Norman in a friend's Kabul compound.

The promised honorable mention photograph from the The Albany Center Gallery Member’s show.

January 8th has come and gone.  The Peace Corps Reunion & Afghanistan night was very well attended by people who came to see my images, meet women who had lived and worked in Afghanistan in the late 1960’s, enjoy and Afghan buffet at Fifty South.  Kim and Chris from The Mango Tree were their usual generous selves.  In 1969 The World Health Organization had made the eradication of small pox its top priority. The film Once in Afghanistan recalls 17 women who joined the peace corps, learned to vaccinate, traveled to Afghanistan

Children of Northern Afghanistan

and worked with their Afghan male counterparts to eradicate smallpox from Afghanistan. “We walked in on weddings, on funerals…whatever was going on and vaccinated everyone.”

Volunteer reconstituting the Soviet freeze-dried vaccine

I was delighted to meet Jill Vickers one of the filmmakers from Dirt Road Documentaries as well as some of the peace corp participants. It was powerful to see the results of President John F. Kennedy’s challenge made January 20, 1961. I too remember when he said, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. “  For more information about this film please see the link to their web site.

Kara Lozier from American Councils for International Education brought two young Afghan men who are attending school in Vermont.  One I had met in Schenectady a couple of years ago.  He also works with Sally Goodrich who lost their son Peter on September 11th on flight 175.  The Goodrich family has established a foundation in Peter’s name.   One of their projects is to help this young exchange student build a library in his home community of Bamiyan.

Sunset Bamiyan 2005

While at this event we were interviewed by John Piekarski for his news and information source for Southern Saratoga know as soSara.  You can view his remarks from the link at the bottom right of this site.  Today I also learned that he has written an article for the Balston Journal and they will be publishing a selection of images from my exhibition Afghanistan Revisited at the Mango Tree through January 31.  I will be taking the show down that Sunday to hang  it at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405  Washington Avenue (more about that in the next entry).

After I returned from Afghanistan in October 2009 I was interviewed by Susan Barnett. The program just aired on WAMC’s 51% which may be heard on National Public Radio.   It is show number 1070 when you go to the link.

As you can tell I am full of many Afghan events and people doing great work. On January 14th I traveled to the Schoharie Free library to hear Sue Spivack speak of the Peacemakers of Schoharie County’s efforts to raise funds to support an orphanage know as the House of Flowers in Kabul through MEPO (Medical, Educational and Peace Organization) an organization which also has humanitarian projects in Africa and Nepal.

Next post will contain information for the next showing of Afghanistan Revisited as well as information concerning raising funds to build a clean water and irrigation well in a village south of Kabul this spring.

My first exhibition of images from the September/October 2009 journey to Afghanistan is currently at Mango Tree Imports, 2124A Rt 50, Ballston Spa, New York   #518-884-4652 until January 31st.  There will be a special event January 8th, 2010.

Poster for Friday's event.

Here are two of the images that are featured in the exhibit.  The first is a panoramic taken from the roof of the house of an Afghan family who introduced us to a variety of Afghan public officials.

View of Kabul from Asad and Noorai's roof.

One of the most moving interviews we had was with Dr. Soraya Sobhrang, Commissioner  for Women’s Rights of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.  She is an OBGYN who fled Afghanistan during the Taliban rule. She has chosen to return to Afghanistan to help her native people, particularly women, at tremendous risk for her own safety.  She has received death threats because of her activities.

Dr. Soraya Sobhrang.

To learn more of my current conditions in Afghanistan and my experiences please contact me to speak to your group or to present an exhibition of my images.

I also am very honored to have received and honorable mention for my submission for the members show at the Albany Center Gallery juried by Tammas Groft, Deputy Director of Collecti0ns and Exhibitions of the Albany Institute of History and Art.  The photograph is one of my first attempts at High Dynamic Range Photography.  Believe it or not it is of a friends compound in Kabul, Afghanistan.  When I learn how to convert this type of image to a format that I can up load I will include it here.

Boys and their toys at Camp Eggers. National Guard from Indiana at a "small" base in Kabul

Afghanistan, 2009

Afghanistan, 2009

Afghanistan, 2009

One of or members wanted to buy musical instruments for her daughter so Asad and Noorai, our Afghan friends who Jodie from CodePink knew from their time in the Bay area, took her to the musicians street. One man who made rebab’s payed for us. The high light was the “older” gentleman of approximately 40 years started to sing a Pushtu song of the love of Afghanistan. Having lived in Kabul all his life in a family that followed the musical tradition of father and mother teaching their children who then carried the information to the next generation. During the Taliban time they buried their instruments in the ground in the basement of their house. If they had been discovered they would have been severely beaten or killed. We all felt his love and our hearts melted as we too found a peaceful, joyous, beautiful county from the tone and tenor of his song.

Afghanistan, 2009

Media Benjamin and Jodie Evans stand on either side of to very brave and courageous women who spoke of the shia family law and the protest they arranged to get the law changed. Telling of how empowered – as well as terrified – they felt as 200 to 250 brave women faced off hundreds of very angry men and women. They continue their work knowing that they have the support of many and the revolution once again is beginning.

Afghanistan, 2009

Afghanistan, 2009

Orphanage children

Shinkai Zahune Karokhail member of Afghan National Assembly

Afghanistan, 2009

We keep busy almost every minute with meetings of all types. One of the highlights a couple of days ago was listening to Soraya director of women’s rights in the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. She was extremely energetic with a sparkle in her eye. She spoke of the work they did to protest and successfully change the Siai (forgive my incorrect spelling) family law. She invited us to attend a women’s conference Afghanistan – India – Pakistan Trialogue for Peace that just happens to be while we are here. So yesterday we attended the opening and met with many different people during a tea break and lunch. The day before yesterday we visited Shinkai Zahine Karokhail, a member of the Afghan National Assembly, in her home experiencing her dedication to women using her position to prevent unjust laws from passing for women and to create a better position for women. It surprises me just how much access we have had to these people. Must get to breakfast to give me energy for the days activities.

A twenty-five year old mother.

Afghanistan, 2009

Afghanistan, 2009

Our group has arrived safely in Kabul and we are staying in a nice quest house with a beautiful open court yard surrounded with morning glories, roses and a large bird aviary filled with chirping canaries. It really is good to be back. Yes I can see many changes beginning with the new airport built right next to the old one – lots of marble. Customs was very quick – only a few on the plane and not many foreigners. I recognized much and yet recognized very little. The landscape is the same with many more glass covered taller buildings that have been here four years ago. The approach to the airport is a newer 4 lane road and there is much road construction to deal with the terrible traffic.

Our guide and driver are experience and knowledgeable. Are heads are being filled with very candid discussions with NGO’s, members of Parliament, business people….. Mush more to write later. Our days are so full that is difficult to find the time to write.

I wanted to give you a flavor of the beauty of the Afghan people from some photos taken in a tent city across from our hosts for an amazing dinner with ministers form the government, journalist, members of the royal family…..I get a head of myself. The poverty is heart wrenching. Sorry for the tease but I must get to breakfast.

The promised photo of me speaking in Bogota.

Bogota, Columbia

For those that have been following this post before I go on to the second leg and original reason for this post, I will share with you my experience at the conference Museum communities and Reconciliation. I spoke on the second day of the conference after participating that morning with all the participants and donors in a open discussion. We had been handed the day before our assigned questions and I had the opening one concerning weather I thought that museums could act as truth commissions? I had practiced my talk that morning adding changes based on the previous days participants clarifying and giving a few more details. Then I panicked, “What was I doing there amongst all the participants that were dealing with life or death as they spoke out for truth in their communities and created memory space and museums for the disappeared in their communities. So I called Frank, my husband, almost in tears out of how humbled I felt. With his calm voice, my feet once more planted firmly even if a bit shaky on the ground grabbed all my stuff so that I could check out, met my friends and headed for the museum and the morning discussion. It was a fascinating open debate with numerous views. To summarize we most felt that museums were not truth commissions and should not take the place of but could act very responsibility to give truth and open the publics eyes to discuss and experience difficult and troubling concepts and issues surrounding specific events and that we hold a great deal of responsibility to collect information relating to these events making it available to the public and perhaps the very truth commissions that might arise.

The afternoon talks took place in a larger hall in a library for a large Columbian Bank one of the sponsors with video conferencing to several other communities. After getting off to a late start realized that there would not be time for me to participate in the question and answer period and that I would respond later via email so that I could leave immediately to catch my flights to JFK/Dubai/Kabul. The participant before me was a very sweet Dominican nun who unfortunately like all of us had a large subject to cover in 35 minutes and went over her given time. My talk went well and as you can see from the two photos [one in this post and a second in the next post] to an audience of approximately 250 to 300. From the well wishing and thanks I received as I left the hall I felt blessed and sent on my way.

Jorge the driver to the airport was waiting and we headed off literally in the sun set for a traffic jam, crazy but safe driving to the airport to arrive on time to be checked and rechecked an pat searched before arriving at the gate meeting a women born in Lima, Peru who now lives In New York City who had watched the towers fall. I told her of the Tribute Center and she felt that it was time to visit and find her own sense of peace

Bogota, Columbia

Arrived in Bogata, Columbia at 5:30 this morning to watch the sun rise as I was driven by Jorge who picked me up to take me to the hotel. The hotel is close the ridge of Mountains that are on the east side of the city. The conference, Museos Comundades y Reconciliacion [Museum Communities and Reconciliation]. Today the three of us that have arrived – Professor Ciraj Rossool from the History Department of University of the Western Cape, South Africa; Phil Gordon, manager of the Aboriginal Heritage Unit, Sydney, Australia; and yours truly – had a really good lunch in a small cafe on the corner of a cobble stone street. Great conversations over lunch discussing repatriation, working with various communities, communities from conflict, the history of Columbia and what Cristina and others hope to see happen and the role they are playing. I am learning constantly. Also seeing the similarities of much to do and little funding and few and fewer staff and yet the ideas and what is being accomplished is amazing. So nice with the diverse accents in the conversation mix.

We have had a beautiful blue sky and fluffy cloud day. I wandered some around the hotel this morning through a very manicured park. The city of 7 million people seems quite quite considering.

We also had a lovely tour in English of the Gold Museum full and I mean full of beautiful Pre-columbian gold artifacts. With my love of Peru and understanding of the shamanic traditions I was seeing many transition pieces of half man half bird or jaguar or frog or bat. Some pieces were very tine and others large but each had an amazing amount of detail.

The organizer of the conference is taking us to another part of the city for dinner this evening and we will be meeting more people tomorrow for a discussion among the panelist for the conference.

I am very honored to be representing the New York State Museum and the US. I met the women from the US Embassy funding this trip for me. Also over lunch got the questions about President Obama and what did I think……

must get ready for dinner.