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  • A Japanese woman belonging to the maintenance and restoration team in Bamiyan is working on emergency fixtures on the walls of an ancient Buddhist cave on the premises of the archaeological site. The Japanese team of experts has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi030.JPG
  • Members of the Japanese team with the task to maintain and restore Bamiyan's archaeological site are working on emergency fixtures where the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') once stood. The Japanese team of experts has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. nce a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi031.JPG
  • A Japanese woman belonging to the maintenance and restoration team in Bamiyan is working on emergency fixtures on the walls of an ancient Buddhist cave on the premises of the archaeological site. The Japanese team of experts has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi013.JPG
  • Ibrahim Abubakar, 22, a man working in artisanal gold processing and mining, is holding his daughter, Fatima Abubakar, 1 year and 9 months. Ibrahim lost a two-yeal-old daughter Abdelmajid Abubakar, to lead poisoning, when he lived in a contaminated cluster of houses where 8 children died in a two-year spam. Fatima is healthy, as the families living in this heavily contaminated compound joined together and remediated the soil by removing tainted soil and replacing it. Many villagers in Zamfara state now claim to be working in agriculture, and to have nothing to do with gold, mainly because the health crisis that emerged. Given the lucrative option, locals believe that most people in the area are, in some way, involved in the gold business. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 ?g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, alimented by the ever-rising price of gold.
    36_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Ibrahim Abubakar, 22, a man working in artisanal gold processing and mining, lost his two-yeal-old daughter Abdelmajid Abubakar, to lead poisoning, when he lived in a contaminated cluster of houses where 8 children died in a two-year spam. He has now another daughter, Fatima Abubakar, 1 year and 9 months. She is healthy, as the families living in this heavily contaminated compound joined together and remediated the soil by removing tainted soil and replacing it. Many villagers in Zamfara state now claim to be working in agriculture, and to have nothing to do with gold, mainly because the health crisis that emerged. Given the lucrative option, locals believe that most people in the area are, in some way, involved in the gold business. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 ?g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, alimented by the ever-rising price of gold.
    35_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • People are visiting the market in Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    32_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Two boys, controlled by a guard, are looking for impure gold in the last step of the extraction in an artisanal processing site near Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    22_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A worker is manually crushing raw stones containing gold, and other metals like lead, in an artisanal gold processing site near Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    21_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Doctors at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) are trying to reanimate Marhazu Sa'adu, 9 days old, a child suffering from blood lead level of 49.6 micrograms per decilitre, tetanus and septicaemia, inside the MSF clinic in Anka, Zamfara State, Nigeria. Marhazu passed away within the day. The MSF facility handles serious cases of lead poisoning referred to them by local clinics in the surrounding villages. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 micro-g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, fostered by the ever-rising price of gold.
    16_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A young worker is standing in the artisanal gold processing site of the village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Workers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portrai...JPG
  • A boy and his father are transporting gas cylinders with the use of donkeys in a small town on the road from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to the mountain village of Bamiyan, located on the Hindu Kush range. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi048.jpg
  • Members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnapping cases in the city of Karachi, are collecting their weapons from the AVCC armory in central Karachi in preparation of a night raid on the outskirts of the city searching for a kidnap suspect.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, are taking part to a raid simulation exercise involving the freeing of a hostage. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits of the the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, are exercising at dawn. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Two suspected kidnappers are being questioned on the spot inside a police car by members of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) and by the local police force in Thatta, on the outskirts of Karachi, while on his search for a hostage during a fake ransom meet up with the criminals. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, (right) a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France and teacher in Strasbourg University, is portrayed discussing with one of his assistants on the excavation field where he is searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha. The statue should be located between the original two standing Buddhas, Afghanistan, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi014.JPG
  • A young boy is riding his donkey home after having collected water water from a small river in Bamyan, Afghanistan. In the town there is no electricity or running water. Power is only being provided by generators or solar panels. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi009.JPG
  • An unlicensed miner is digging a new pit to extract ore containing gold, to be sold and processed in artisanal sites near Dareta village, Zamfara State, Nigeria. On October 28, 2011, in this very same mining site, four workers died buried under the ground when a pit suddenly collapsed. The lead contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Stories_Portfolio_033.JPG
  • Workers are manually crushing raw stones containing gold, and other metals like lead, in an artisanal gold processing site near Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    46_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A guard, a middlemen and two young workers are inspecting the gold retrieved on behalf of a gold trader, (in green) in an artisanal gold processing site near Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    24_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Women with their children are sitting on the floor of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) clinic in Anka, Zamfara State, Nigeria, handling serious cases of lead poisoning referred to them by local clinics in the surrounding villages. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 micro-g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, fostered by the ever-rising price of gold.
    15_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Children playing on ore dust containing gold, and other metals like lead, in an artisanal processing site near Abare, a village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    09_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • An unlicensed miner is digging a new pit to extract ore containing gold, to be sold and processed in artisanal sites near Dareta village, Zamfara State, Nigeria. On October 28, 2011, in this very same mining site, four workers died buried under the ground when a pit suddenly collapsed. The lead contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    02_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A girl is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A girl is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A young worker is standing in the artisanal gold processing site of the village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Workers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portrai...JPG
  • A young worker is standing in the artisanal gold processing site of the village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Workers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portrai...JPG
  • An Afghan man is carrying a papaya on the streets of Bamiyan's new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi049.jpg
  • A member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A kidnap suspect (center) is being questioned by two members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnapping cases in the city of Karachi, is loading his Pakistani made G3 assault rifle in preparation of a night raid on the outskirts of the city searching for a kidnap suspect.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • High-rise buildings mainly housing expensive apartments and shopping malls have grown very rapidly in Pakistan's main economic and financial hub, Karachi, under the recent leadership of Syed Mustafa Kamal, its mayor. Mr Kamal, 36, who was short-listed for the 2010 World Mayor Prize, is courting foreign investment, encouraging international ties, and boosting the city's tourism.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Members of the Karachi Police are routinely patrolling the streets of the financial area of the city.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits of the the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, are exercising and simulating extreme actions on a high tower located on the premises. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Old, unusable tanks left in Bamiyan after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan are being enveloped by growing weeds while sitting as relics in what has become a field for cultivating potatoes. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi026.JPG
  • A villager is harvesting wheat in one of the fields located next to the Buddhas of Bamiyan's archaeological site. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi027.JPG
  • An Afghan child is carrying flowers through a field in Bamiyan, a small Afghan town mostly populated by Hazaras. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi039.JPG
  • Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, (left) a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France and teacher in Strasbourg University, is portrayed on his excavation field while searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue between the original standing Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi003.JPG
  • Women with their children are sitting on the floor of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) clinic in Anka, Zamfara State, Nigeria, handling serious cases of lead poisoning referred to them by local clinics in the surrounding villages. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 micro-g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, fostered by the ever-rising price of gold.
    Stories_Portfolio_039.JPG
  • The chairman of a large artisanal gold processing site near Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, is exhibiting classy shoes while standing among his workers. The lead contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Stories_Portfolio_037.JPG
  • Boys are wandering around Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    48_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Unlicensed miners are extracting ore containing gold, and other metals like lead, to be sold and processed in artisanal sites near Dareta village, Zamfara State, Nigeria. On October 28, 2011, in this very same mining site, four workers died buried under the ground when a pit suddenly collapsed. The lead contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    43_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Men are preparing Halal meat in Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    42_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Doctors at M√©decins Sans Fronti√®res (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) are trying to reanimate Marhazu Sa'adu, 9 days old, a child suffering from blood lead level of 49.6 micrograms per decilitre, tetanus and septicaemia, inside the MSF clinic in Anka, Zamfara State, Nigeria. Marhazu passed away within the day. The MSF facility handles serious cases of lead poisoning referred to them by local clinics in the surrounding villages. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 ?g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, alimented by the ever-rising price of gold.
    39_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Mohammed Surajo, 30, is holding his only daughter, Naimaatu Surajo, 4, a girl suffering from permanent brain damage and blindness, in Abare, a village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. His wife Asnya lost six children: two miscarriages, and four while very young. Only her daughter Surajo was saved, but she survives as a suffering victim of lead pollution in the area. It is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. Nearby, in Anka, doctors from M√©decins Sans Fronti√®res (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) are treating serious cases of lead poisoning, referred to them by local clinics in the surrounding villages. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 ?g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, alimented by the ever-rising price of gold.
    37_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A man is pushing the goat's blood out of the animal's body, while preparing Halal meat in Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    34_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • Children are collecting underground water from a hand-pump in Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    31_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A worker is holding a piece of ore containing gold, in an artisanal processing site near Abare, a village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    19_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • At sunset, a farmer is leading his heard and passing near an artisanal processing site in Abare, a village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    18_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A mother is sitting with her children inside the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) clinic in Anka, Zamfara State, Nigeria, handling serious cases of lead poisoning referred to them by local clinics in the surrounding villages. It is mainly caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 micro-g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, fostered by the ever-rising price of gold.
    17_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A boy is washing ore dust - and separating gold sediments from other metals - in an artisanal processing site near Bagega, pop. 9000, a large village affected by lead poisoning due to the unsafe techniques employed for extracting gold, Zamfara State, northern Nigeria.
    10_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A goldsmith in Gusau, capital of Zamfara State, Nigeria, is burning sulphuric acid and gold, in order to remove last impurities. The lead contamination in artisanal gold extraction is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    07_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • The chairman of a large artisanal gold processing site near Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, is exhibiting classy shoes while standing among his workers. The lead contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    06_Zamfara_Gold_Lead.JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A girl is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A girl is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A girl is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A girl is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A girl is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A boy is standing inside the affected village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria, next to a large artisanal gold processing site. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles, released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Villagers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portr...JPG
  • A young worker is standing in the artisanal gold processing site of the village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Workers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portrai...JPG
  • A young worker is standing in the artisanal gold processing site of the village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Workers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portrai...JPG
  • A young worker is standing in the artisanal gold processing site of the village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Workers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portrai...JPG
  • A young worker is standing in the artisanal gold processing site of the village of Bagega, pop. 9000, Zamfara State, Nigeria. The lead contamination in the area is caused by ingestion and breathing of particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities.
    Young_Workers_Bagega_Zamfara_Portrai...JPG
  • An Afghan boy is walking near Bamyian's archaeological site. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi050.jpg
  • Villagers are collecting water from a small river in Bamyan, Afghanistan. In the town there is no electricity or running water. Power is only being provided by generators or solar panels. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi047.jpg
  • Afghans are building a small local Mosque in a rocky village located near Bamyian's archaeological site. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi046.jpg
  • An Italian archaeologist is working on the maintenance and restoration of the Buddhas of Bamiyan's site in collaboration with a Japanese team of experts who has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi045.jpg
  • A member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Naveed Ahmed, 27, a young and ambitious member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) Raja Umer Khattab, head of the anti-terrorism SIU (Special Investigation Unit) of the Karachi Police and one of Pakistan's most experienced terror experts, is portrayed in his office in the SIU headquarters in central Karachi, Pakistan. Mr Khattab was nearly killed by a suicide attack aimed at his assassination in 2008, returned to his job three months later and personally arrested the jihadist that had directed the attack.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Colonel Abdul Wahid Khan (center) is posing for a portrait inside the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A recruit of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, is exercising on a high rope structure located on the premises. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A recruit of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, is exercising and simulating an extreme action on a high tower located on the premises. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Moinuddin Syed, 42, the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) second in command, is sitting at his desk in Karachi where he usually analyse information and prepare raids. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Moinuddin Syed, 42, the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) second in command, is on his mobile phone giving instructions to his men during a night raid on the outskirts of the city of Karachi on their search for a kidnap suspect during a fake ransom meet up with the criminals. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A kidnap suspect is being detained for questioning by a member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Armed members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, are riding their vehicles in the city on their way to a night raid.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Armed members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, are preparing to raid a cluster of houses on the outskirts of the city on their search for a kidnap suspect during a fake ransom meet up with the criminals.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Young boys are going back home after a visit to the bazaar passing by some of the caves in Bamyian that are still inhabited by a mixture of IDP (Internally-Displaced Persons) returnees and others with no chances for a better home. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi019.JPG
  • An Afghan elder is sleeping on the streets of Bamiyan's new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi037.JPG
  • ANP officers (Afghan National Police) are posing for a portrait in their booth along Bamiyanís new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi035.JPG
  • Afghans are walking near their homes in a rocky village located near Bamyian's archaeological site. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi034.JPG
  • A river running through the Hindu Kush, the mountain range crossing Afghanistan and separating Kabul from Bamiyan, is photographed from a UNAMA helicopter on its way to the capital. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi033.JPG
  • Afghan labourers are employed by Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France and teacher in Strasbourg University, while on his hunt for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue between the original standing Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi032.JPG
  • The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi017.JPG
  • Members of the Japanese maintenance and restoration team in Bamiyan are collecting and cataloguing remains of ancient Buddhist and Islamic artefacts found on the premises of the archaeological site. The Japanese team of experts has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century...Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi015.JPG
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