Beauty in the dust (Afghanistan part II)

I am breathing the dust here in Afghanistan. It's impossible to escape the sand-colored mist that hangs in the air, sticks to your clothes, tickles in your nose, creeps under fingernails and covers every crevice, nook and cranny with a fine coating that clings like static.

I see beauty in the dust. In the evening on the street, I approach a boy on a bike siloutted against the setting sun, curtains of golden dust surrounding him. As I walk along I tread over the many footprints that mingle with tire tracks from wheelbarrows carrying piles of grapes, apples, plums or melons on their way to market.



I spy the kites that flutter in the wind, tied to wooden rods held by tiny hands. They too carry the dust on their wings as they look down over the flat rooftops of houses and busy dirt roads that bustle with cars, people, donkeys and sheep.



Despite the clinging dust sticking to me and my camera, I am all smiles today when we pay a visit to an education center for children in Kabul. Many of the kids come from homes where parents can't afford to send them to an official school and several are disabled or handicapped.



The first thing I notice as we enter through the gate are the bright colors. What a contrast to the city of beige and tan and...dust! There are paintings of flowers, children, and birds on one of the buildings, a swing set and merry-go-round in cheery hues, and children having fun all around me.



Lunch time arrives and the clink and clank of forks and spoons echoes off the tiny cafeteria walls with the lively chatter of boys and girls filling the air. Afterwards each boy and girl asks a teacher to reach their cup and toothbrush sitting on a high shelf and each one brushes his or her teeth at a sink in the back of the room.




The most fascinating part of the day is watching the 8 or so apprentice bakers work in the state of the art bakery, built by the people who started the center. They are teaching these young boys skills that they can use to perhaps start their own business some day.



As the day winds down and we say our goodbyes, I think about all the great people I've connected with in Afghanistan. Being here and experiencing the relationships, conversations, culture, sounds, smells, dust etc in person has brought me to a whole new level of appreciation and understanding for this country and the Afghan people compared to what I've read about in books.