War is something Afghanistan knows all too well. With the country still occupying international headlines and Canadian involvement reaching new levels, one journalist is painting the country in brighter colours than those of combat paint.
UTSC’s Doris McCarthy Gallery hosted the Afghan ambassador to Canada Omar Samad last Thursday for the gala opening of Return, Afghanistan, a photo exhibit by famed Afghan photojournalist Zalmai Ahad. The show debuted at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, and after visiting Toronto will continue its tour of Europe and North America.
Unfortunately for the packed audience, Zalmai-who was forced into exile at an early age by the Soviet invasion of his country in 1979 and went on to have his work published in The New York Times Magazine and Time-could not make an appearance at the gala opening. He is busy documenting the booming poppy and heroin trade in Afghanistan. Samad introduced the show in his stead.
Traditionally a black-and-white photographer, Zalmai recently began using colour, and explained his rationale for the switch in a statement Samad read to the crowd.
“[Colour conveyed the idea] that now, after such a long time, there was hope again for Afghanistan,” read the statement. “It seemed to me that colours were returning and that they would be those of a peaceful country. And so I set out to find this hope, with-for the first time-colour film in my camera.”
Samad said that the sense of yearning in Zalmai’s work echoes that of many Afghanis who want to return to their country, but are unable to. As such, Zalmai hopes Return, Afghanistan will “capture the resilience of a people who have rarely known peace, their optimism in the face of overwhelming odds and the very real worry that the country remains on a knife-edge and could easily slip back into a nightmare from which it is still trying to escape.”
After the deaths of two Canadian soldiers in Kandahar earlier this month, many have questioned the validity of the Canada’s military involvement in Afghanistan. But in a pointed echo of the words of Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and U.S. president George W. Bush, Samad asserted that Canada must “stay the course” in Afghanistan. He went on to say that Afghans are “grateful” for the role Canadians are playing.
Samad’s outlook was reflected by the Afghan Student Body (ASB), a campus group that helped organize the gala. The night featured traditional Afghan song, dance, and food. The group members also voiced their hopes and concerns for a homeland some had never seen.
“No matter what the intent is, Afghanis still see [Canadian troops] as foreigners.” said one ASB member, speaking of the 2,000 Canadian soldiers deployed in the country as part of the US-led NATO force. “We’ve always been attacked by foreigners. When we see the Canadians come, Afghanis don’t necessarily see people who are coming to build stuff and help out. They see foreigners trying to take over their land and politics. That’s what has always happened to us. So [Canadians] have to be prepared for the consequences and not be surprised.”
