The Afghan people continue to bear the blows of an existence stuck in almost permanent conflict. But everyday life continues, even in the face of such a hard and uncertain future.

Suicide bombs, airstrikes, roadside explosions, Taliban insurgents, death and destruction. All the news reports we read about Afghanistan point to a country which is a lethal war zone. In June 2019, Afghanistan was classified by the Global Peace Index report as the least peaceful place in the world (replacing Syria). Indeed, it is a country which has been in a near-constant state of war for over 20 years, from the Soviet invasion in 1979, to a civil war which gave rise to Taliban rule in the 90s, up to the US invasion in 2001. Since 2001, an estimated 157,000 have been killed in the war in Afghanistan (more than 38,000 of those civilians).

However, in this war-ravaged country of 37 million people, where an estimated 21 per cent of the rural population lives in extreme poverty and 38 per cent of rural households face food shortages, daily life continues.

For more on my work from Afghanistan please copy/paste this link for full story here @el_pais https://bit.ly/2Xvtef1

Music: Doira - The Great Silk Road.

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