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  • A labourer in a glass bracelets factory is pushing broken glass back into a furnace for it to be melted and reused. After a major clean-up by the authorities in the industrial area of Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, child labour has been largely uprooted, but it continues unabated hidden inside the homes of  slum dwellers on the outskirts of the city.  Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_02.jpg
  • Labourers are producing glass bracelets used as women's ornaments during and after marriage, which are traded throughout India and internationally. After a major clean-up by the authorities in the industrial area of Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, child labour has been largely uprooted, but it continues unabated hidden inside the homes of  slum dwellers on the outskirts of the city. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_01.jpg
  • Boxes containing bracelets are photographed at a local street market in Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_35.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where young girls are decorating the bracelets produced in factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_06.jpg
  • A man is transporting unfinished glass bracelets from a house to another one on the road connecting two sections of the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_32.jpg
  • A young girl is joining is joining bracelets with the use of a gas flame inside her home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_22.jpg
  • A young boy is moving bundles of just painted glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_15.jpg
  • The owner of a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is talking business with an associate while local children are painting and decorating the bracelets. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_30.jpg
  • A family is decorating glass bracelets in front of their home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_24.jpg
  • Three brothers are painting bracelets inside their home, transformed into a small-scale workshop, in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_14.jpg
  • A mother (right) and her young daughter (left) are joining bracelets with the use of a gas flame inside their home, transformed into a small-scale workshop, in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_12.jpg
  • A young girl is decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_09.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where young boys and girls are aligning the ends of bracelets produced in coils by factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_05.jpg
  • A young man is standing by his bracelets stall at a local street market in Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_34.jpg
  • A young man is selling bracelets at a local street market in Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_33.jpg
  • A child is working in a small-scale glass industry in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. The air is filled with ammoniac and other chemicals making it hard even to breathe for only a few minutes before feeling dizzy and disorientated. The boy's co-workers, a few years older than him, are breathing in the ammoniac through glass pipes that once broken into small pieces will be attached to dresses as glittering decorations. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_28.jpg
  • Two young boys are decorating glass bracelets on their doorstep in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_23.jpg
  • A family is aligning glass bracelets inside their home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_21.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where a  young girl is collecting and counting bracelets to be sent in bundles to other houses for further processing. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_17.jpg
  • A family is decorating glass bracelets in front of their home transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_16.jpg
  • A group of young women are decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_13.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale where young girls are decorating the bracelets produced in factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_07.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_31.jpg
  • A child is decorating bracelets next to his boss inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_29.jpg
  • A child is sprinkling golden powder over glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_27.jpg
  • The owner of a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is painting bundles of bracelets while a local boy is assisting him. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_25.jpg
  • A family is decorating glass bracelets on their doorstep in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_19.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where young boys and girls are aligning the ends of bracelets produced in coils by factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_18.jpg
  • A young girl is decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_10.jpg
  • The owner of a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is showing a bundle of bracelets just painted by local children. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_08.jpg
  • A child is transporting unfinished glass bracelets from a house to another one on the road connecting two sections of the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_03.jpg
  • Children are decorating glass bracelets inside a house transformed into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_26.jpg
  • A mother is decorating glass bracelets while her young child is sleeping on the bed inside her home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_20.jpg
  • Chotte, 10, a child with serious sight and hearing difficulties and whose father died only a few months ago, is collecting bracelets to be painted into a small-scale workshop in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in  Uttar Pradesh, northern India. While his mother sells the bracelets on the street, he is employed for 10 Indian Rupees (0.20 EUR) a day in this house to carry on basic duties. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_11.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_04.jpg
  • Amnoor, a 5-year-old boy from Simlana village, pop.4000, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is being washed by his father using contaminated water delivered by their private hand-pump, on Sunday, Mar. 30, 2008. Amnoor was diagnosed a nervous damage due to the long-term effects of consuming unsafe water at the age of three. Before that he even used to run and was very healthy. Now, his reality is a semi-paralysis to both his left arm and leg. The family, whose only breadwinner is Vinod, 35, an agricultural labour, had to incur in a Rs 30000 (USD 600) expense for Amnoor's first treatment at the PGA Hospital in Chandigarth, Punjab, and in more than Rs 1000 (USD 12) a month for the cost of his medicines. With an average daily wage of Rs 50-60 and two more children to provide for, Vinod is facing a dire economic situation.
    Slow_Poison_18.JPG
  • Labourers are fixing part of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_12.jpg
  • A labourer taking a break on a bed of stones against a view of the mountain landscape along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_09.jpg
  • Labourers are busy on fixing the road on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_04.jpg
  • A labourer in his tent during an early morning on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_01.jpg
  • A labourer is having a bath near a little mountain spring along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_24.jpg
  • Labourers are having breakfast near their tents along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_11.jpg
  • Portrait of an labourer from Jharkhand State, east India, on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_10.jpg
  • Labourers are making asphalt to repair a section of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_07.jpg
  • A labourer has just woken up and is stretching outside his tent on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_05.jpg
  • A labourer is portrayed inside his tent on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_06.jpg
  • Labourers are making asphalt to repair a section of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_17.jpg
  • An Indian serviceman is photographed while warming up in his temporary room on the Leh-Manali Highway where he supervises labourers.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_13.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
  • 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_Masi011.JPG
  • An agricultural labourer is harvesting sugarcane in a field near the village of Barnawa, pop.6000, Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located along the banks of the severely polluted Hindon river, on Friday, Apr. 18, 2008. Labourers earn as little as 50-60 Rs (USD 1) for a hard day of work in the fields.
    Slow_Poison_13.JPG
  • Agricultural labourers are threshing wheat after having it harvested and collected during the past few days, in a filed near the affected village of Barnawa, pop.6000, Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located along the banks of the severely polluted Hindon river, on Thursday, Apr. 17, 2008. Labourers earn as little as 50-60 Rs (USD 1) for a hard day of work in the fields.
    Slow_Poison_05.JPG
  • A young agricultural labourer is harvesting wheat in a field near the village of Shamli, pop. 1500, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located dangerously near to Shamli Paper Mill, (visible in the background) a large industry discharging untreated wastewaters a few steps away from the field, on Friday, Apr. 18, 2008. Feru, 70, the owner of the field is forced to feed its crops water from the mill's drain. "We own this land since more than 200 years, while this factory was erected in 1981," he adds, "we filed many complains to the MP offices in both Meerut and Lucknow but nobody in the government listens to us. We are not important to them." He also laments that "the soil is becoming defective, and so are our crops whose yield is diminishing year after year."
    Slow_Poison_04.JPG
  • Labourers are collecting and dividing the thin black dust obtained by boiling leather scraps in one of the many dumping and burning grounds near the tannery area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. This dust is the first process to fertilisers and chicken food.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_28.JPG
  • A child labourer in one of the illegal tannery units inside Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is holding to the side of a pool while stepping on buffalo's skins inside a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents. Children are mostly employed on scraps, or little parts, like the head and the ears of the animal, which will become a small bag or maybe a cheap phone leather case.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_05.JPG
  • Agricultural labourers are collecting water devoted to irrigation from pools forming on the side of the polluted Ganges River in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, near Jajmao Industrial Area. Sustaining life for thousands of years along the Indo-Gangetic plains, the river's ecosystem is in grave danger of being damaged beyond repair while crops absorb the contaminants from the water and pass it on to those consuming the vegetables grown in this area.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_43.JPG
  • Two labourers having a meal of boiled potatoes before beginning their daily work in one of the illegal dumping and burning grounds surrounding the area of Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. After being bathed in chromium and other chemicals to remove hair and impurities in a process called liming, the skins are examined by hand and the useless parts are cut and sent to one of these fields where they are boiled and reduced to a thin black dust. The resulting dark powder will then be used as a fertiliser or for the first stage of poultry food production.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_26.JPG
  • A labourer is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather destined to reach a new unit to complete another step of the production chain. In Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanupu, Uttar Pradesh, the leather passes hand in hand many times before being ready for the final product manufacturing stage. This 'outsourcing effect' creates a considerable risk for local underprivileged children to become involved in hazardous activities and subjected to lifelong exploitation.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_15.JPG
  • A young man in an illegal tannery inside Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is taking a break from the dark, dusty room where he works smoothing and cutting leather. Labourers use almost no protection against the cancerogenic particles generated by this industrial process. Many are oblivious to health and safety regulations, their rights as employees or the impact of a prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals and particles.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_13.JPG
  • A labourer is moving a heavy load of half-processed leather destined to reach a new unit to complete another step of the production chain in Kanpu, Uttar Pradesh. In Jajmau Industrial Area the leather passes hand in hand many times before being ready for manufacturing stage. This 'outsourcing effect' creates a considerable risk for local underprivileged children to become involved in hazardous activities and subjected to exploitation.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_03.JPG
  • Nila Kashap, 40, from the village of Bhanera Khemchand, pop. 2000, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is portrayed while resting on her bed, on Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2008. Nila started to be affected by a stomach cancer that has grown into her ovaries about one year ago and has since then incurred into 12000 Rs (USD 300) medical expenses to try and treat her disease. Doctors believe its cause to be the unsafe, yellow water she is drinking on an everyday basis from her family's private hand-pump, defined by them as being 'smelly' and 'distasteful'. Her husband, a local agricultural labourer earns as little as 50-60 Rs (USD 1) for a hard day of work in the fields and he faces regular expenses of more than 1500 Rs per month (USD 40) to try to mitigate the effects of his wife's illness. Their son, also working in the fields, is helping the family to face their dire economic situation.
    Slow_Poison_30.JPG
  • Children belonging to Furkhan's family, a 35-year-old agricultural labourer living in the village of Shamli, pop. 1500, Saharanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located dangerously near to Shamli Paper Mill, are throwing stones into the drain running right at their doorstep, on Friday, Apr. 18, 2008. Originating from the untreated wastewaters of Sikka and Maruti paper mills, another two large factories in the area, this drain is a serious hazard to the health of the people residing in the surrounding area as well as for the environment. Furkahn laments that their house was built long before the drain started to flow, and even though he complained various times to the government in both Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, two large cities near the district, there has not been any tangible improvement to the situation.
    Slow_Poison_23.JPG
  • Three young men are working in a dark, dusty room where they smooth and cut leather in Jajmau Industrial Area, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Labourers use almost no protection against the cancerogenic particles generated by this industrial process.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_19.JPG
  • Solitary cars travel on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_02.jpg
  • The Indian Army routinely check foreign passports in various locations along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_21.jpg
  • Local shop-owners sitting in their shop catered for travellers and excursionists along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_31.jpg
  • Two Buddhist novices dressing up after a bath in a nearby spring along of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_28.jpg
  • A herd of Bharals (Himalayan blue sheep) along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_27.jpg
  • A lone woman is prostrating to a Buddhist Stupa along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_25.jpg
  • A truck is passing through a narrow and steep section of the Leh-Manali Highway bordering a lake.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_22.jpg
  • Bikers are taking a break near a small lake while travelling along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_20.jpg
  • Two adventurous bikers are about to enter a hail storm along the More Plains, a part of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_19.jpg
  • Army trucks are crossing a small watercourse to reach one of the many military installations positioned along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_16.jpg
  • A view of a recently constructed section of Leh where migrants or itinerant workers from nearby villages move to in search for better economic conditions.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_32.jpg
  • A group of men is pushing a truck on slippery and muddy soil common of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_14.jpg
  • Along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_03.jpg
  • The beginning of the Leh-Manali Highway in Leh. The road has increasingly favoured tourism and development in this remote mountain town.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_30.jpg
  • The Buddhist Monastery 'Thikse Gompa' is photographed at night along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_29.jpg
  • A mountain view along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_26.jpg
  • A traffic jam along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_18.jpg
  • A truck is passing through a narrow and steep section of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_08.jpg
  • A local family is washing clothes near Leh, the capital of Ladhakh, along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_23.jpg
  • Tilak Raj, 23, a Punjabi driver living inside his truck for 14 days before being rescued by the truck owner. His vehicle broke down along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_15.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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Travellers are taking a break at one of the various tent camps where they can be hosted, served food and hot drinks..The Leh-Manali Highway is the main road connection between the remote mountainous region of Ladhak, with capital in Leh (3300m), and Manali, HP, a famous hill station 600 km north of New Delhi. Open only four months a year, it is the second-highest motorable road in the world crossing passes up to 5300 meters. It was constructed by the Indian Army in order to develop the surrounding areas as well as monitoring the nearby borders with Kashmir and China. Due to its beauty and increased accessibility, the road to Leh and Ladhak has recently become a must-see destination for local and international tourists leaving the scorching Indian plains..
    Leh-Manali-Highway_India_17.jpg
  • Two adventurous tourists on bikes are riding along the Leh-Manali Highway...The Leh-Manali Highway is the main road connection between the remote mountainous region of Ladhak, with capital in Leh (3300m), and Manali, HP, a famous hill station 600 km north of New Delhi. Open only four months a year, it is the second-highest motorable road in the world crossing passes up to 5300 meters. It was constructed by the Indian Army in order to develop the surrounding areas as well as monitoring the nearby borders with Kashmir and China. Due to its beauty and increased accessibility, the road to Leh and Ladhak has recently become a must-see destination for local and international tourists leaving the scorching Indian plains..
    Leh-Manali-Highway_India_07.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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • An Afghan woman is walking through a field of blossoming flowers in Bamiyan, a small Afghan town 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 modeled 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_Masi002.JPG
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