A decade of photos captures the enduring resilience of ordinary Afghans
French photographer Sandra Calligaro has spent much of her career documenting the lives of ordinary people in Afghanistan, especially women and children. Her exhibition at the annual Bayeux Calvados-Normandy war correspondents' festival is both a tribute to Afghan resilience and a declaration of love for a country torn apart by conflict.
In 2007, after studying art and photography in Paris, Calligaro went to Afghanistan for what was meant to be a short trip, pursuing her dream of becoming a war correspondent.
She ended up staying for more than a decade, capturing the complexities of a country that grew on her over time.
It was in Kabul where she became a professional photographer, she tells RFI.
The exhibition “From Kabul with Love” is a selection of 50 photos from 2007 to 2022, depicting the extraordinary panorama of her time observing people going about their daily lives, despite the constant danger, crises and conflict.
“In Afghanistan, all the encounters I’ve had are noteworthy because the stories are not trivial. They are not always happy stories, even if the people are resilient. But it's not just drama, there's also joy,” she explains.
From the start, Calligaro focused on photographing women. As a woman, she had access to homes that male journalists found difficult to reach.
Paradoxically, she said, being a foreign female journalist gave her slightly more freedom, as she wasn’t expected to follow all the strict rules Afghan women faced, though she did cover her head in the presence of Taliban members.
Becoming a mother also helped her take better stock of the situation for women, and they became true heroes to her, she says.
Read more on RFI English
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