The images were vivid and immaculate: women in flowing Burkas, Afghan women's dresses, their bodies modestly covered. As international photographer Peggy Kelsey presented the women's portraits, she uncovered stories of courage, resilience and fortitude and worked to dispel many myths about Afghanistan and its people.
Kelsey presented the 22 portraits of Afghan women in the First Christian Church Saturday night during a fundraiser for Afghan's women's project. She said she hoped the story of her six-week experience at the heart of Afghanistan would shed light on life in the country and contrast the desolate images depicted by the mainstream media.
The event was jointly organized by Appalachian Peace and Justice Network and People for Peace and Justice, two local groups committed to promote peace locally and internationally. Several dozen people, mostly women, viewed the pictures and donated money for Afghan women.
It would be wonderful if people of the world resolved their differences and shared their wealth to meet the basic needs of those who do not have
said Linda Nippert, a representative for People for Peace and Justice.
Lynda Berman, an arts teacher in Athens City Schools, attended the fundraiser as a way to appreciate the underprivileged people around the world.
It is important to understand the cultures of other peoples of the world. Berman said. She said Kelsey's presentation shed light on many issues that never seem to appear in the news.
Together with a brief history of Afghanistan, Kelsey, a professional photographer from Austin, Texas, presented slide shows of places she had visited around Afghanistan, including Toloqan in the North, Herat in the West and Bamyian in the central region. She presented slides that showed anguish of Afghan women in capital city Kabul's prisons, some of them convicted for crimes committed by their husbands and sons.
To contrast these slides, Kelsey also presented images of hope in pictures of women going to school and others who were advancing in their careers. In remarkably detailed fashion, Kelsey narrated inspiring stories of each of the women in her pictures. She told of women who had accomplished much with little.
These women have been through unimaginable horror and yet they have survived. They have made me realize that people can survive very difficult things Kelsey said.
Kelsey said Afghanistan had changed a lot since the fall of the Taliban regime. The regime, linked with al-Qaida operatives, was brought down by American forces, which moved into the country after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack to pursue al-Qaida. However, Kelsey warned that if the American government is not careful in its plans of occupation, its good intentions of freeing Afghanistan may bring negative unintended consequences.
One of the fears of Afghan women is that the world will forget them once again. They still remember that we were with them in the fight against Soviet Union
but did not help them clean up after the war
she said. The federal government should be careful on what it does this time round. It must seek people's opinion.
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