A Life Revealed

During class we discussed the photographs of poverty taken around the country. We discussed the tough times that these people endure throughout their lives, such as, the Migrant Mother. On this note I decided to research photographs of hardship in another area. The photograph on the left is twelve year old Sharbat Gula, the photograph on the right is thirty year old Sharbat Gula. If you look past these beautiful eyes you can see the expression on her face, the one that automatically tells you she has been through a lot. That deep intense look in her eyes that no one should have at just the age of twelve years old. This is her story.

She was a child when her country was invaded by the Soviet. Her village was completely destroyed burnt down to the ground. She was perhaps six when Soviet bombing killed her parents. She lived with terror every single day since. At night the dead were buried. And always, the sound of planes, stabbing her with dread.“We left Afghanistan because of the fighting,” said her brother, Kashar Khan.  “The Russians were everywhere. They were killing people. We had no choice.”Shepherded by their grandmother, he and his four sisters walked to Pakistan. For a week they moved through mountains covered in snow, begging for blankets to keep warm.It is the ongoing tragedy of Afghanistan. Invasion. Resistance. Invasion. Will it ever end? “Each change of government brings hope,” said Yusufzai. “Each time, the Afghan people have found themselves betrayed by their leaders and by outsiders professing to be their friends and saviors.”  This lady is one of many that has never felt safe.