As with my photo posted yesterday I took this shot on the Khyber Pass Steam Train Safari in December 2006.
Like Sharbat Gula aka The Afghan Girl there are numerous lighter skinned peoples with blue or green eyes and often light brown or blonde hair. This little boy looked so fragile and woebegone with his scarf tied over his head. He could well be an Afghan boy as many of the people in the pass are refugees from Afghanistan.
The Pashtun is the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and second largest ethnic group in Pakistan. They have a reputation as fierce warriors. Many of the tribal groups of the Khyber pass are Afridi - a sub group of the Pashtun. Pakistani friends told me the Afridi were fearsome bandits. The people of the Khyber pass certainly have a reputation as bandits and smugglers - transporting goods through the pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan. My Afghan friends (particularly those of Pahstun origins) are fond of telling me that the Khyber Pass should belong to Afghanistan. Whilst they have these fierce reputations I am proud to number of Pashtun amongst my friends.
Interestingly there are also theories that these Pashtun people are a lost tribe of Israelites exiled from Assyria 2700 years ago. There are also theories that their colouring is a result of Alexander The Great's soldiers exploits when that army passed through the area.
Yes - straightaway it reminded me of the National Geographic photo. Wonderful portrait, he is a strikingly beautiful boy - I wonder what he's doing now...
fantastic portrait! Have you every read the book called Three Cups of Tea? It's about an American man who builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it's very interesting. http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
I know I already commented but I was just showing this picture to a friend and we are both blown away. This picture should be published somewhere it is so amazing! My son works for Microsoft and for Christmas he gave me a book called Imagine. It contains photos all taken by Microsoft employees and it's fabulous. If we made a 365 photo book - this would deserve to be in it!
@allred thank you so much for this amazing comment, you've made my day!
You have given me pause for thought and I think the reason my retrospective approach on year 2 pleases me so much is that I have photos and experiences that I really want to share.
You have given me pause for thought and I think the reason my retrospective approach on year 2 pleases me so much is that I have photos and experiences that I really want to share.