Just the word “Afghanistan” evokes negative emotions in many Westerners. Whether it’s an emotion of sorrow or one of fear, the country has been tarred with a dirty stick and its people are poor, frightened and oppressed. But it wasn’t always like that.
Afghanistan has seen turmoil for centuries, but every so often there would be a glimmer of modernisation (for better or for worse) before the next batch of beef was opened.
During the Cold War, Afghanistan received machinery from Russia and aid from the US as they vied for their attention and support. They managed to remain neutral but benefited greatly from the cash and wares. The country made strides in education; things were looking up. Pictures of women without burkas and modern hairdos seem unmistakably non-Afghan. The image above shows young medical students with the professor on the right. Ladies with their hair out in Kabul?! Learning?? Without any men around?!
Modernisation and globalisation aren’t necessarily always positive things for countries, but the strides that the Afghan population were making seemed to be for the greater good. We’re not talking riches or wiping away culture and tradition, we’re just talking security, education and food. Then in the 1970’s a series of bloody coups, invasions, and civil wars began. And they never stopped.
Here are some photos of Afghanistan in what appears to be a bubble of joy in time. This isn’t an army troupe, these are boy scouts:
Crowds line the streets for Eisenhower’s visit to Kabul ’59:
Finance Ministry building Kabul 1966:
Queuing to watch a Hollywood movie (not that that’s the gold standard for a forward thinking society of course):
Afghan women in a record shop that stocked Western music:
More medical students:
Street bazar in Kabul:
Higher Teachers College of Kabul:
Eisenhower and entourage enter Kabul:
Dancing and music in a school playground:
Girls walking home from school:
It’s easy to look at a country through a Western-centric visor and imagine people would be better off with McDonalds and Starbucks on every corner. Of course, that’s rubbish. But there’s a real sadness looking at a country that’s had the guts ripped out of it by power hungry, sadistic religious zealots and oil hungry Western countries that can kill from 1,000 miles away.
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