BAMIYAN, Afghanistan // Marzia and her husband Qadeer thought themselves lucky when they moved into a 1,700-year-old Buddhist cave carved into the side of a mountain in Afghanistan’s central highlands.
It was clean and dry, warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and there was plenty of work on the local farms. But now, even this bare-bones way of life is threatened.
The family, along with another 242 cave-dwelling households dotted around the capital of Bamiyan province, also called Bamiyan, could be forced to move soon. They are the last of about 10,000 families who have been relocated over the past decade as part of the local government’s programme to protect the unique man-made grottoes that it hopes will transform Bamiyan into a global tourist destination once Afghanistan’s war with the Taliban, now in its 16th year, is finally over.
The couple moved here from neighboring Maidan-Wardak province because they believed it was a stepping stone to a better future.
“We had no money and my husband couldn’t get a job,” said Marzia, 30, as she breastfed her baby. “We left because we were poor.”
But 12 years later they are still living in the cave, along with their five children aged from 10 months to 8 years, including 6-year-old Freshta who has not been the same since a land mine exploded near her four years ago. Her mental development stopped and she spends most of her time lolling on the thin mat that covers the cave’s floor.
Any original features, such as the brightly-colored geometric murals that were painted by the monks who created these caves, are long gone. They have been destroyed by time, the elements and the wear-and-tear of hundreds of years of habitation – including the fires that residents build for cooking and heat.
“Life here is difficult,” Marzia said. Water must be fetched from a nearby stream, and a solar panel charges a 9-volt battery that provides light after dark. Cooking is done on a stove fuelled by a gas bottle. They have installed a door and a step up into the one room that all seven members of the family share. Smaller caves outside are used for storage.
On the rural outskirts of the city, amid the rutted fields of potatoes, the province’s main crop, the cave-dwellers do what they can with their meagre resources, determined that the next generation will have a better life. As members of the Shiite Hazara minority they have suffered historic persecution, but they have also benefited from aid from international charities and governments.
Amid an intensifying insurgency by the Taliban, Bamiyan is a haven of peace, as the Shiite Hazaras have successfully kept the war off their territory since the end of the Sunni insurgents’ regime – under which they were persecuted and much of the province’s Buddhist heritage destroyed.
Bamiyan is probably best known as the site of two giant Buddhas, one 55 metres tall, the other 38m, that were carved into the cliff face above the modern city between the 4th and 6th centuries and which were destroyed by the Taliban at the urging of Al Qaeda in early 2001.
Their memory lingers now in gaping niches where the magnificent statues stood as part of an extensive monastic centre that included up to 12,000 caves used by monks. It formed an elaborate network of monasteries, assembly halls, residencies and large sanctuaries that were decorated with frescos and statues, many produced with techniques unique to this part of the world, according to archaeologist Rasool Shojaei, who previously worked on their restoration with the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
Unesco has classified the “cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley” as a world heritage site representing Buddhist and Islamic religious and artistic developments from the 1st to 13th centuries.
The provincial government is working with Unesco to restore the valley’s eight sites, including the Ghulghulah fortress, believed to be Bamiyan’s original staging post on the old Silk Road that linked China to India. The fortress was razed by Genghis Khan’s hordes in the early 13th century and never regained its glory.
Determined to develop on its own terms, the province hosts about a dozen international events a year, said Kabir Dadras, head of the local office of the ministry of information and culture, including a marathon, a skiing competition and a variety of cultural festivals. “Bamiyan is very popular with Indians, Japanese and Koreans because of the Buddhist heritage,” he said.
As part of those plans, he said, all the people still living in the grottoes, and assessed as sufficiently poor to qualify for the government’s land redistribution programme, will be moved to new townships on the outskirts of the city by 2018.
For Marzia, it has been a lot of talk and no action. “I’ve spoken with the governor and a lot of officials have been here to see us,” she said. “They keep promising that they will give us a flat, but we’ve no idea when, or even if, it will happen.”
* Associated Press
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 Bentley Bentayga V8
Price, base: Dh853,226
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 550hp @ 6,000pm
Torque: 770Nm @ 1,960rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
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Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
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EXPATS
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
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Results
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SCHEDULE FOR SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - from 4pm (UAE time)
Angelique Kerber (1) v Irina Falconi
Martin Klizan v Novak Djokovic (2)
Alexandr Dolgopolov v Roger Federer (3)
Court One - from 4pm
Milos Raonic (6) v Jan-Lennard Struff
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Evgeniya Rodina
Dominic Thiem (8) v Vasek Pospisil
Court Two - from 2.30pm
Juan Martin Del Potro (29) v Thanasi Kokkinakis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Jelena Jankovic
Jeremy Chardy v Tomas Berdych (11)
Ons Jabeur v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
