15 August 2012
Badakhshan, Afghanistan
A man puffs opium smoke into the face of an infant in northern Afghanistan. In some areas parents do this to help children to sleep, but the children end up addicted.
The people of Afghanistan have had to deal with conflict and military occupation for much of the past 50 years. Conflict and long-term instability in Afghanistan have led to personal trauma, and severe economic and infrastructural damage. Foreign aid has helped support various initiatives to improve infrastructure and education, but as occupation forces withdraw and Western economies face their own difficulties, funds to NGOs are being cut.
