Afghanistan between Hope and Fear

I've often wondered whether photographs from conflict zones really make a difference. There are of course the ones that have become icons such as Nick Ut's photo of Kim Phuc – and been attributed a significance that back then they probably did not have. Well, who knows? What we do however know is that the military is afraid of pictures (and that means: feelings, emotions, sensations) for they cannot control them.

I haven't been to Afghanistan and never had any desire to go there. I'm still not sure whether I would like to visit the place despite the fact that the images I now carry around in my head fill me with warm feelings for the Afghans portrayed. Paula Bronstein's photographs convey the impression that she is fond of, and touched by, the people she decided to photograph.

Photographs are meant to direct people's eyes. Paula Bornstein shows us what she wanted us not only to see but to look at. We need to confront the reality in Afghanistan not only because the policy makers in the West are partly responsible for contributing to, and being a part of, it but because what is happening there is a human made tragedy. What human beings have decided to begin, they can also decide to stop.

For the full review, see here