Canadian Voices in Afghanistan
Q&A with Freelance Photographer Leslie Knott
Freelance Photographer Leslie Knott
What is the main focus of your organization and what is your role?
My current job in Afghanistan is working as a freelance journalist, including photography, video and production. I have also started an organization with a few other filmmakers called the Afghan Film Project. We are trying to build the capacity of the Afghan film industry, both feature and documentary, by training Afghan film makers in all aspects of the film industry.
Why did you decide to come to Afghanistan?
I first decided to come to Afghanistan in 2004 when I was hired by Institute for Media Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS), a Canadian NGO that was building radio stations managed by women. I was first posted to Maimana in Faryab province, where I worked with a group of seven Afghan women who wanted to be journalists. We started the radio station, painted the walls, chose the curtain pattern, collaborated on programming, did interviews and had music request shows. Radio Quyaash was up and running and became a popular institution in the community. After two years there I went to London where I did my Master Degree in International Development and Communication. Since graduating in 2007 I have been coming back to Afghanistan for different photography and film projects, including teaching photography to children and women for OXFAM, and documenting projects and campaigns for UNICEF. In 2008 I started working on a documentary following the Afghan Cricket team on their journey to the World Cup. It will be shown on BBC in late 2010.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Afghanistan is an intoxicating country filled with enormous hospitality and humour. The people I have worked with have inspired me and challenged the way I think about the world. Afghans have become a casualty of a war, and as such their opportunities have been narrowed, but their spirit, ambition and drive have not suffered.
What changes have you seen since you started working in Afghanistan?
One of the biggest changes I have seen in Afghanistan is the adoption of technology. In 2004 when I arrived there was one internet cafe in Shar-e-Naw neighbourhood in Kabul that we could visit to send emails home. Now in 2010 blackberries are the norm, and most restaurants have wireless internet.
What do you think Canadians should know about Afghanistan that they aren’t learning from the mainstream media?
I think Canadians should know that Afghanistan is about more than just Kandahar, and it is about more than just war. It is about picnics in the Panjshir valley, fields of flowers in the Dash-t-laili desert, it is women who work as auto mechanics, men who work as plastic surgeons, and children who aspire to a peaceful Afghanistan. Yes there is war, terror and poverty - but daily life in Afghanistan continues. Babies are born, weddings are celebrated and people die of old age. The mainstream media has missed a crucial angle of Afghanistan - the human angle.
