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Don’t Take Your Guns to Town
Bumburet, Chitral district, Pakistan. August 2017
The Kalash believe they originate from a small group of absconders from Alexander the Great’s army who decided to settle in the fertile and well watered valleys Following the Greek tradition they enjoy a tipple or two of alcohol, mainly home made wine, with their meals and delicacies such as fresh goats’ milk cheese. They have been isolated in their remote valleys for most of their existence and as such are fiercely independant and proud of their unique culture. When I say fiercly I do not mean violently as they prefer a peaceful life of song, dance and friendship .
Being so close to the Afghanistan border means that all visitors, including us, must have an armed guard with them at all times. The armed guards themselves were friendly and free but the feeling of having an automatic weapon behind your back or just outside your door doesn’t exactly scream friendliness or freedom.
Our armed guard was just out of the frame to the left. There is a space in the right hand side of the picture. In reality this is because I cannot see through the camera’s view finder properly as what seems like the centre to me is often actually to the side. These happy accidents sometimes make sense though. The space on the right side of the picture would perfectly fit our armed guard but in none of my photographs of the place will you see a gun. Why ruin such beauty with violence? Why highlight the war machine when the beauty of an ancient sewing machine can be seen instead?
