Afghanistan: hidden voices from a forgotten war

 

Voices for Creative Non-Violence is a small, independent peace group whose members visit places affected by wars arising from US and UK foreign policy. Maya Evans is the VCNV UK Co-ordinator.

 
 

In this book, Maya and her co-authors tell the hidden tragedy of Afghanistan nearly two decades on from the original invasion in 2001. The people there suffer daily due to incessant conflict, extreme poverty and displacement while the UK looks away, largely unaware of the consequences of our own foreign policy.

Focussing on the situation of women, this book offers an insider perspective, with current views from young people living in Afghanistan as well as telling the story and consequences of invasions dating as far back as 1839 for the UK and 1979 for the US.

We recommended an over-sized A5 landscape format to give the book a special, keepsake feel and give the stories and accounts space to breathe. The dominant colour throughout is a dark blue to reflect the colour of the women’s burqas shown on the striking cover photograph.

The book contains many images taken by Maya and her contributors in the field, while the ‘vox pop’ accounts have photos treated to retain anonymity and avoid repercussions for the interviewees back in Afghanistan.