A MONDAY IN KABUL (2013)


Normally, people only see Kabul on TV when there has been another explosion. But what does life look like on an ordinary Monday afternoon when nothing special is happening?

Together with my partner Philip Brink, I went to Kabul with only one question for the inhabitants: what is your favorite place in the city? This question led us on a surprising journey through the city.

Published on: New York Times LENS Blog (US), Esquire (RUS), Volkskrant Magazine (NL), Duckrabbit (UK),  Paris Match (FR), Business Insider (US), 6Mois (FR), La Repubblica (IT), Radio Sarajevo (BIH), 24/7 Magazine Dutch Police (NL), Lenscratch (US), Man in Town (IT), Feature Shoot (US), NRC (NL), Afghan Scene Magazine (AFG). Featured on radio and TV: Altijd wat (NL), Hemelbestormers 1.15u (NL), Vrw zkt knst (NL), De andere wereld (NL). Exhibitions: Fotofestival Naarden (NL), Gallery de Gang (NL), Photofestival PhEST (IT).

Awards: 1th prize Zilveren Camera 2014

 

Philip created this short 7-minute film. It gives a personal view of why and how we made this project.

We also gave people in the Netherlands a chance to ask questions of Afghans via social media. The answers can be found on this blog.

 

Our personal motivation

Most people base their worldview on what they read in the newspaper or see on television. In the case of countries like Afghanistan, this means a continuous stream of extreme news events with little room for everyday stories. This abstract representation can have negative consequences: fear of each other becomes based on what the media shows us, not on personal contact.

When people are unable to communicate directly and news is their only source of information, it is important that the media paint a balanced picture. This is exactly why I wanted to make this series; not as a denial of actual news, but rather as an addition.

As in one of my earlier series,  Baghdad Today, I wanted to show the stories of people who have had to live for years in a country in conflict. Not to highlight our differences, but rather to show how much we are the same.

I believe that when we lose our empathy for each other, world politics is given free rein to do as it pleases. When people start recognizing each other as human beings again, reality will hit them harder than ever before: these are the people who have had to live for decades in a country that has become a plaything of world politics, warlords, drugs and money. But the people in this series have as little to do with politics as you and me.

More information? Read my motivation.