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Photofeature on Afghanistan
by Carlos Reyes-Manzo

The Children of Afghanistan

Photographs copyright © Carlos Reyes-Manzo 2002


It is over one year since the Taliban regime was overthrown in Afghanistan. The Taliban have gone but their legacy remains. When you visit the ICRC landmine rehabilitation centre you realise the legacy of years' of civil war is felt everyday by the children. Thousands of children have been injured and killed by landmines and most of them are girls or women who are the ones who collect the water and crops in the fields. Children are still living in refugee camps. In Kabul thousands of children are working to help their families survive. Amid all the suffering you see children enjoying traditional games and when you talk to them you realize that their lives are a mixture of pain and hope for a better future.

 
Maslag refugee camp near Mazar i Sharif   Maslag refugee camp near Mazar i Sharif   School at Aryen Medical Centre in Peshawar
   
Children playing in the ruins of the former frontline in Kabul   Kabul   Collecting water at dawn in Ghazni
         
Girl with polio at ICRC centre, Kabul   Fatema and Shabana, injured by landmines, ICRC centre, Kabul   Aryen Medical Centre in Kabul
         
Kabul   Kabul   Aryen Medical Centre in Kabul
         
Aschiana School, Kabul   Girls' School in Kandahar   Children playing in Ghazni