Inside Afghanistan’s Death Valley | Developing News

[Music] if the sun is coming this way and is making shadow on the curtails the sniper can see you and shoot you [Music] I'm Franco pajetti a photographer here we are in Korean Valley in 2009 on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan it used to be called the Death Valley the Taliban they used to use these mountains to carry in guns and carrying out opium the American leg pain attack losing people every day cutting nobody was probably one of the worst place I've been every time we used to go out on patrol we've been attacked we used to walk six seven hours a day up and down and here we were on our way back home we've been attacked from that side of the hill by the insurgents and they put this smoke grenade to cover the people running away this guy with the hand that is saying run run yella go quickly this man that is running away he wants to save his life I try to remember if I was scared or afraid to get shot or wounded or killed and I don't think I were thinking about that I think if you are afraid you make mistake and in a situation like this if you make a mistake you make a mistake for yourself and for the other thank you [Music] these are two Afghanistan army guys it was uh early in the morning before going out on the patrol they were preparing the gun they were preparing themselves and I saw this guy with his mask and I didn't understand why the other people didn't say anything to him and they told me oh he's wearing this mask every time this mask was a gift by an American Soldier for Halloween and the American Soldier he made a joke he said if you will wear this mask you will be protected forever so this guy every time you used to go out on patrol he was wearing the mask pretending to scare the enemy or pretending to have a kind of protection from I don't know I don't think he's a mask that he's comfortable you have to walk for five six hours and wearing a mask like this it was okay for him the first time I saw people jumping on the trees I didn't understand this Afghani Soldier they had to jump on a tree to get the signal to call the family or friends they are trained by the American in that base they are to stay there at least a year away from the family their Village doing this it was very risky because they were very exposed so the American they didn't do it one guy this guy is looking if someone can shoot them and the other two the only thing they care is not about their life he's about to get the bloody signal I want to talk with my wife my daughter my son I think it's funny it makes me smile is a moment in the middle of a real nightmare real nightmare I was there in January 2010 and in April 2010 the American they quit the base they couldn't get it he couldn't keep it [Music] I went to Iraq on January 2003 and the American day arrived in Baghdad April 9th this is April 10 in Baghdad every country has a symbolic way to stop someone it could be like this it could be like this in Iraq if you want to stop someone you have to do like this the American Soldier they used to stop people using this that means stop so this guy he arrived to an American checkpoint with this car they told him to stop but he didn't understand so I move on and the sniper he shot him for his entire life when his mother should stop him to go somewhere he said stop so he didn't know he didn't stop he go out sniper that can shoot you from 800 meters you don't hear the bullets it's something immediate this I call it a picture of no communication this was doing a night Patrol nearby that I was embedded with the Marines we went to this house They smash the door then they go inside the house pointing the gun they are checking room by room and a certain point one of the soldiers came down hanging this little kid the relative of this little kid has been arrested because suspected insurgents and this is amazing look this guy if two minutes ago he was ready to shoot everybody two minutes later is such a sweet person protecting him from the violence is a big man and look at how he's gentle even the position of the ants I realized okay at the end of the road there is always a light [Music] so I went to Aleppo in 2013. in Aleppo at that time it was divided in two pieces one controlled by the Bashar Assad Army and the other controlled by three Syrian Army [Music] when I was in Aleppo I was staying in an apartment of one of the fighters I went with them and this is a sniper from this house is checking the Syrian Army from the other side the Bashar Assad Army this sniper is searching for someone to kill this is the front line looking again this picture I was not satisfied I'm not showing anything different what is not just someone that is is being killed and then I start doing a story about the curtains because I think it was a better way to talk about war one of the fighters you told me this is something that our family my wife my sister my grandmother my mother put together because they are protecting us from the sniper from the other side I was immediately thinking oh a little fragile piece of fabric can protect you against a bullet of a Kalashnikov or a gun machine because if the sun is coming this way and is making shadow on the curtains the sniper can see you and shoot you and there was something more symbolic the women they were putting from one building to another one to protect their lovers husband children kids son and for me it was a symbol of love [Music] I'm a photographer I'm not aware photographer I don't want to go and shoot the War I think that it's much easier to be a war photographer than a peace photographer peace is more difficult to take picture off I know Humanity will never stop to fight but now I want to do peace [Music]

Channel: VICE News

Views: 3,460,341

Keywords: VICE News, VICE News Tonight, VICE on HBO, news, vice video, VICE on SHOWTIME, vice news 2023, journalism, photograph, photography, photojournalism, war photos, war photographer, war photos you need to see, war photography, war photojournalist, war documentary, afghanistan, afghanistan news, Iraq, iraq war, Death Valley, Inside, panjshir valley, world news, taliban panjshir, news today, panjshir news, panjshir resistance, taliban in afghanistan

Id: j0o4-jhnaGs

Length: 8min 43sec (523 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 15 2023