Return, Afghanistan (Aperture)

Afghan-born Swiss photographer Zalmaï was one of 600,000 exiled in 1980 following the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. Only 15 years old, he was forced to leave his home in Kabul, traveling with his brother through the mountains to Pakistan, and finally to Switzerland where they were granted political asylum and eventually became citizens. In the years that followed, Afghanistan and her people continued to suffer the hardships of war. By 1990, an estimated 6 million Afghan refugees had been forcibly exiled to Pakistan, Iran, and over 70 other countries.

After 16 years in exile, Zalmaï revisited his war-torn homeland for the first time as a photographer for a Swiss newspaper. His assignment was to photograph the victims of land-mines. The tragedy that Zalmaï witnessed firsthand, at the bedsides of innocent victims, arbitrarily mutilated, would haunt him for years to come.

Following the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees began repatriation efforts and by 2003, had been able to restore more than two and a half million refugees to Afghanistan. With their support, Zalmaï returned again to Afghanistan in order to document the process of reconstruction.

Return, Afghanistan © Zalmaï/Aperture Foundation

Return, Afghanistan contains 78 rich color photos, mostly in panoramic format, exquisitely communicating the vastness of the land and sky, while simultaneously expressing the magnitude of the rebuilding effort. An exceptional photographer, Zalmaï used color film for the first time in his career for this project. He captures the resplendent snow-capped mountain ranges, fertile plains, and deserts of Afghanistan and succeeds in his mission to relate the story of a nation that has endured over 25 years of war, drought, and famine. In the process, Zalmaï reveals hope for Afghanistan and the painstaking rebuilding that is taking place, brick by brick. The resilience of the returnees to Afghanistan and those who are internally displaced reverberates throughout the images.

The first harvest, after years of drought and war, shows promise that the country can return to peace, stability, and self-sufficiency. Aybak, Samangan. © Zalmaï/Aperture Foundation

The book includes a preface by Rudd Lubbers of the United Nations High Commissioner and an historical essay by Newsweek correspondent Ron Moreau, which gives a synopsis of Afghanistan's history, the undertaking of reconstruction, and the political issues which threaten her rehabilitation.

In addition, Zalmaï recounts his personal, harrowing story of exile and return in an accompanying essay. He also presents his observations and analysis of Afghanistan's precarious situation, both domestically and in the international arena. Most compelling, however, are the personal stories he narrates through his images, of the repatriates, their struggles, and the momentous progress they have made.

The former site of the Bamian Buddhas, destroyed by the Taliban © Zalmaï/Aperture Foundation

He shows families who return to find their former homes have turned to piles of rubble. Many of the returnees must find temporary shelter in the empty caves which surround the Bamian Buddhas—destroyed by the Taliban. Others travel through foggy, barren hills with inadequate clothing to battle the harsh winter months, in search of camps where they might be permitted to build makeshift homes.

Born in exile, these youngsters pose amid the ruins of their family's former home. Sabzak, Bamian. © Zalmaï/Aperture Foundation

One man whom Zalmaï photographed in an abandoned truck stop in told him "we are not ashamed, this is our life, our country, take our photo so the world can see how poor we are." Others expressed exasperation because though they were prepared to rebuild from the ruins of their former homes, they were still without livelihood. As one man put it: "Now that I'm back, how can I participate in the reconstruction with an empty stomach?"

In the midst of his prayers over the grave of a family member, a man pauses to wish me a safe journey. Dash-e-Laylie, Jowzjan. © Zalmaï/Aperture Foundation

Zalmaï does not restrict himself, however, to the poverty-stricken side of Afghanistan. He also portrays the city of Kabul as a vibrant, reinvigorated capital, surging with the optimism of a new era. He photographs Hamid Karzai, President of the Transitional Administration of Afghanistan, as he discusses regeneration, security, and the distribution of resources with locally appointed officials and elders.

He also bears witness to the education reforms that have been possible since the fall of the Taliban. In one particularly inspiring photo, school is held in the shell of a bus, where women of all ages pursue literacy. Zalmaï acts as messenger of people whose voices have long been silenced and in these images, nothing but light separates the viewer from the story Zalmaï intends to tell.

Returnees wait patiently for blankets, coal, and stoves provided by UNHCR and humanitarian agencies. Qal'eh-ye Shadah, Kabul © Zalmaï/Aperture Foundation

Since the institution of an interim government, an average of twenty thousand people per day cross back into Afghanistan. The breathtaking splendor of the land itself is equaled only by the bravery of its people in the face of overwhelming odds. In this work of superb artistry and immense humanitarian import, Zalmaï conveys the determination of the Afghan people towards sustainable reintegration and the creation of a new Afghanistan.

These men represent four of the five major ethnic groups in Afghanistan; during the country's civil war, these groups were continually at war. Tension remains, but people from each tribe have converged in Kabul and must cooperate to survive.© Zalmaï