Afghanistan photography gallery

Abdul Ali, 51, salesman
"Americans have brought corruption to my city. They are pouring money like water into Afghanistan rather than investing it wisely - especially American aid workers. Aid money should be spent on funding Afghan schools and hospitals, not on Westerners' five-star-hotel bills."

Ahmed Shah, 36, catering
"I got this job when Americans invaded Kabul in early 2002. My manager who I used to work with reopened his catering business, so in way it's the Westerners who brought peace to the city and I got my job back. Now I work six days a week and the best part so far has been that I’ve learnt to cook some European dishes like pasta, pizza and burgers and some Indian food."

Zakia Hussain, 23, beautician
"My Afghan sisters were robbed of beauty during the harsh years of the Taliban regime. Teenage girls like me were suppressed and forced to wear burqas which made us look like blue ghosts, but now I’ve thrown off the burqa. I was trained at the Kabul Beauty School built and run by American aid workers. Now I have my own beauty salon and also train others so they can have a career like me. This all happened after Americans came to my country."

Habiba, 31, newscaster
"The US has made my life even harder. They have failed to fulfill their promises, and now they've appointed the new warlords the Northern Alliance who are worse than the Taliban. The current situation is almost as if Taliban were still running the country. Afghan woman have always faced security risks and I face danger every day but I'm not giving up on my job."

Mohammad Yunus, 29, policeman
"We policemen are accused of taking bribes. That’s absolutely untrue. You have been photographing me for ten minutes and I haven’t demanded a penny from you in return, so you can see I’m not a greedy corrupted policeman who bothers civilians. As far as the US is concerned, let them run the country – at least I'll get paid well."

Moona Hussaini, 35, TV director and presenter
"It feels great that I can be of use in a field that’s been my dream since I was a young kid. The American media has been a huge inspiration to me.  On the other hand though, I have these questions that people need to re-think: how many troops are here; for how much longer; the cost; the exit strategy; and how the US will know when it's time to get out of Afghanistan. There are no answers to these questions."

Khalie, housewife
"The Taliban invaded my town in 1998. They buried 77 men alive in a giant grave only two minutes away from my house. I was lucky we escaped to Pakistan with my husband and children just before the bloodshed started. I returned to my home town as soon as the Taliban collapsed and the Americans came to Kabul. I am very thankful to the US. My children now go to school."

Asad Raza, 27, security guard
"My job would be much easier if Americans or Westerners weren’t staying at the hotel I work for. I live in constant fear of being killed in some attack or bomb blast. They pay me well but who will look after my family if, God forbid, something goes terribly wrong?  The Americans have influenced my life in an ironic way: they pay me to save their lives and I get paid to secure someone’s premises so they can have a good night's sleep."

Jabbar Ali, 30, UN worker
"There is nothing left in Afghanistan. All my family members are in another country and I’ve come back to Kabul to work with the UN. They pay me well, which goes to my family abroad, so all the money and valuable natural recourses are going out of Afghanistan. We’re all looting the country."