Across Afghanistan suicide attacks are on the rise and in much of the country U.S.-allied forces confront a revived Taliban. A surprising exception is the eastern province of Khost, a hotbed of insurgent activity and al-Qaida ties since before 9-11 but today an unlikely oasis of hope in a troubled land.
Afghanistan: Bazaar
Published October 9, 2007
Noorullah makes about $2,000 a month selling antiques and Afghan crafts to soldiers at Forward Operating Base Salerno.
I met him in 2005. He only had one store then. Now, he owns two shops -- crafted out of a 10-foot-long shipping container -- at the bazaar just inside the gate of the base.
The profits still go to his family. Noorullah, who is 21, supports his parents, four brothers and three sisters. His father is 87 and doesn't work.
Noorullah is one of about 50 shopkeepers at the bazaar. For some of the soldiers who never leave the base, it is their only opportunity to interact with the Afghan people...
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On one of my last days in Khost in 2007, I remember the 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers guarding Forward Operating Base Salerno's main gate were shocked that we'd go into the city without guns
In March 2008, The Pulitzer Center partnered with Helium to launch its first round of the Global Issues/Citizen Voices Contest. Find the winning essays here.
Grantee
Kevin Maurer has covered the military as an embedded journalist for The Fayetteville Observer for four years.
In 2003, he followed 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers in Iraq during the...
