Afghanistan

We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. And frankly I had no idea how to do this one. Sometimes solutions just present themselves. Some months ago I received an e-mail from someone I didn’t know. He wrote me he had read my first book and really enjoyed the stories and the idea behind the project. He asked if I had thought about how to do Kabul. That he was going over there soon. And that he could help me with it. A somewhat cryptic message... But I was happy to get it.

We met in Rotterdam a week later and he told me why he was going. He also told me I couldn’t talk about... why he was going. Except that it was for NATO. But we did decide to try to get me to Kabul where he could help me out with the Kabul photo.

A week later he left for Kabul and I for Jerusalem and Ramallah. After two weeks I returned and started with the process of trying to get a visa for Afghanistan. I couldn’t go as a tourist because Afghanistan doesn’t give out tourist visa for obvious reasons. And I couldn’t tell them too much about my new friend, only that he was part of NATO and could protect me.

I had to go to the embassy in The Hague to talk to someone there about granting me a visa. The first person I spoke to told me that I needed to get a letter of recommendation from Afghanistan. The letter I couldn’t get because I don’t know anybody there who could provide me with one.

When he asked me why I wanted to go there in the first place I started telling them about Streets of the World, which he had heard about. Somewhere on TV or radio, but he had heard about it. That changed matters he said. He asked if I was really going to Afghanistan for this project. I replied of course I’m going. Afghanistan needs to be in there! He smiled and told me that they would grant me a special visa.

I picked it up last Friday and booked my ticket. Flying through Istanbul in the middle of the night onwards to Kabul. Where my new friend is supposed to pick me up. Yes, I am a little excited.