Photos by Marielle van Uitert
(You can read here the second part)
In the instable West Deh Rashan, women are dressed in burqa.
Third part: Voluntary compulsion.
The street-life in the Baluchi Valley in Chora is characterized by both reconstruction under the influence of the presence of the different coalition forces and by resignation. Women dressed in burqas hardly ever appear in public because of the presence of the foreign forces. The extreme has become the daily.
Every step is watched from the tower of the coalition forces in Chora.
While the marines are patrolling the notorious IED lane to Cop Tabar, the locals manoeuvre their cattle throught the hurricane of steel.
While a couple of yeard ago the children were waving friendly to the coalition forces, nowadays they are more suspicious and less cooperative.
Peykalaa which is located in the Baluchi Valley is threatened more and by insurgents while the locals try to get a grip by talking to the district chiefs.
The White Compound which was captured from the Taliban is now blooming. Agricultural projects are increasing and infrastructure is improving and carried out by the local population.
Man with his son walk trhough the chexkpoint in West Deh Rashan.
The IED and suicide threat is heavily increasing in West Deh Rashan where all cars have to be searched nowadays.
The West Bank of Tarin Kowt shows a medieval scenery interrupted by new technology.
During a foot patrol in Peykala, a young shepard is manoeuvring his sheep through the patrol.
In The White Compound in Chora work is divided between the local people. Children also play a part in the reconstruction of the district chiefs office of Mohammed Daoud Khan.
Women are dressed in burqas and are left alone by the coalition forces. They do groceries in a district where daily pursuits can become a dangerous occupation.
About the author:
Marielle van Uitert (b. 1973 Netherlands) is a freelance photographer who is specialised in war and social engaged documentary. She went to Afghanistan, both embedded with the Dutch army and unembedded dressed in a burqa. She made a documentaries in Iraq and in the West Bank. Her work has been published in several Dutch/English magazines, newspapers and on TV and in the Guardian.
