Memories of a Child Refugee

The Huffington Post:

For many, Sharbat Gula was the face of refugee children everywhere, although her identity was unknown for almost two decades. Captured by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry in 1984, in a refugee camp in Pakistan, the penetrating eyes of the 12-year-old “Afghan girl” grabbed the world’s imagination — and became a symbol of the plight of war-damaged children. Not until 2002 was she finally located and identified, by that time repatriated and living with children of her own, in a country again at war.

Sharbat Gula is one of millions of Afghan children who have fled Afghanistan’s seemingly endless war, seeking safety in foreign places. Many, like her, lost their parents to war — and all lost their childhoods. It’s fair to say that all have suffered emotionally, with psychic wounds that may never completely heal.

Read the whole story: The Huffington Post