In October 2008 the children travelled by bus to an elementary school in Kabul to give their last performance of the year. Everybody sat mesmerized by the juggling of the girls.

“Do you know where the Habibia college is?”

“Yes of course,” he said, lowering the taxi’s window and shaking my hand

“Can you take me there for 100 Afghani?”

“I am sorry, I can’t but what about 120?”

“Ok,then no problem.”

This was typical of the conversations I would have with taxi drivers as I tried to make my way to the Mobile Mini Children’s Circus or MMCC where I was taking photos. Soon after agreeing the price I was sat in the taxi and the driver was launching us out into Kabul’s fast, chaotic and very loud traffic. Afghanistan is a war zone and even if Kabul is supposed to be relatively safe, the whole place still looks and sounds close to that rougher, more dangerous world beyond the mountains that ring the city. Perhaps this is indeed the natural way of things here, perhaps the people after ten years of resisting the Soviet occupation, 7 years of civil war and about 5 years of Taleban rule have simply forgotten how to enjoy peace. The roads are bumpy; the trucks, cars and bikes rattle and growl along them crunching gears, hissing their brakes, sounding their horns and playing their music. Security is a daily concern and checks and road blocks are full of men in helmets and flak vests shouting orders, around whom an almost constant stream of military vehicles in sleek, humming convoys of heavy steel seem to pass. My driver would navigate around them and the broken down cars, that litter the roads, avoiding on-coming trucks with a quick dash into the opposite lane with a flair and skill that would leave Hollywood stunt drivers mouths hanging.

After the performance the children quickly pack everything up and get ready to go back to the Centre. The hills of Kabul make for an idyllic setting.

It was a good day, everybody loved the show and they were given some notebooks donated by Unicef.

To travel this way  was always a challenge, I might not have been at the front line but this was far from an ordinary commute to work and when I eventually got out of the taxi at the MMCC I would just enjoy, for a moment, the majestic hills of Kabul, that were now close in front of me, taking in their shapes and colors and the way they were dotted with hundreds of small houses. Of course they also bore the scars of the intense fighting that occurred during the civil war but like the place I had come to work, they were slowly recovering from that violence: the trees and scrubs were growing back and soon, it was hoped, they would just be part of the city, a place familiar, safe and welcoming.

Only a few years ago girls and women were not allowed education. These days in Kabul the situation is much better. The boys and girls practice acrobatics at different times but usually they have common classes when they study Dari and English.

On my arrival at the centre, I knock on the gate and enter. The security guard is sipping a cup of green tea and he pauses for a moment so we can shake hands and look each other in the eye, he knows me by now and lets me in. Suddenly the hustle and bustle of Kabul is gone and I am surrounded by silence; indeed I am in an island of tranquillity which seems completely untouched by all the political and economic problems affecting the rest of the country.

The MMCC is an NGO  which is completely run and organized by the Afghani themselves and provides training to aspiring circus performers, both boys and girls, with juggling and acrobatics classes as well as academic classes in Dari (one of Afghanistan’s main languages) English and other useful subjects.  The children are every bit as tough and bright as they make the best of the opportunities provided often attending the centre after or before going to regular school.

There are obviously problems that the children have to face in contemporary Afghanistan which is a society in transition, where strict Muslim rules and the desire for greater freedom have to be reconciled. Until a few years ago, during the Taliban regime girls were completely cut off from education and denied any kind of recreation. Even kite flying had been banned together with western music and any form of art except the religious kind.

Nowadays the girls, at least in Kabul can easily go to school and take part in many activities. At the centre the girls are allowed to play drums, an activity usually reserved only for the men and they can sing, dance and do acrobatics though they are separated from the boys for this lesson. I was accepted and allowed to take photos of all activities but i was warned not to take photos of the girls when their hair was uncovered and the school is trying to design a new head scarf which does not come off as the students loop and twirl. Afghanistan still is a conservative Muslim society and girls have to be careful about their behavior in public. Even so this does not please everyone in the area.

At the centre they have morning shifts and afternoon shifts; most of the children go to a normal school in the morning then come to the centre in afternoon or the other way around. At the centre they practice acrobatics several times a week.

The compound is surrounded by high walls which isolate the school somewhat from the neighborhood but this a small concession to a lingering prejudice. Inside there is nothing but freedom. A two floors colorful main building roughly at the far end of the compound which acts as office, kitchen, radio station and also houses several classes used for sewing and singing lessons. On the right hand side just after the gate there is a large gym where the children practice acrobatics. In the centre of the compound there are a couple of volleyball courts and enough space for about 100 children to practice together for the traveling shows the MMCC put on in other parts of Afghanistan and overseas.

Such travels, of course, involve risk: for example when the centre travels to Bamiyan in Southern Afghanistan for a performance they face at least a six hour bus journey on terrible roads through some of the most least secure areas in the country. Many of the southern provinces are still Taliban territory and they could easily object to girls performing and dancing in front of an audience. These children were brought up in a country riddled with economic and political problems. Their brothers probably could not even think about performing and traveling around Afghanistan and abroad to perform for other children and by doing this they face the risk of attracting the attention of over zealous elements of the society who could react with violent outrage at the school’s ideology.

But the circus has given them a place where they can express their talents and grow at the same time and the children know it is a give and take situation where they learn how to perform and master skills that have been long denied them and then give it back to the community by making other children happy. As they tumble and twist they make the audience laugh and stare with wonder at all the joy of the World and maybe this instills in those fresh eyes a fresh set of ideas and dreams so much so that some of the children in the audience might go on to become circus artists themselves one day.

Playing the drums for girls is not only a very entertaining activity but also something that breaks the rules. Traditionally it has been a practice only reserved to the men.

But however hard they work for a brighter future it is difficult to forget the past in Kabul. When I first entered the gym used for acrobatics training I noticed the empty glasses and dozens of shoes on the floor while the children looked at me from a distance. At first they were not sure who i was and why I was there so it took them some time to open up and trust me. Strangers, especially adult men have been something to fear in the land for far too long.

But as the class started they quickly became very serious and dedicated to the tasks the teacher had set them and started to accept me as part of the scenery. I could sense their concentration and the effort they were making as they moved around the room. Even though there was no music, the class all worked in time to the simple melodious instructions in Dari from the teacher. It was beautiful, the children moved with a fluidity beyond their years and I was moved. But this routine was merely a warm-up and ended with some frog jumps which provoked uncontrollable laughter followed by handstands and back flips and suddenly they were children again.

Some of these children also have physical disabilities while others might have mental problems, many of which could stem from the long unluckiness of Afghanistan`s history. One of the girls was affected by polio when small and her legs were not very strong; another boy had half a hand missing but that did not stop him from giving his all in training often with extra encouragement from other children in the group.

I particularly remember one boy, only 17 years old with the most startling hue of green eyes I had ever seen and a large open smile across his  handsome face. He had a natural confidence and was an easy leader for the others who all looked up to and respected him. He spoke very good English and had been one of the performers chosen to travel to Japan when the MMCC visited there in 2006. He fondly remembered his first trip to a foreign country, and the many friends he made there. Most of the Japanese were mesmerized by the color of his eyes and the cultural and language barriers were easily broken down. When he had had to go back to Afghanistan, he remembered there were many tears.

It is time for the afternoon acrobatic session to start, it usually lasts for about 2 hours.

It is difficult to tell whether the children are playing or they are practicing acrobatics.

Another day at the centre is over, it’s time for reflections. For some children it was a good day and they are happy, for others it was not so good and they need some encouragement.

On a personal note I feel extremely lucky to have been allowed to enter the lives of these children for a few days and it is an experience that i not only enjoyed  but one that has and will continue to affect me for many years to come. I don’t think I have ever been surrounded by so much energy and hope before and know that such things are needed if countries like Afghanistan are ever to recover and once again be places that children can live fully, happy and safe lives. As always on such assignments there was not enough time to really get to know the place and it would have been great to able to witness other aspect of the MMCC activities but the fact that places like this exist, and the fact they want to and are making a real difference to people’s lives gives me a good feeling.

Children are stronger than we give them credit for and although the region is once more being torn apart by war and despair there are many positive, hope-filled stories hidden there among the house-dotted hills of Kabul’s suburbs with their slowly repairing nature; behind the high walls of compounds like the MMCC and in the secret, for now, shuttered rooms of buildings where brave, ambitious, humble, gentle, resilient and above all hopeful people do things that all countries need and yet are so difficult in this crippled country which needs them most and it is those stories that I want to tell.

A good excuse to return to Afghanistan.

You can see more of my images on:

http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/slideshow/18222