Security

Photoessay: Delhi Rape Protests

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On the 16th of December, 2012, a 23 year old paramedical student was gang raped in a moving bus in India’s capital city of Delhi. The girl has since been in a critical condition in a government hospital. Delhi has a reputation of being notoriously unsafe for women. Owing to a perceived lack of appropriate response by the government, protesters – ranging from university students to political parties and civil society groups – turned up at the centre of the government setup in Delhi. Many were demanding the capital punishment for this case as well as a new legislation that would bring the capital punishment to all rapists. This photoessay by Raghu Karla documents the protests that took place on the 22nd of December, 2012. The police used tear gas shells, water cannons and lathicharge (a term used to describe a charge with batons against protesters) when the crowds began to storm the Raisina Hill, on which the main ministry office buildings (including the Prime Minister’s Office) and the Presidential Estate are situated.

By Raghu Kalra, 22nd December, 2012

Raghu Kalra writes,

“The situation was tense. Most of the crowd comprised of school and college students demanding justice for the 23 year old rape victim. This protest was not guided by any leaders. It was a spontaneous gathering of a lot of people who were angered and shaken up by what had happened in the capital only a few days ago. The protest was peaceful for most part of the day until a few tried to go over the weak barricading put up by the police, which ultimately led to the tear gassing and use of water cannons. This made the situation worse. It is expected that the crowds of protesters will grow on Sunday.”

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Photo Essay: Tradition and the Sahel

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The Sahel is in the headlines.  As the death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya is linked to pan-Sahelian terrorist organisations and terrorism in Nigeria and Mali drifts further towards the front pages of western newspapers there is a need to look at some of the stories emerging from the region.  This collection of photos, taken by Jack Hamilton, looks at the changing nature of tradition in Mali, Nigeria and Senegal.

By Jack Hamilton, 4th October, 2012 Continue reading →

Photo Essay: Stories from Kabul, Afghanistan – Part III

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As part of a USAID project, Abhishek Srivastava worked in Kabul, Afghanistan on AMDEP (Afghanistan Media Development and Empowerment Program). The principal goal of the project is to train and assist Afghan journalists and students of Kabul University on the nuances of reporting. Abhishek tells us stories of people and places in Kabul using his photos as a medium. This is the second in a series of photo-essays on Kabul.

Part I can be accessed here: Stories from Kabul – Part I

Part II can be accessed here: Stories from Kabul – Part II

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By Abhishek Srivastava, 17 Feb, 2012

1. Your Country Needs YOU!

A poster calling people to join the Afghan National Army and be a hero.

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2. The Kite Runners

Kite flying at dawn. I was not aware that kite flying is so popular among Afghans. Kite flying had been banned during the the Taliban regime.

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Bullet ridden walls and barbed wires are common in this area around Zahir Shah’s tombstone, a typical Kabul suburb. I saw hundreds of people scattered over a limitless piece of land, flying colorful kites.

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Keeping a hawk eye. The number of kite catchers were the same as the number of people flying the kites.

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5. Baaz

That is a Baaz (Falcon). In Afghanistan, keeping of birds as pets has long been a popular pastime.

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6. The River of Poppies

The main river of eastern Afghanistan is this famous Kabul River. It is a 700kms long river, and it flows east past Kabul and Jalalabad, north of the Khyber Pass into Pakistan, and past Peshawar; it joins the Indus River northwest of Islamabad. Alexander the Great used it to invade India in the 4th century BCE. It now mainly helps in the cultivation of poppies.

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7. The Corner of a Foreign Field

‘Jumma Cricket in Kabul’

At 6am one day, I got a call from an Afghan asking me to accompany him to see what some Afghans do on a holiday morning, after their morning prayers.

And here I was, right in the middle of some mountains, with the wind blowing away the clouds and making way for the clear blue sky. On a ground full of rock and pebbles, with spectators sitting right next to the batting wicket, a match of cricket was on.

The ground was yet again a part of Soviet recreation facility built in the 1980’s. I could not have been more delighted, for it was the World Cup season, and India was in the finals. That was reason enough for me to connect with any match of cricket.

Out of nowhere, I got that extra adrenaline rush to hold the bat and try those rusted strokes from childhood. But first I had to watch. Yes, the cricket fever was on in Afghanistan as well. Being a holiday in this Islamic country, playing cricket every Friday is like a ritual for most. I saw some of them wearing the Pakistan cap as well.

It was 12 over match with 11 players in each team. Some of the them even tried enacting Shahid Afridi, their hero. Afridi is a popular Pakistani batsman. The moment they got to know that an Indian was present, they congratulated me for defeating Pakistan in the World Cup Semi Final and handed me the bat!

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Our cricket ball was a normal tennis ball, which was nicely wrapped in white plastic tape. They say that it makes the ball heavier and makes it swing, much like a leather ball. Well it did hit me hard a couple of times!

9.

Firing star batsman, Haaseeb.

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10. Taimani Fort

The mud walled Taimani Fort. This fort was built in the late 1880’s. It belongs to a tribe called ‘Taimani’ in Afghanistan. I am told that underneath this fort runs a Cavernous hall and a lot of debris from the Soviet era.

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The copyright of all photos are with Abhishek Srivastava. Please do not reprint without permission.

Photo Essay: Stories from Kabul, Afghanistan – Part II

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By Abhishek Srivastava, 16 Jan, 2012

As part of a USAID project, Abhishek Srivastava worked in Kabul, Afghanistan on AMDEP (Afghanistan Media Development and Empowerment Program). The principal goal of the project is to train and assist Afghan journalists and students of Kabul University on the nuances of reporting. Abhishek tells us stories of people and places in Kabul using his photos as a medium. This is the second in a series of photo-essays on Kabul.

Part I can be accessed here: Stories from Kabul – Part I

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1. The Projection Room

The projection room of Park Cinema in Sher-e-Naw, Kabul

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2. Cinema Paradiso

The distorted sounds and scratched prints of Bollywood films mostly, plays in this cinema hall.

In 1996, Taliban banned cinema halls in Afghanistan, but after they were outsed in 2001, the cinema halls were back in ‘action’, playing Bollywood action flicks.  This picture was shot during the screening of  ‘Jimmy‘, Mahakshay Chakraborty’s (Mithun‘s son) debut film.

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3. Made in Russia

The film projectors are from the Russian era. I think that ‘war’ has been a major part of Russian cinema. It must have been part of spreading communism.

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4. Afghanistan’s Starbucks

Afghanistan’s very own green tea.

A common sight on the streets of Kabul is of people – with their friends and families – sharing endless conversations over cups of hot green tea.  The smell of cardamon in the air arrests you, and attracts you to these smoke emitting aluminium containers, which contain the boiling tea leaves.

In Afghanistan, the tea drinking tradition is part of life.

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5. Afghanistan’s National Sport – Buzkashi

Afghanistan’s National Sport is the brutal Buzkashi. Traditionally, horse riders would fight over the carcass of an animal, usually a goat. This one, however, was being played with a sand bag. The Taliban does not approve of this game, and has targeted such games with several suicide attacks in the past. As a rule, women are not allowed to watch this game.

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6. A Tourist in Afghanistan

Meet Ibrahim, a tourist visiting the town of Kabul.

At the time of the civil war, when the warlords could not handle free Afghanistan, they left the country in shambles. A young man, Naveed, migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, where he fell in love with a Kashmiri woman and married her.

After eighteen years, their son, Ibrahim, visited the land of his father to trace their footsteps and learn the history that forced them out of this country.

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7. Street Cricket

Although football is the most popular game amongst the kids, street cricket is a common sight on Fridays (Jumma).

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8. The Birth Lottery

Being born in Afghanistan can indeed be difficult. Imagine the trauma of war that these innocent minds have to grow up with.

Only a quarter of the children get to start their school education, that too at the age of 7, while the others are found ragged on most of the streets tapping on the car window, begging for money. They sometimes ask for specific dollar amounts, or swirl cans of burning charcoal to rid your life of evil spirits. Unfortunately, the war has been brutal and several children often get killed in drone attacks.

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9. Forgotten Waistlands

Belts, circa late 1980’s. The Russian army had invaded Afghanistan and were in a war with Afghanistan’s Mujhahidin fighters.

Mujhahidin fighters, with the help of Americans, brutally defeated the Russians. Some 15,000 Russian soldiers died fighting the war, many of them killed by American surface-to-air-missiles.
Today, in 2012, an antique shop in Kabul, Afghanistan, sells dozens of belts of those dead Russian soldiers, for American dollars.

This, to me, is symbolic of the intention of every American intervention.

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10. Mellifluous Markets

One of the oldest quarters of the Afghan capital, where a bazaar that caters especially to bird-keepers is located. The bazaar is known as Ka Farushi – the “Hay Market”.

The entry to the market is very small, so no vehicle can enter. Hence the air of the bird market – housing some of the world’s most sonorous birds such as canaries – is filled with the melodious sounds of birdsong.

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The copyright of all photos are with Abhishek Srivastava. Please do not reprint without permission.

Photo Essay: Stories from Kabul, Afghanistan

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As part of a USAID project, Abhishek Srivastava worked in Kabul, Afghanistan on AMDEP (Afghanistan Media Development and Empowerment Program). The principal goal of the project is to train and assist Afghan journalists and students of Kabul University on the nuances of reporting. Abhishek tells us stories of people and places in Kabul using his photos as a medium. This is the first in a series of photo-essays on Kabul.

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By Abhishek Srivastava, 23 Dec, 2011

1. The remains of the Darul Aman Palace

Built in 1920s by King Amanullah Khan to modernize Afghanistan, is this Darul Aman Palace. Well, not any more.

Located just ten miles from the main city of Kabul, the building was set on fire during the Communist coup of 1978. It was damaged again as rival Mujahideen factions fought for control of Kabul during the early 1990s. Heavy shelling by the Mujahideen after the end of the Soviet invasion left the building a gutted ruin.

The building tells a story of the times the country has withered.

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2. Women – Power and powerlessness 

One of woman MPs in Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghanistan parliament. The women MPs – elected via reservations – are not encouraged to be in a position of power.

This takes me to a few conversations I had in Kabul.

I once asked a male Member of Parliament, ‘how come none of the women nominate themselves for the post of the speaker?’ He replied, ‘who will vote for a woman?’

Another time, I went to an Afghan journalist friend’s home where he, another local Afghan journalist and I ended up watching an old Bollywood film by Sanjeev Kumar, starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz. The film was about the husband (Rajesh Khanna) doubting his wife (Mumtaz) for having an affair with his friend (Sanjeev Kumar). As the plot develops, so does the husband’s doubt. However, his doubt is shown not to have any substance and the allegations he makes are not true. Eventually, the husband slaps the wife and they separate.

The moment the man slaps the wife, both of my journalist friends show no end to their joy and erupt with this immense reassurance in the idea of ‘ideal manhood’. I ask them, ‘what makes you so happy?’ They reply, ‘the woman deserves this’. I say, ‘but why, she has done nothing wrong. The husband is just being an ass!’ They say, ‘we know, but she should be careful of her husband’s doubts and feelings: it’s her duty to imagine all this!’

And these are two well educated journalists of Afghanistan!

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3. The people

Meet Haji Rasool, a carpet dealer in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is originally from Uzbekistan, a neighboring country.

Afghanistan largely has four tribes, Pashtoons, Tajiks, Hazras and Uzbeks.
Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, is a Tajik.

Pashtoons are Pathans and claim to be original Afghans. They are in the majority. Tajiks are from Tajakistan, Uzbeks from Uzbekistan and Hazras come from this province called Bamian. The Bamian province is infamous for the bombing of the Buddha statue by the Taliban.

Hazras and Uzbeks are direct descendants of Ghengiz Khan and the Mongolian clan. Afghanistan fell into the southern part of the silk route, that crosses the high mountains, passed through northern Pakistan, over the Hindu Kush mountains, and into Afghanistan, rejoining the northern route near Merv. The Uzbeks and Hazras are hence a part of the famous Han Dynasty of the traditional Chinese civilization.

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4. The Qarga Lake

The Qarga Lake is situated 10kms from the city. It is set in the barren hills, north-west Kabul. This artificial lake was created in the late 50’s by President Daoud as a recreation facility.

I felt blissful entering this serene area with clear air, just a 20 minutes drive from the dusty confines of Kabul. This area is also home to the Kabul Golf Course.

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5. Maintaining a vigil

Meet Jameel, a night guard.

This is the city where the Taliban suicide bombers force themselves in and first fire indiscriminately. When they exhaust all their ammunation, they blow themselves up. Guards such as Jameel have to face such threats with nothing more than courage and an inadequate firearm.

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6. The skies

If not a bird, you will definitely spot a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk in Kabul. The sky is flooded with them, mostly transporting NATO officials/soldiers, VVIPs, and UN officials from one point to other. Travelling on road is not a safe option for them.

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7. Evenings in Kabul

Kabul at 6 in the evening. The city works between 8am-4pm. Offices close by 4pm, and shops by 6.30pm. I have not seen the concept of street lights in Kabul. In fact, the photo above is from one of the most posh areas in Kabul, called Sher-e-Naw.

The vibrant colorful shops keep the city alive and glimmer the roads till about 7pm. No one is seen venturing out into the city after 8pm. After that, it is only the beautiful dark blue sky to give you company.

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8. Trees

The streets in Kabul give a very dry look, pretty much like the climate here. The trees are leafless because of the weather. In the winter, snow takes the place of the leaves, beautifully forming a white layer on the branches.

Kabul in winters appears like a desert; a cold one. It used to have a lot more trees, but the Soviets cut down most of them for security reasons (the mujahadeen hid in them to snipe at the Soviets).

After the Soviets left and the warlords fell to fighting one another, the city was shelled for almost three straight years from 1993 to 1996, destroying or damaging more trees. Then when the Taliban was in power, they paid little attention to planting new trees.

With no Taliban now, trees are being planted, but at a slow pace. At the same time, existing trees are being cut for firewood. If the outer portions of the trees run out, people go for the roots!

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9. The Kabul Bread Factory

The famous Kabul Bread Factory was built by the Soviet 40th Army.

This old barren structure standing tall was once feeding mostly the soldiers fighting the civil war. It used to process and grind 141,000 tons of wheat and was used to cook 40,000 tons of food items such as bread, cookies and spaghetti before the wars. However, it was completely destroyed during the wars and all its machinery was looted.

Knowing its history, it felt surreal to look at this structure and feel its stillness.

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10. Education

This young boy I met wanted a biscuit. It was a time in the day when he should have been in school.

Afghanistan suffers from a broken education system. It has been particularly bad for girls. The lack of schools in minority villages, long distances of schools from some areas, and cultural traditions have prevented girls from going to school. Where there are no schools, most of the children work in the fields.

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The copyright of all photos are with Abhishek Srivastava. Please do not reprint without permission. 

Photo Essay: 6 Reasons Why Terror is Gaining Momentum in Northern Nigeria

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Looking for a Future

The state of Nigeria is facing its largest crisis in over a decade.  As the ferocity and popularity of the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram rises, the very unity of the state is being challenged. This collection of photos assesses the reasons why the group is becoming increasingly attractive to the disaffected population in the north despite their gruesome tactics.

For more on Boko Haram see ‘The State of Terrorism in Nigeria’

By Jack Hamilton, 14 Dec 2011

1. The Lost Generation

The 'Lost' Generation

Northern Nigeria is a youthful place. Having maintained a high birth rate for decades, over half of the population is now under the age of 30. The average fertility rate in Nigeria is 5.7. In the northern states it is 7.3. This demographic shift has arrived at a time in which unemployment is rife and the perception of victimisation by the federal government is strengthening. There is now a generation of young, unemployed northern Nigerians who feel alienated from the central government and see flagrant displays of wealth in Nollywood films depicting the southern cities of Lagos and Port Harcourt. This sentiment of marginalisation has been utilised effectively in the propaganda of Boko Haram.

2. Religion

A Sign of the Times

The use of religion as a political tool goes back to the pre-colonial era of Nigerian history.  Now a democratic state, in theory one religion should not take precedence over another (a notion enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution).  Despite this, religious disputes consume much of Nigeria  in an ongoing conflict which has claimed thousands of lives.  Politics, especially in electoral cycles, so often comes down to religion.

Boko Haram is a religious actor whose primary goal is to implement Sharia law across the entire state of Nigeria.  They claim that the 50.5% population of Muslims is underrepresented at a Federal level and advocate extreme violence to achieve their objectives.  It is clear that the vast majority of Muslims in Nigeria do not support the religious stance of the group but the popularity of Sharia law since its institution in the twelve northern states shows the strength of faith in the region.

The complexity of the ethno-religious conflicts engulfing the Middle Belt and the north of Nigeria is difficult to summarise here.  While the attacks of Boko Haram are frequently framed as solely religious actions the reality is a more complex conflagration of ethnicity, alienation, fear and insecurity.

3. Urban Planning

Street Politics

Islamic design resonates in the street networks of Kano. To ensure privacy and the seclusion of women the city does not have a regularized street network and instead seeks to avoid long lines of sight and open vantage points. A consequence of this urban planning has been that non-Muslim migrants to the city have been taken up residence in the non-Muslim enclave, ‘Sabon Gari’ (colloquially: ‘Sabo’). This has meant that the cities of the north have grown from having a single core to being polynucleated with conflicting parties living side by side but not together. When conflict erupts in urban areas, it can be explosive. Boko Haram attacks frequently target the ‘Sabo’ districts.

4. Mistrust

Beware 419

The mere mention of Nigeria often conjures the phrase ‘419’. While popularly known as an internet scam, the number is derived from the property laws in Nigeria in which Law 419 outlines property ownership. The phrase ‘Beware 419’ litters walls across the country to alert ‘potential buyers’ that the house is in fact inhabited and not for sale. After asking for a deposit up front the criminal will flee the scene leaving the ‘new owners’ to confront the current occupants. Mutual distrust is rife.

5. The Security Vacuum

And if one green bottle should accidently fall...

Personal security takes primacy in the north of Nigeria. A lack of trust in the central authority of the state manifests itself in personal security measures. This picture shows the rows of broken glass bottles cemented into the top of a wall to deter intruders. Such walls surround houses in both high and low income areas as violent crime and theft is endemic. Disdain towards the Nigerian security forces have meant that the horrific bomb attacks of Boko Haram on police stations and international organisations have helped to garner support for the terrorist group.

6. Health

Testing Times

Northern Nigeria continuously faces a shortage of doctors known as a ‘brain drain’: doctors migrate to higher paying positions in the south of the country or further afield in Europe and North America. The issues of malnutrition and water shortages are taking their toll as the climate of the arid northern regions becomes increasingly inhospitable. Medicinal supplies are insufficient at current levels as malaria and HIV/AIDS remain at constant levels and when aid does arrive it has on occasion been mismanaged. In 2009 alone 84 children in the northern states died after ingesting a batch of contaminated teething medication.