gallery for 'junkies', where heroin is sold for 50 Afghanis (USD $1) per gram. Severe addicts will require up to 5g per day, so are forced to rob and beg to feed their habit. There are over 1 million drug addicts in Afghanistan, most of whom became addicts when they were in exile having fled to Iran or Pakistan, and have now returned home. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009 Drug addicts in the former Russian Cultural Centre in Kabul, where up to 1700 addicts come and go from this Soviet-style building, injecting and smoking heroin amongst the ruins and rubbish. It is like a huge shooting gallery for 'junkies', where heroin is sold for 50 Afghanis (USD $1) per gram. Severe addicts will require up to 5g per day, so are forced to rob and beg to feed their habit. There are over 1 million drug addicts in Afghanistan, most of whom became addicts when they were in exile having fled to Iran or Pakistan, and have now returned home. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Drug addicts in the former Russian Cultural Centre in Kabul, where up to 1700 addicts come and go from this Soviet-style building, injecting and smoking heroin amongst the ruins and rubbish. It is like a huge shooting gallery for 'junkies', where heroin is sold for 50 Afghanis (USD $1) per gram. Severe addicts will require up to 5g per day, so are forced to rob and beg to feed their habit. There are over 1 million drug addicts in Afghanistan, most of whom became addicts when they were in exile having fled to Iran or Pakistan, and have now returned home. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: A man with his bike in Kabul. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Old market in Kabul. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Old market in Kabul. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009 With temperatures below freezing, a woman peers through the window into the waiting room of Institute for Malaria and Leishmaniasis, which receives 50 new patients per day, and 200 returning patients. These illnesses are spread through mosquitos, who are able to reproduce readily in the crumbling houses of Kabul. Their bites can cause skin infections and internal ulcers which inflame the spleen and liver, and can end up being fatal. There are so many cases that the medicine used as an effective treatment if taken for a month and half, at the cost of around USD $150, is running out. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Waiting line in the Institute for Malaria and Leishmaniasis, which receives 50 new patients per day, and 200 returning patients. These illnesses are spread through mosquitos, who are able to reproduce readily in the crumbling houses of Kabul. Their bites can cause skin infections and internal ulcers which inflame the spleen and liver, and can end up being fatal. There are so many cases that the medicine used as an effective treatment if taken for a month and half, at the cost of around USD $150, is running out. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009 A medical check in the Institute for Malaria and Leishmaniasis, which receives 50 new patients per day, and 200 returning patients. These illnesses are spread through mosquitos, who are able to reproduce readily in the crumbling houses of Kabul. Their bites can cause skin infections and internal ulcers which inflame the spleen and liver, and can end up being fatal. There are so many cases that the medicine used as an effective treatment if taken for a month and half, at the cost of around USD $150, is running out. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: Amputees and severly injured patients undergo rehabilitation in Kabul. The Red Cross (ICRC) has been working in Afghanistan since 1989 with vitcims of three decades of war, who have lost limbs due to mines. Until now, they have assisted 34,000 amputees, and a further 54,000 patients affected by other illnesses, such as polio. In addition, they produce 600 prosthetic legs, 1200 sets of crutches, and 100 wheelchairs in their orthopaedic workshops each month. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - JANUARY 2009: Patients at Kabul's psychiatric unit. Three decades of consecutive wars have had a significant and detrimental effect on many Afghans' mental health. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - FEBRUARY 2009: A woman wearing a burqa begs for money through a car window in Kabul. Wrapped in their burqas, this society which descriminates against women gives widows little option to beg, in the absence of their deceased husbands. Afghanistan has become the key war zone for the new US administration. After years of focus on Iraq, the US government has realized how critical an issue Afghanistan really is. It is a country all too used to broken promises, used to death and used to fighting for its survival. Afghans have increasingly lost hope, and have lost faith in the promises made by the Western World. They now seem focussed on daily survival despite the hardships and social issues that they face on a constant basis.