DAR_AN

White Blank Page.: Remember Syria

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:12:19 +0430

A dear friend & one of my heroes Brother Shafi Khan uploaded this today. It’s an entry from his journal written while he was in Aleppo . I am not sure where he is at this point but PLEASE make du’aa & pray for his safe return, along with the entire team he’s in Syria delivering much needed aid…

fromme-toyou: One of the most enchanting experiences of...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:33:34 +0430

fromme-toyou:

One of the most enchanting experiences of Marrakech was the great influence of rose perfume. Rooms smelled like roses, after meals they washed our hands in rose water and our hotel had the most amazing bowl of floating roses that took my breath away every time. We used that as inspiration for this photo and transformed Marcella into our Moroccan rose…

Gown by Donna Karan

favourite type of fashion photography vogue: From the Archives:...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:29:57 +0430

favourite type of fashion photography

vogue:

From the Archives: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles in Vogue.

See the slideshow.

Longform’s Guide to the Best War Stories of 2011

Sat, 12 May 2012 09:52:32 +0430

Longform’s Guide to the Best War Stories of 2011:

a look back… From Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya, amazing stories from the world’s battlefields.

Afghan commanders show new defiance in dealings with Americans

Sat, 12 May 2012 09:37:29 +0430

Afghan commanders show new defiance in dealings with Americans:

By Kevin Sieff, Updated: Friday, May 11, 2:30 PM

KABUL —Afghan commanders have refused more than a dozen times within the past two months to act on U.S. intelligence regarding high-level insurgents, arguing that night-time operations to target the men would result in civilian casualties, Afghan officials say.

The defiance highlights the shift underway in Afghanistan as Afghan commanders make use of their newfound power to veto operations proposed by their NATO counterparts.

Afghanistan no longer worst place for mothers: report

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:09:54 +0430

Afghanistan no longer worst place for mothers: report:

By Amie Ferris-Rotman
KABUL | Tue May 8, 2012 10:45am EDT
(Reuters) - Better healthcare and more girls attending school have knocked Afghanistan from its position as the worst place on earth to be a mother, Save the Children said in a major report on Tuesday, but stressed the precarious nature of any gains.

“More mothers are surviving and fewer children are dying and this is something we need to be celebrating,” said Rachel Maranto, Advocacy and Mobilisation senior Manager at Save the Children in Kabul.

razistan: Women walk back to Feroz Bahar, a village near...

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:07:03 +0430

razistan:

Women walk back to Feroz Bahar, a village near Yakawlang district in Bamiyan province. Photo: Lorenzo Tugnoli

The war in Afghanistan is not over. Help us tell the story. Fund our Kickstarter.

razistan: Hajji Saheb, the village elder of Ghorian District,...

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:06:05 +0430

razistan:

Hajji Saheb, the village elder of Ghorian District, Herat Province, was responsible for sentencing a 16-year-old woman to stoning. Photo: Javier Manzano

The war in Afghanistan is not over. Help us tell the story. Fund our Kickstarter.

secret-us-program-releases-high-level-insurgents-in-exchange-for-pledges-of-peace

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:50:48 +0430

secret-us-program-releases-high-level-insurgents-in-exchange-for-pledges-of-peace:

…KABUL — The United States has for several years been secretly releasing high-level detainees from a military prison in Afghanistan as part of negotiations with insurgent groups, a bold effort to quell violence but one that U.S. officials acknowledge poses substantial risks.

As the United States has unsuccessfully pursued a peace deal with the Taliban, the “strategic release” program has quietly served as a live diplomatic channel, allowing American officials to use prisoners as bargaining chips in restive provinces where military power has reached its limits.

razistan: A farmer tills his field in the village of Lagubu,...

Sun, 06 May 2012 15:02:41 +0430

razistan:

A farmer tills his field in the village of Lagubu, Sarobi District, north of Kabul. Photo: Lorenzo Tugnoli

The war in Afghanistan is not over. Help us tell the story. Fund our Kickstarter.

"When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the..."

Sun, 06 May 2012 15:00:16 +0430

“When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space which I fill, and can even see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant, and which know me not, I am frightened … the eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.”

- Blaise Pascal, “Pensées” (via washingtonpoststyle)

"A goal without a plan is just a wish"

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:20:59 +0430

“A goal without a plan is just a wish”

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

In Afghanistan, underground girls school defies Taliban edict, threats

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:53:56 +0430

In Afghanistan, underground girls school defies Taliban edict, threats:

by KEVIN SIEFF

..Then two brothers, among the few literate men in the village, began quietly teaching math, reading and writing to their female relatives in a living room on the edge of town. They wanted to keep the classes small, they said, to stay off the Taliban’s radar. That turned out to be impossible.

Massoud Hossaini's Pulitzer-winning photo: after the world stops looking However arresting the girl in green is, the idea of staying focused on Afghanistan's progress is unpopular these days

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:23:25 +0430

Massoud Hossaini's Pulitzer-winning photo: after the world stops looking However arresting the girl in green is, the idea of staying focused on Afghanistan's progress is unpopular these days:

MASSOUD CONGRATULATIONS!! YOUR PHOTO AND YOUR CONSTANT QUEST TO TELL THE STORIES HERE IS INSPIRING!!

…”Hard-working Afghan photographer wins Pulitzer” – that’s the general headline the international press ran with last week as Massoud Hossaini’s photograph, the girl in green, won the Pulitzer prize. In the days that followed, the photo would be widely republished; Hossaini himself became the subject of interviews and articles focusing on the events that took place the day he took this powerful photograph, in the immediate aftermath of a suicide bombing during a religious celebration at a holy shrine in Kabul

razistan: Shaquila Naderi (left), a driving school teacher,...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:19:34 +0430

razistan:

Shaquila Naderi (left), a driving school teacher, during a lesson in Kabul, Afghanistan. Naderi, the only female driving instructor in Kabul, teaches several classes a day, mostly to women. Photo: Jonathan Saruk

The war in Afghanistan is not over. Help us tell the story. Fund our Kickstarter.

First Women’s Football Match in Iran. Berlin vs Tehran....

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:17:26 +0430

First Women’s Football Match in Iran. Berlin vs Tehran. Tehran won! 2006.

Tuning in to Afghan national unity

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:13:55 +0430

Tuning in to Afghan national unity:

…The problem is compounded by the generational divide; 70 per cent of today’s Afghan population is between the ages of 12 and 25, and they live in a country governed by a powerful older generation that insists upon a conservative way of life. Finally, it is fuelled by the explosive debate over whether Afghanistan ought to tread the road of religious extremism or follow the path of modernism set out in the 1960s and 1970s by the former Afghan king, the late Mohammed Zaher Shah…

"Always talk the words that you are able to write, and be able to write the words that you can then..."

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:41:13 +0430

“Always talk the words that you are able to write, and be able to write the words that you can then sign, and make sure you can then stand up for what you have signed.
هميشه حرفي را بزن که بتواني بنويسي، چيزي را بنويس که بتواني امضايش کني وچيزي را امضا کن که بتواني پايش بايستي.”

- Jorge Luis Borges

Saba Sahar: 'Afghan women are capable of doing anything men do'

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:24:59 +0430

Saba Sahar: 'Afghan women are capable of doing anything men do':

…”I want to show that Afghan women are capable of doing anything men do,” she tells me. “I want to show the conservatives who lock their daughters and wives at home that they should let them out to get an education, earn some money and help rebuild Afghanistan.” She’s determined that her two sons and two daughters will grow up in a country where everyone is equal.

But living by example comes at a price. “Every morning when I leave the house I know I might get killed, might never see my family again,” Sahar says. A few years ago, anonymous callers started bombarding her mobile with death threats. “They told me to say goodbye to my loved ones because I’d soon be dead.”

"I think failing is the best way to keep you grounded, curious, and humble. Success is dangerous..."

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:15:51 +0430

“I think failing is the best way to keep you grounded, curious, and humble. Success is dangerous because often you don’t understand why you succeeded. You almost always know why you’ve failed. You have a lot of time to think about it.”

- Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga.