Driving through Lash

I looked out of the MRAP into a pile of men and boys in the bed of that pick up. Holding on for dear life as it sped past us. Holding on for dear life. Thinking about that now almost two years later seems to be the perfect metaphor, really, for the Afghan civilians. 

I banged out a few frames from my vantage point and sat back to chimp. 

These photos were made almost two years ago today whilst driving through Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, Afghanistan. I spent quite a bit of time down there based out of MOB Lash, the main British Forces camp in the area, or Laskar Gah Training Centre, the training site for all Afghan National Police in Helmand and Nimrouz provinces. 

The only way, really, to get to The LTC was a combination of flying to MOB Lash and catching a ride. Most often it was with an American Army unit attached to my unit or sometimes with a British Army unit headed that way. It wasn't a long drive by distance but took forever to drive through Lash in the back of giant MRAP vehicles. Driving afforded me my only real contact with Afghans down there. 

The metallic ping of rocks thrown by kids hitting the vehicles was the common greeting. Some adults would wave. Others would flip us off. The rest just stared, that hard stare I'd seen other places that only seemed to get harder the further east I've been. Lash is mostly a poor town. Very monotone. There are a few "poppy palaces," houses owned by alleged drug smugglers clustered in one area near the bazaar. But mostly it was mud squats, qalats. Dirty roads. Beat up old cars and pickups. The green water of the Helmand River coursing north to south through town. 

This particular drive was one of my first and, I think, we were headed back to MOB Lash to catch a flight. Like all of my rides during those 16 months it was completely absent of bang bang. The vibe, as the Squaddies told me, was  mostly "low key." 

I banged out those few frames and saw the girl in my camera's LCD, blurry and barely visible. Western men rarely ever see uncovered faces of Afghan women. Afghan girls, sure, but almost never women. I had one here. It was like seeing a ghost and I knew I'd never see another.