F. Brinley Bruton
F. Brinley Bruton is a freelance journalist. In 2004 and 2005 she trained journalists at Pajhwok Afghan News, the country's largest independent news service. Since then she has written about Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen and focused on economics, security and humanitarian issues.
Lost by translators
About five minutes after arriving at the madrassa my interpreter bundled her hair into her headscarf and wrapped it tight. It had slid back a bit and sunlight caught on her glossy black hair. This sort of thing is not unusual in relatively liberal Kabul. ...
Foxtrotting to hell in Afghanistan
I've been struck by how glum some in Afghanistan's aid community are five years after the Taliban was toppled. The vast majority of those I've talked to feel that their work is important and don't seem to doubt that the country is better off now than under the Taliban. Still, the pessimism is palpable. "I see two alternatives for Afghanistan: a slow descent into hell, or a quick descent into hell," a top person at an international NGO told me recently: "Security issues," a popular euphemism in this place, leads most people's list of woes. It can mean anything from fear of a reinvigorated Taliban to frustration over banditry and warlord-ism. ...
A backseat view of Afghanistan
Is it my imagination or are the beggars on Kabul's streets more insistent this time around? Some have taken to pounding on the window of my car with their palms. When I was here just over a year ago their fingertips tapped gently on the glass. "Boro, boro!" Aziz, the driver, tells the beggars. "Go, go!" Men missing limbs, small children, and women clutching babies ignore him. A blind man, his pupils turned up at odd angles, stands insistently next to the car. ...
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