Rory Stewart on our ‘Dystopian Vision’ of Afghanistan

Photo by N_Creatures via Flickr (Creative Commons)

In a long piece on the future of Afghanistan, Rory Stewart makes a point about the country’s usual image in the media:

“We are accustomed to seeing Afghans through bars, or smeared windows, or the sight of a rifle: turbaned men carrying rockets, praying in unison, or lying in pools of blood; boys squabbling in an empty swimming-pool; women in burn wards, or begging in burqas,” he writes. “Kabul is a South Asian city of millions. Bollywood music blares out in its crowded spice markets and flower gardens, but it seems that images conveying colour and humour are reserved for Rajasthan.”

It’s not the first time the author of “The Places in Between” has spoken out on the subject. (Via Andrew Sullivan)

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