A Battlefield Tourist

The People of Afghanistan

Apr 14 at 10:10am by David Tate

US Marines question a suspected Taliban leader

A year before the Iraq War started, I ventured off toward the Honduran/Nicaraguan border in what would be my first excursion into a volatile area of the world as an adventure traveler/journalist. I’d just lost my job as a TV reporter and wanted to expand. I wanted to do more with my profession. And true to my nature, I wanted to do it my way.

Back then, the concept “Battlefield Tourist” included humanitarian issues like the “War on Poverty” and ecological issues like “War on the Aral Sea”, so when I went to Honduras, the idea was to find basic, ground level stories dealing with poverty.  In doing so, I found myself taking all sorts of pictures of children. I learned that if you can make the children laugh and smile, the adults around them would do the same - regardless if you spoke a common language.

The next thing you know, I have hundreds of pictures of children and “regular people” from all over the world, and Afghanistan is no exception.

Below is the final of four photo slide shows from my most recent embeds in Farah and Helmand Provinces in southern Afghanistan, as well as some images from folks I ran into in Kabul.  I run these photos to give you an idea of the people our friends, neighbors and relatives are fighting and dying for.

I seriously hope you have enjoyed this series.  If so, please consider a donation, via PayPal to dtate38@cox.net

The People of Afghanistan

DT