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October 2001, troops from the Northern Alliance are pushing towards Kabul, which is in the

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hands of the Taliban.

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After intense bombing by American aircraft, the Afghan capital falls under the control

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of fighters and allies of Commander Massoud.

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There is widespread panic.

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Some of the population join the four million refugees who fled across the country's borders,

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mainly into Iran and Pakistan.

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One year later, and what's happened to those refugees who abandoned everything to escape

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Russian occupation and the fanaticism of religious warriors?

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While more than a million and a half have returned to their homes, there are still almost

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two and a half million, like these people here, stuck in the likes of the Shamshatu

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camp just beyond the border with Pakistan.

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Most of them, traumatized by the savagery of the combat, prefer to wait for a more secure

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future.

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My husband's dead.

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My children are orphans.

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Mine died as a martyr.

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Mine as well.

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I'm a widow.

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Here, at the screening center at the Nazir Bagh camp, every day between eight o'clock

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and four, 3,000 people go on the list of those wanting to return.

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Armed with a small amount of money given to them by the United Nations High Commission

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for Refugees, they pile their meager possessions onto overloaded trucks and then head off along

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one of the world's most dangerous routes.

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Between the border and Kabul, it takes more than two days to travel along a 200-kilometer

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road that's in a bad state of disrepair.

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Afghanistan is a transport corridor between five bordering countries, Turkmenistan, Iran,

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Pakistan, Tadzikistan and Uzbekistan.

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The road between Pakistan and Kabul is an economic lifeline for the capital, and from

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next year, the European Union has decided to invest more than 70 million euros to have

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it repaired.

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The country has been destroyed.

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The Afghanistan of Amid Kurzai is trying to rebuild itself.

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ECO, the Office of Emergency Humanitarian Aid of the European Community, coordinates

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and dispatches aid to the various ONG sectors.

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People lived here before the war.

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They were forced to leave when the Taliban came.

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When they came back, everything was destroyed.

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They gave us the rocks for the foundations that you see there, and then windows, doors

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and beams.

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Here we were given hinges and plastic insulation material.

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This is the first help they've been given, and with that, they built a makeshift shelter

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to get through the winter.

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The biggest priority for people in Afghanistan, it's almost like another war, is clearing

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the country of landmines.

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Stepping over the redstone could be catastrophic.

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An NGO called the Danish Demining Group is helping Afghans clear away mines left by the

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Russians, the Mujahideen and the Taliban.

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These discreet heroes are expected to uncover 10 million anti-personnel mines, almost one

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for every two inhabitants.

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I just got off a bus to go home.

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Along the road, there were Russian mines.

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I stepped on one of them.

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They had to cut off my leg.

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There have been so many mutilations that an orthopaedic clinic had to be created at Hazar

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Ishawani, near Jalalabad.

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The Sandy Gall Clinic usually takes in people who've lost lower limbs.

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Once they've been cleared of mines, fields are cultivated.

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In this country, which is 85% agricultural, there's been severe drought for several years.

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ECO, the European Commission's Office for Urgent Humanitarian Assistance, is getting

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NGOs such as the French organisation Madara to irrigate the land.

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Little by little, the sand and stony ground is being transformed into oases of green and

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fields of corn.

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Over time, market gardening is expected to replace the poppy plantations.

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Water is another very important issue.

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There are numerous problems to do with drinking water.

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For a start, only 13% of the population have access to it.

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The construction of this well is very important for the health of the villages.

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When we came to this village, we noticed that the locals had been digging holes and using

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stagnant water for a period of five to six months.

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The stagnant water was infested with parasites.

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Every day, we found that five or six members of a family became ill.

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Right across the country, numerous NGOs are involved in a race against time.

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Here at Demusken, a small village on the Chamali Plains, water has been found at a depth of

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between 25 and 40 metres, and an organisation called Dakar has created wells for more than

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four million people.

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The spread of polio, one of Afghanistan's major problems, is also showing signs of slowing

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down in areas being developed, and Mohamed Mouhine, a village chief who's 102, is keen

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to confirm the news.

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Before we had wells, we drank polluted water.

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It was black as tea.

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Of course they became sick.

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So it went on, medicine, injections, injections, and more injections.

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Now thank God we're better off.

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Children now no longer bound by impossible restrictions have the chance to go to school.

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These are classes that are no longer subject to religious integration, and where girls

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now have the right to learn.

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The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan sends children into class and tries to teach them

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by example, how Europe, through its values, has brought about stability.

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The smile of a happy child is the first sign of success.

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The country, up until now considered a bastion of terrorism, has been the focus of much hatred.

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Thanks to Afghanistan working with the international community, young people can look forward to

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a brighter future.