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  • 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
  • Boys are playing on a road of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008. Due to the heavy metal contamination of underground water sources, many of the residents are forced to walk 2-3 kilometres to reach a safer hand-pump, and those who are unable to do so, have to drink unsafe water which is the cause of many of the diseases affecting the local population.
    Slow_Poison_43.JPG
  • Children residing in Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, are in line to receive water and other goods from a governmental agency that provides essentials to the poorest residents once a week, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008. Due to the heavy metal contamination of underground water sources many of the residents are forced to walk 2-3 kilometres to reach a safer hand-pump, and those who are unable to do so, have to drink unsafe water which is the cause of many of the diseases affecting the local population.
    Slow_Poison_29.jpg
  • Villages are photographed from the air while travelling over the Hidu Kush range between Kabul and Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_71.JPG
  • Milad, 2, is portrayed during a snowy winter morning in front of the cave where he lives with his family since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_65.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, is walking near the cave where she lives with her family since seven years, during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_62.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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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 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 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 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
  • Arun Kashap, 8, is taking a bath in a pool of water used for building purposes in Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008. Due to the heavy metal contamination of underground water sources, many of the residents are forced to walk 2-3 kilometres to reach a safer hand-pump, and those who are unable to do so, have to drink unsafe water which is the cause of many of the diseases affecting the local population.
    Slow_Poison_35.JPG
  • A young boy, walking the streets of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, stops to eat a candy near one of the contaminated water pools that regularly forms in the slum, on Monday, Mar. 17, 2008. Due to the heavy metal contamination of underground water sources, many of the residents are forced to walk 2-3 kilometres to reach a safer hand-pump, and those who are unable to do so, have to drink unsafe water which is the cause of many of the diseases affecting the local population.
    Slow_Poison_32.jpg
  • A boy living in Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is playing near one of the contaminated water pools that regularly forms in the slum, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008. Due to the heavy metal presence within underground water sources, many of the residents are forced to walk 2-3 kilometres to reach a safer hand-pump, and those who are unable to do so, have to drink the polluted water which is the cause of many of the diseases affecting the local population.
    Slow_Poison_09.JPG
  • Hamidah, 6, (Left) and her two sisters Fatemah, 12, and Halemah, 9, are collecting water from a hand-pump situated on ground level a few hundred's meters from the cave where they live with their family since seven years, during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_75.JPG
  • Maryam, 38, (Left) is warming her hands near the wood stove inside the cave where she live with her family since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_76.JPG
  • Hamidah, 6, is sitting alone next to a cave dug out of the friable the cliff where once stood the two giant Buddhas of Bamyan during the late afternoon hours when the Sun is setting on the Hindu Kush mountain range, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_73.JPG
  • A woman and her son are waling along the bazaar in the centre of Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_68.JPG
  • Halemah, 9, is running after her family's donkey on the way to collect water downhill. Halemah lives in the caves with her family since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_57.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, (Right) and her mother, Maryam, 38, (Left) are sitting in front of the cave where they live since seven years, during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_58.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, is blowing in her hands to warm up in the early hours of a cold winter morning in the cave where her family resides since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_55.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 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
  • Workers are collecting chemical sludge outside a local paper mill in the village of Saini, pop. 4000, Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, to be then sold at the price of Rs 3000 for a full tractor, on Wednesday, Mar. 19, 2008. The sludge, used to manufacture boxes and invitation cards, come to create when heavily contaminated waters discharged by the paper mill mix with the mud nearby, while also penetrating the soil and reaching the aquifers the population of Saini has been reliant on for generations.
    Slow_Poison_07.JPG
  • Mina, 35, (Right) is standing in front of her makeshift house built around one of the caves with her eldest son, 11,(Left) during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. <br />
<br />
A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.<br />
<br />
After the Taliban were driven from the region by American troops, many Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) returned to their homes to find them destroyed. <br />
<br />
Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamyan 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. <br />
<br />
It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_79.JPG
  • Sakhi Ullah, 30, is sitting in one of his neighbours' cave while Monirah, 7, (Left) and her brother Najibullah, 3, (Right) are sitting in what has been their family home since six years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_77.JPG
  • Sayed Mohammad Hussein, 22, is walking next to the entrance of the cave where he lives with his family since seven years, during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_69.JPG
  • Monirah, 7, (Left) and her brother Najibullah, 3, (Right) are sitting in the cave where their family now live since six years in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_70.JPG
  • Maryam, 38, (Centre) is talking to relatives in Mazar-i-Sharif, while being surrounded by her family and neighbours in front of the cave where they live since seven years, in Bamyan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population. Halema, 9, (Left) one of Maryam's daughters is having regular toothache. Due to hard conditions of living and poverty, health issue are a major concern in the region.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_67.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, (Left) and her younger sisters Hamidah, 6, (Centre) and Halemah, 9, (Right) are eating a meagre breakfast next to the wood stove in the cave where they live with their family since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_61.JPG
  • Kobra, 17, is tearing while taking care of the fire due to the heavy smoke filling the cave where she now lives with her husband since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_56.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, is walking out of the cave where she lives with her family since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_52.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 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
  • Kobra, 17, (Right) is washing some cups to prepare tea while being helped by Hamidah, 6, (Left) near to the entrance of the cave their families live in since seven years, during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_78.JPG
  • Ibrahim, 67, father of 9, is sitting in the cave where he lives with his family since seven years, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_74.JPG
  • Nazifah, a 48-year-old widow, is holding Wahidullah's hand, her 5-year-old disabled grandson while Najibullah, 3, (Right) is standing in the back, inside the cave where they now live since six years in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_64.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, is drying dung cakes to be used as burning material near the cave where she lives with her family since seven years, during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_60.JPG
  • Maryam, 38, (Centre) is lighting the family's wood stove inside their cave while, Hamidah, 6, (Left) and her sister Fatemah, 12, (Right) are awaiting for tea in the early hours of the morning, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_54.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
  • Children are collecting water from a tank delivered weekly from the Uttar Pradesh government on the streets of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Saturday, Mar. 15, 2008. Although 2-3 similar tanks of water are provided weekly many villagers lament that they are not enough for the large population of the slum and normally run dry after the first two days, leaving no alternative to many of the inhabitants than drinking the contaminated water delivered by their private hand-pumps or collect safer water from 2-3 kilometres away.
    Slow_Poison_20.JPG
  • Khadim, 72, is portrayed at the entrance of his cave. During the years Khadim's family has been able to build some walls around the original cave and make it a more comfortable home, in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_66.JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (centre) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is portrayed in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_071.JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (centre) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is practising in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • A cycle rickshaw driver is taking a break on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_176.JPG
  • Two man are cycling in the mids of a busy junction in Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_175.JPG
  • A vendor is selling Coca Cola on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_068.JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_046.JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (centre) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is practising in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis. .
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (centre) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is practising in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • A boy is driving his bicycle in the mids of heavy traffic on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_173.JPG
  • People are walking on the streets of Agra, next to a busy junction. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_072.JPG
  • A man lying, supposedly drunk, in the middle of a congested junction is struggling under an incoming car. The car moved back and drove away. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_070.JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_045.JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_044.JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (centre) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is portrayed in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • A group of slum dwellers on the hills surrounding the tannery area of Jajmau are busy collecting fresh water being provided to the colony daily by the government from 4 am to 7 am and again from 5 pm to 6 pm in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The inhabitants are complaining that too little water is provided for the large population of the area.
    Kanpur_Leather_Industry_37.JPG
  • Men are stading on the back of a small van in the mids of heavy traffic on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_174.JPG
  • A rickshaw driver sits in his vehicle on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_037.JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (centre) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is portrayed in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis. .
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Young Buddhist monks are awaiting to be gin a Puja in the early morning inside 'Thikse Gompa', a spectacular monastery near Leh, the capital of Ladhak, a small northern Himalayan Indian state with a dominant Buddhist population...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_06.jpg
  • The town of Leh, capital of Ladhak, a small northern Himalayan Indian state with a dominant Buddhist population, is photographed from a nearby hill. ...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_01.jpg
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_172.JPG
  • Brij Khandelwal, a renown environmental journalist for the Times of India, is walking in the mids of traffic on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_080.JPG
  • A man is lying, supposedly drunk, in the middle of a congested junction. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_069.JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_067.JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_036.JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (right) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is listening to some of her songs with her younger brother (centre) and a female member of her music group (left) in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...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 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
  • The cliff where once stood the two giant Buddhas of Bamyan is photographed at night from a nearby hill by the homonymous town, in central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_51.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 Afghan elder is sleeping on the streets of Bamiyan's new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi037.JPG
  • ANP officers (Afghan National Police) are posing for a portrait in their booth along Bamiyanís new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi035.JPG
  • Afghans are walking near their homes in a rocky village located near Bamyian's archaeological site. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi034.JPG
  • 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
  • The cliff where once stood the two Giant Buddhas of Bamiyan is photographed after sunset in the small Afghan town, 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_Masi001.JPG
  • An Afghan boy is walking near Bamyian's archaeological site. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi050.jpg
  • 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_Masi042.jpg
  • Maryam, 39, is holding her newborn granddaughter in front of the cave where her family dwell located inside the archaeological site of Bamiyan, central 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_Masi025.JPG
  • Forests and natural beauty are very characteristic features of Bamyian, a small Afghan town in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountain range 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_Masi023.JPG
  • Afghans are busy at a bus stop near 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_Masi038.JPG
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