|
Maimed by war and ravaged by rival armies, Afghanistan is a devastated land. A 10-year war with the Soviet Union left most of the country in ruin. Feuding between Islamic factions destroyed much of what remained.In 1996, the Taliban, led by Muhammad Omar, entered the capital city, Kabul, and rules most of the country now. The Taliban follow a strict interpretation of Islam: Women may not work, girls may not learn, men may not shave. Violators are flogged, mutilated and killed in public ceremonies. A punishing drought and a shattered economy have only added to the misery felt by the poorest of poor who still live there. Those who could, have fled by the millions.
In 1999 and again last year, Robert Sanchez, a freelance journalist and corporate lawyer from Tampa, traveled deep into Afghanistan with Dexter Filkins, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times.“It was an opportunity to learn about and understand a part of the world that has been unaccessible to most Westerners,” said Sanchez, 42, who called the trips “challenging.”
 |
| Click map to enlarge. |
|
In 1999, Sanchez and Filkins entered through Tajikistan into the northern part of the country that is still controlled by an anti-Taliban alliance. Last year, they went in with United Nations workers to Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. When it was time to leave, the Taliban refused to allow Sanchez and Filkins to depart with the U.N. workers. Instead, the journalists had to hire a driver and leave through the Khyber Pass into Pakistan.
“During the 2000 visit, it became clear that there was opposition to the Taliban on a number of fronts,” Sanchez said last week.
“They deliver no services. People are starving. There are no jobs. The Taliban is not a government in any real sense of the word.” |
