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Jean Chung

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97 images Created 29 Aug 2021

Portraits of Afghanistan 2006~2007 - captured on 6x6 film cameras

“No one wins war in Afghanistan,” is a phrase someone coined after seeing the world’s superpowers keep losing it. This landlocked country in Central Asia was a passage for the Silk Road, the Mongol Invasion, and the Mogul Empire; and the tomb for The British, the Soviets, and most recently, the United States.
The Taliban, meaning “students” or “seekers” in Pashto, was in power in 1996 to 2001; then in 2021 again. They literally banned anything “un-islamic” from kite-flying to women walking and traveling alone. What was considered accepted in the Western World was the subject of whipping and stone-throwing.
The time I was in Afghanistan was five years after the Taliban’s fall during 2006 and 2007. Until August 10, when I was pulled out of the country by the South Korean government due to the hostage crisis of the South Korean Christians, I tried my best to document the country that was starting to breathe the freedom.
Here’s the documentation of the country through my lenses as an Asian woman. At least in Kabul and above, women were somewhat free to walk around the streets for shopping and running chores without male members of the family. Men were able to fly kites and build muscles at a gym. Although most women still chose to wear Burqa in public places, they took up a good 10% in the government’s seats.
One year out of 20 years of life without Taliban could only be a fraction of time. However, I think I was in the country in the very crucial time and probably one of the best times.
My prayers go to those who allowed me to document the slice of lives of Afghans, who are now witnessing the bitter history repeating itself.
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  • Two burqa-clad women rest inside a furniture shop in Kabul.
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  • A street photographer waits for a customer on a snowy day in Kabul.
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  • Afghan women in burqa and a little girl with a red dress walk past a group of day laborers near the Kot-e-Sangi square in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2006.
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  • An Afghan boy with a mastiff dog for a dog fight  in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2006.
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  • Afghan school girls in a black-and-white uniforms inside a classroom at a school which was slightly damaged by a small bomb presumably done by some sort of insurgents who did not want girls to be educated in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006.
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  • Afghan school girls in a black-and-white uniforms stand in a hallway inside a school which was slightly damaged by a small bomb presumably done by some sort of insurgents who did not want girls to be educated in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006.
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  • An Afghan barber cuts a customer's beard in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug, 21, 2006.
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  • Afghan barbers cut customers and hair and beard in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug, 21, 2006.
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  • An Afghan woman fixing her hair sets inside a hair salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006. Five years after the fall of the Taliban, meaning "God's Students," Kabulis now freely fly kites, watch TV, listen to the music, buy pictures of Bollywood movie stars, and most of all, women can get education and walk outside without having to be accompanied by a male relative or wearing a burqa. However, many Afghan women in Kabul still wear blue burqas even five years have passed.
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  • Afghan women get their hair and makeup done inside a hair salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006. Five years after the fall of the Taliban, meaning "God's Students," Kabulis now freely fly kites, watch TV, listen to the music, buy pictures of Bollywood movie stars, and most of all, women can get education and walk outside without having to be accompanied by a male relative or wearing a burqa. However, many Afghan women in Kabul still wear blue burqas even five years have passed.
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  • Afghan laborers eat breakfast early in the morning at the Kot-e-Sangi square in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2006.
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  • Afghan women in burqa cross a narrow bridge in Puli Khomri, Baghlan province, Afghanistan on Friday, Dec. 8, 2006. Puli Khomri is a very conservative city, and the majority of adult women in Puli Khomri still wear burqas when they go outside the house. Puli Khomri was under the Taliban regime.
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  • An Afghan laborer at Afghan Textile Company works inside the factory in Puli Khomri, Baghlan province, Afghanistan on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006. Established in 1944, the ATC employs 600 laborers, mostly elderly men except three women in the workforce. The power of the factory is run by a hydro-electric power in downtown Puli Khomri, generating 2,000 kw per hour, enough energy to run the factory producing 10,000 meters of cotton fabric a day. The cottons are collected from Kunduz, Balkh, and Baghlan provinces. The average wage of the laborers are about 2,300 Afghanis (around $ 46 USD) a month.
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  • Afghan women in burqa walk in line near the Salang Pass, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006.
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  • Afghan women wearing hijab and burqa sit together on an outing in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • An Afghan woman buys soft ice cream at a bazaar in downtown Kabul.
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  • A woman clad in burqa stands on the curb before crossing a street in Kabul.
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  • The grandmother holds a new-born baby in Badakshan.
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  • The mother comforts the daughter after she gave birth in Badakshan.
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  • Two nurses pose for a photograph with their burqa on in Badakshan.
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  • A woman wearing blue jeans stands on the dirt road in Badakshan.
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  • Nurses wear burqas before they leave from work in Badakshan.
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  • A boy stands in the poppy field, Badakshan.
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  • A young woman stands in the poppy field, Badakshan.
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  • A boy travels with his mother on a donkey in Badakshan.
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  • A man takes a woman on a donkey, Badakshan.
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  • Students at Community Midwifery Education Program holds the baby dummies, Faizabad in Badakshan province, Afghanistan, Saturday, May 12, 2007.
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  • Soviet tanks are abandoned in a field in north of Kabul.
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  • Local officials show the drug eradication efforts in a poppy field in Jalalabad.
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  • Afghan police observe the drug eradication efforts in a poppy field in Jalalabad.
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  • Female members of the Parliament attend a meeting along with male members inside the National Assembly in Kabul.
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  • A female security guard stands inside a meeting room where female members of the Parliament attend a meeting along with male members inside the National Assembly in Kabul.
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  • Factory laborers outside of Kabul.
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  • Female laborers at a peanut factory outside of Kabul.
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  • A laborer at a peanut factory outside of Kabul.
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  • A laborer at a peanut factory outside of Kabul.
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  • A laborer at a peanut factory outside of Kabul.
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  • A boy carries boxes at a factory outside of Kabul.
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  • A boy laborer blows a gum at a factory outside of Kabul.
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  • A mental patient in a hospital in Jalalabad.
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  • A mental patient in a hospital in Jalalabad.
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  • A burn victim at a hospital in Jalalabad.
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  • A burn victim at a hospital in Jalalabad.
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  • People wait outside a hospital in Jalalabad.
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  • A mine victim in Kabul.
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  • Mine victims in Kabul.
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  • A mine victim takes a rehabilitation training at a hospital.
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  • A mine victim takes a rehabilitation training at a hospital.
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  • A boy laborer smiles at a metal factory in Kabul.
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  • A boy laborer smiles at a factory in Kabul.
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  • A boy laborer collects boxes in Kabul.
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  • Women clad in burqa holds a portrait of Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former President of Afghanistan of the exiled government during the Taliban rule, during a warlords rally held in Kabul Stadium.
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  • Young men take a rest as they exercise boxing in a gym in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • A boy exercises boxing in a gym in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • A woman walks past a sign board promoting a gym in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • A sign board promoting a gym using an image of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • A boy carries water buckets in Kabul.
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  • A image of Ahmad Zahir, the famed Afghan singer in the 70s who was likened as the Afghan Elvis, is posted on a sculpture in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • A boy watches TV inside an abandoned building in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • A family of a civil war victim living in an abandoned building in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • Children play in front of a wall with bullet holes in Kabul.
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  • Young women wearing hijab sit in the table in the women’s section at a restaurant in Kabul.
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  • A burq-clad woman leaves a jewelry shop in downtown Kabul.
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  • A young scarf seller in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • A balloon seller in Kabul.
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  • A young scarf seller in the outskirts of Kabul.
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  • Men sell children’s clothes in downtown Kabul.
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  • Street sellers in downtown Kabul.
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  • Women wearing burqa walk in downtown Kabul.
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  • A balloon seller in Kabul.
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  • A female police officer on the International Women’s Day in Kabul.
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  • A street vendor in Kabul.
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  • Women gather on Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on the hill of Kabul.
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  • Mother and daughter snack on Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on the hill of Kabul.
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  • Young women in blue jeans gather on Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in Kabul.
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  • A young man rides a car in a temporary amusement park in Kabul.
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  • Girls ride a swing carousel in a temporary amusement park in Kabul.
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  • Young women ride in a Ferris wheel in a temporary amusement park in Kabul.
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  • Boys stand in abandoned cars outside of Kabul.
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  • A girl carries her younger sibling in Kabul.
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  • A woman in a burqa sits in a pharmacy in Kabul.
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  • A woman wearing a burqa shops alone in Kabul’s bazaar.
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  • A girl in Kabul.
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  • A taxi driver drives past a billboard bearing an image of a Bollywood actress in Kabul.
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  • A boys holds a kite made of a plastic bag in Kabul.
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  • A man walks in am empty livestock market on a snowy day outside of Kabul.
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  • A boy pushes a cart very early in the morning in Kabul.
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  • A woman carries a plate of bread in Kabul.
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  • A man walks in an empty lot where a stray dog is sitting on.
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  • A structure that resembles Paris’ Eiffel Tower stands in a roundabout in Kabul.
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  • Children playing in an old city in Kabul.
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  • Men play cock fight in Kabul.
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  • Men pray in a mosque in Kabul.
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  • Young men in Kabul.
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  • Kabul.
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  • Young women dance at a wedding party in Kabul.
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  • Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi stands with his grandchildren in his home in Kabul. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 80s, Rocketi earned his surname fighting with rocket-propelled grenades against Soviet helicopters and tanks.
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