MICHAELCHRISTOPHERBROWN

ARCHIVE 2008-2012: 2009 - THE GLASS HOUSE

August 2009

As the war escalates in Afghanistan and foreign dollars continue to flow into the country, aid meant for the masses has, for the most part, only thickened the wallets of corrupt Afghan officials, warlords and drug lords.

Though elections were held, many Afghans were afraid to travel to voting booths or had lost trust in a Karzai government that has done little over the past five years to improve the lives of the majority of the population.

Security and the rights of civilians, especially women, has improved in some areas. But even in the capital city of Kabul, frequent car bombings, kidnappings, shootings and other terrorist attacks continually remind everyone that Kabul is, and might always be, a glass house.

Still, in the continuous cycle of war and upheaval in Afghanistan, hope remains. The Afghans learned long ago that no matter what happens, life goes on.

Kids play inside the stadium where a portrait of King Ahmadshah Baba sits atop the stands, following a rally for presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah.
   
Razia, 18 days old, lies on a pillow inside the home of Sardar and Farida. The Khans, originally from Afghanistan, moved from Pakistan to Afghanistan in the past year when the UNHCR(?) promised them food rations. The Khans live in an abandoned building near the old King’s Palace, Darulaman Palace, in Kabul.
   
Following a rally for presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah.
     
  
Soldiers pray atop a hill in Kabul during Ramadan.
   
At a huge field, called Chaman Hozary, in Kabul.
   
A girl in Sakhi cemetary in Kabul at sunset.
     
  
Children wait while an Afghani American woman hands out food and clothing at Charhi Qhambar, an IDP camp located on the outskirts of Kabul. Most of the internally displaced people here are from the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand. Many families had lost at least one family member from American bombs.
   
Street scene at night.
   
Hazara brickmakers work atop a giant kiln near the outskirts of Kabul.
     
  
Amanulha, an opium addict, receives syrum for pain and nutritional injections - after not having eaten for several days - while at Najat Center, a newly setup government sponsored center in Kabul. Opium addiction is one of myriad effects of the war in Afghanistan.
   
A policeman threatens a child who was sleeping on the central stadium steps and accused of using heroin.
   
An opium addict and former champion wrestler at Najat Center, a newly setup government sponsored center in Kabul. Opium addiction is one of myriad effects of the war in Afghanistan.
     
  
Opium addicts in the Bagh Alimardan section of Kabul.
  
A gate to a property located along a highway just outside the city of Kabul.
   
A campaign poster, for hopeful provincial council candidates in Kabul province, was posted to a wall at the center of Kabul.
     
  
Asila, 18, an election worker, stands by a blackboard inside an elementary school used as a voting center in Kabul on August 20, 2009. Contenders in the race to become Afghanistan's next president claimed to be heading for victory in polls acclaimed by the West but undermined by complaints of ballot-stuffing and low turnout.
   
Hazara election workers inside a voting centre in Kabul on August 20, 2009. Contenders in the race to become Afghanistan's next president claimed to be heading for victory in polls acclaimed by the West but undermined by complaints of ballot-stuffing and low turnout.
   
Children toss rocks at a giant crumbling billboard poster depicting Muhammad Qasim Fahim, the running mate of Hamid Karzai.
     
  
A child runs down a trail at dusk. Most of Kabul has only had 24-hour electricity since 2008.
   
A car bomb, ignited by a suicide bomber, explodes near the main gate of the NATO-led international military mission in Kabul on August 15. The bomb killed three Afghans and wounded 70, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
   
A victim of a car bomb blast on Jalalabad road in Kabul is helped at at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital on August 18.
     
  
Habad, 22, originally from Pakistan, was a Taliban living in Waziristan when he was sent on a suicide bombing mission into Paktika province, Afghanistan. Habad had been ordered to blow himself up in a vehicle while encountering American and foreign troops in Afghanistan. However, when he entered Afghanistan he saw many Afghan officers and decided he could not kill his "muslim brothers." He decided to turn himself in to the local police. "I had to find the power to go into Jihad with the American people," Habad said. "I did not know anything about Americans before....I just knew they invaded many countries and felt I was doing this to help the Afghan people." Habad expects to be in prison for 20 years.
   
A handicapped child covered in a blanket lies on a road at the center of Kabul.
   
A young girl is consoled by her mother at a psychiatric hospital.
     
  
9-11 memorial ceremony at Camp Eggers.
   
Opium addicts at Najat Center, a newly setup government sponsored center in Kabul, one day before September, the day before the anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud (on t.v.) in 2001. Opium addiction is one of myriad effects of the war in Afghanistan.
   
A woman and her children beg along Bagram Road, the new road leading from Kabul to the American base near the village of Bagram.
     
  
An opium addict walks through a bullet ridden hallway inside the defunct Russian Cultural Center.
   
People boarding a bus in Quai Markaz area of Kabul.
   
Pigeons fly near a mosque in old town, Kabul.
     
  
During a fashion and modeling TV show in Kabul.
   
A butcher stands outside closed storefronts just after dawn in Kabul.
   
A boy eats an ice cream cone in the Cinema Pamir section of Kabul.
     
  
On a hill overlooking Kabul.
   
A child runs through Sakhi cemetery in Kabul.
   
Kids play in Qhargha Lake, located on the outskirts of Kabul city.
     
  
A family at an empty hilltop swimming pool in Kabul.
   
An IDP camp, called Charhi Qhambar, on the edge of Kabul. Most of the IDP’s here are from Kandahar and Helmand provinces. Most families had lost at least one family member from American bombs.
   
Children play football in the Bagh Alimardan section of Kabul.