photo: © Hedayat Amid - Tahmina
That autumn, Museum Vlaardingen presented a selection of photographs by Afghan press photographer Hedayat Amid. The exhibition Hope & Fear. Afghanistan through the lens of Hedayat Amid shows compelling photos from a country that has known war and terror for forty years.
Hedayat Amid (Kabul, 1990) was forced to leave his home country on August 15, 2021, after the Taliban seized power. He eventually arrived in Vlaardingen.
Before being forced to flee, Hedayat documented daily life in Kabul—life that continued as best it could despite more than four decades of war and terror. His photographs tell the stories behind the statistics and brief reports about Afghanistan in Western media.
The impressive photos show how tenacious and cheerful the residents of Afghanistan are, fighting for survival and longing for a bright future. They show how children dance and play on the remains of the war and how women and girls take an active role in society.
A picture is worth more than 1,000 words…
But Hedayat also shows the vulnerability of this society, in which terror, violence and exclusion are always lurking. Since the Taliban returned to power, the policies have become increasingly brutal, particularly against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities. The hopes and aspirations of many thousands of young Afghans have been replaced by fear and uncertainty.
Hedayat's impressive photos contribute to increasing knowledge about Afghanistan and hopefully ensure that the West does not forget Afghanistan.
Hedayat Amid worked for several national and international news agencies, including the European Pressphoto Agency. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian, among others. He has won international awards, and one of his photographs was selected for Time magazine’s top 100 photos of 2015.
Hedayat now works as a photographer for NRC Handelsblad. His Instagram account, @hedayat_amid, offers a selection of his Afghan and Dutch work.
Hope & Fear. Afghanistan through the lens of Hedayat Amid
September 15, 2023 to January 14, 2024
Read more about this exhibition at Museum Vlaardingen
