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| นิตยสาร สารคดี: ฉบับที่ ๒๑๕ เดือนมกราคม ๒๕๔๖ | ISSN 0857-1538 | |||
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| By Toru Yokota Translated by Pennapa Hongthong |
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There is no escaping the memory of wars everywhere you go in Afghanistan. In the streets, young orphans wander around begging for money. Bomb-ravaged buildings can be seen anywhere. The prisons there are swollen with inmates from the latest war, in which the Northern Alliance overthrew the Taliban regime. Freelance photographer and TV cameraman visited the shell-shocked country in September this year, after the end of the United States' continuous bombing campaign to capture the Al Queda's leader, Osama Bin Laden. Perhaps there is no place where the vestige of war is as vivid as in Sheborghan Prison, in Mazar-e-Sharif. Sheborghan is one of the two massive prisons in Afghanistan. During the Taliban rule, it was used to detain Northern Alliance soldiers. Now that the regime fell, their members and those faithful to the Al Queda network end up there. |
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As the country's capital and largest city, Kabul is the heart of Afghanistan. And it is throbbing. Although military tanks still roll by occasionally, the streets of Kabul is echoed with songs played by many tape and CD vendors. American goods, Coca Cola, chocolate or military surplus items, are on display. With the end of the repressive Taliban regime, women are enjoying more freedom and seen more in public places even if they remain covered from head to toe. The semblance to normalcy can suddenly end and the memory of war brought back to life, however. Even if the war officially ended, bombs still go off from time to time in this war-torn capital. In the suburb, lots of lots land mines lie underground - a reminder that the danger is far from over and life has yet to return to normal for civilian Afghans. |
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Kandahar, the second largest city and former Taliban stronghold, and adjacent city of Jalalabad, have similar stories to tell - those about death and sadness. Along the road that links the two cities, some old, empty tanks can be seen. They have become large toys for Afghan boys to climb around. Along the mountain ranges between the two cities is situated Tora Bora, the place where the Northern Alliance and the United States once believed was the hiding place of Osama Bin Laden. Today, there are only mass graves, believed to be the resting place of fallen Taliban soldiers. These graves are adorn with colourful flags. Ever since the fall of the Taliban, millions of Afghans from refugee camps along the border with Iran and in Pakistan are returning to their hometown, with help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The war may be over but sorrow and grief are still evident in Afghanistan. Whether the country, ravaged by decades of continuous wars, will rise from the ashes, we can only wait and see. |