Three Things
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"It feels to me as if this country is perched on the edge of an abyss." Mark contrasts the lives of young people in Kabul and Wales.
Transcript
"I brought three things back from Kabul - memories; an overwhelming desire to go back, one day; and coats for my kids.
It started in Spring 2003, with an unexpected phone call. Four days later I'm in a second-hand plane. I wonder whether we will land safely. My fellow passengers seem unconcerned - brewing up in the aisles; their excess baggage blocking the emergency exits.
Over the next five months I go back and forth three times; each transition emphasises just how different our two worlds are.
There are practical contrasts; problems caused by years of occupation. I have a fixer; he insulates me from the decaying infrastructure. One day off, I'm taken on a shopping trip to 'Chicken Street'; on the journey, I'm reminded to keep the car windows closed 'in case of grenades'.
With the other tourists, I wander round the shops. It is here that I'm most reminded about home; there is a girl who follows me down the street, she is the same age as my daughter and has the same smile, but she will never have the same opportunities. There's the 'Shoe Shine Boy', the old packing crate where he lives is on the wrong side of our street, he cleans shoes for just a few cents.
It feels to me as if this is a country, perched on the edge of an abyss.
This is an experience I need to share back home. I cannot forget what I've seen, and I want to try to find a way to remind my kids just how lucky they are; but all I can take home are stories, pictures, and the coats."
An interview with the author
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I've spent much of my working life engrossed in very technical stuff. I tend to keep my feelings hidden, except amongst close friends. In 2003 we moved to Wales, primarily to find space, for ourselves and our kids, it was a year of many changes - selling our house in Sussex, trying to find a new one in Wales, and during all that upheaval, I was commuting back and forth to Afghanistan - seeing things that really challenge objectivity.
What's your story about?
It's about contrasts, similarities and differences, and stuff that continues to make me stop and think. I actually found it incredibly difficult to find a story to tell that felt safe to tell, interesting for other people, and short - it's not easy to relate something that affected me so much, in just 250 words. I knew what the last picture would be, but couldn't work out how to get there; but the story needed telling.
What did you find most rewarding about the workshop?
This is the easy question; I made some fantastic new friends, and for a brief time I stepped out of technical objectivity, and enjoyed nurturing my story from pages of notes, to a finished video. The four workshop days were a very emotional rollercoaster ride - lots of tears and laughing ... Would I do it again? Hell Yes!!
