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BEWAHA: Afghan Widow Village(8 images)
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  • A woman stands watching as the village elders call to everyone for a meeting...Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost all their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1.jpg
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  • The widows of Bewaha pose shyly for a portrait with their children...Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost all their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1a.jpg
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  • Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost all their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1b.jpg
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  • A woman holds up 3 fingers to indicate how many sons she lost in the years of conflict...Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost all their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1c.jpg
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  • The sons of Bewaha gaze at something out the window...Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost all their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1e.jpg
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  • A young girl stares in amazement at her elders as they speak...Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost all their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1f.jpg
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  • The blindow widow, aged 90, is the oldest woman in the Village. ..Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1g.jpg
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  • A young girls listens as the oldest woman in the village talks...Bewaha means widow's village in Dari. 250 inhabitants live in this tiny village in western Afghanistan in Andraskar district, Herat province. Most of the women were widowed because their husbands were killed in the shady business of smuggling opium, hashish, and heroin to Mashad, Iran. Many of them lost all their sons as well in the years of conflict with the Soviets and Taliban. There are no jobs nearby, and those who can work must travel to Herat city daily, an 85 kilometer journey which costs nearly the amount one person can earn in a day. In the last three years, it is estimated that 30 of their children died. Water is scarce and unsanitary, and resources are virtually nonexistent in the vast desert valley that is their homeland. By photographer Anne Holmes
    Bewaha1h.jpg
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