Rising From The Ashes Of War,
Enayat Asadi focuses upon the issues of poverty, injustice and social discrimination in Southwest Asia. For his series Rising from the Ashes of War, Asadi photographed Afghan refugees in transit in Iran, following the Afghan War. To accomplish this work, it was necessary for him to dare to travel through dangerous regions in eastern Iran.
Afghan refugees inside the fuel tank of a bus, where they will stay for about 30 hours as they travel to their destination in Tehran. Each fuel tank can fit seven people but possibility of asphyxiation is very real. The refugees must be get out before reaching to each checkpoint, skirt around the checkpoint undetected, then re-enter the bus fuel tank.
Afghan refugees wait for smugglers to give orders for them to enter cars. Around 30-35 people will sit in the luggage tray of each utility. More than 5000 Afghan and Pakistani refugees try to pass the eastern Iranian border to get to a safe place, far from their homeland. Some will stay Iran, others will go to Turkey and Greece.
Three hundred Afghan refugees arrive in Iran, after 12 hours walking on the border path of Iran and Pakistan. Some will stay in Iran, others will go to Turkey and Greece. Iranian police are fighting against people smuggling, however there are some accusations that they also assist smugglers
20 year old Mohammad is an Afghan refugee from Ghondus. He was kept and kidnapped by smugglers for an unpaid 15000 dollars debt. After two weeks, he was able to run away.
© Enayat Asadi