Thousands of Afghans have fled their homes amid a fierce Taliban offensive in the country's north. Many of those displaced have escaped to the northern province of Balkh, where they face a life of misery and squalor in makeshift refugee camps and shelters.
The Refugees Of Mazar-e Sharif
Homayra, a widow carrying her paralyzed child, lives in a makeshift refugee camp outside Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh Province.
Faizia (left), Homayra’s mother-in-law, lost her husband when their home was bombed. She was blinded by a piece of shrapnel.
Thousands of families from across northern Afghanistan have fled to Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital and a relative oasis of peace in the region.
Abdul, one of the makeshift camp’s residents, fled from Faryab Province after fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces.
The parents of 14-year-old Negina, from Sar-e Pol Province, were killed in a militant attack. She lives with her grandmother at the Balkh camp.
Mohammad Yusuf, a former soldier from Kunduz Province, has lived at the camp for several months. Kunduz has been the center of a major Taliban offensive.
Khalid, 8, fled with his family from their home in Samangan Province.
Some of the more fortunate displaced Afghans have taken jobs at brick kilns in Balkh to help squeeze out a living for themselves and their families.
Balkh has not been shielded from the violence. Agha Jan, an elderly farmer from Balkh’s Chimtal district, moved to the outskirts of Mazar-e Sharif three months ago.
Asadullah, 7, lives in a mud-brick house with his family of eight.
Hundreds of people from Balkh’s far-flung districts and villages have fled rising violence to come to the relative safety of Mazar-e Sharif.