The heartbreaking discovery of an Afghan girl after 17 years and then ...

- Photograph of photographer Steve McCurry in a refugee camp on the cover of National Geographic Magazine reveals 'Afghan Girl' and 'Rest is History'

- Vividha-Bhaven Kutchi

- Historical picture at the age of 13, identified as a woman named Sharbat Gula when she was 20 years old and now homeless again at the age of 20

The history that was created by a photograph as soon as the Taliban regime came to power in Afghanistan has taken a 30 degree turn and the world has also been reminded of the thrilling pictorial history of that event.

National Geographic: A Picture Destination of Human History

The National Geographic Magazine, which started from Washington, USA in the year 18, is world famous for the pictures published in support of its report. His fans protect him as every issue is a 'collector' issue. Some of the issues are sold at four times the price in the past, even more than the original price at that time. The magazine, which started reporting with the first black and white in the 1906 issue and the color picture in the 1910s, can also be called the father of photojournalism. Total sales of the 20-language edition of this monthly magazine have declined like any other magazine in the digital age. In the 180's, against the sale of one and a half crore points, there is now a circulation of 20 lakhs. However, its TV channels, serial production and online media are growing in popularity. There are at least 50 issues of National Geographic Magazine that have been instrumental in turning the tide of human history or the world. After such a role, let's talk about today's topic.

5 million Afghans in refugee camps

On the cover of the June 14 issue of National Geographic magazine, a close-up picture of a girl with blue cat eyes who would have been 18-19 years old at that time was published. The picture below reads: "Haunted eyes tell of an Afghan refugee's fears." It was under the auspices and protection of the Soviet Union, which fought the Afghan Mujahideen war to overthrow the government. Fighters such as bin Laden led the Mujahideen, and the same militants turned anti-government fighters in Afghanistan into Taliban and terrorist organizations.

In other words, America is the birthplace of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Two decades after the same bin Laden and al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center in New York, the historical chapter is a different matter. But Afghanistan was devastated by ten years of fierce fighting between the Soviet Union and the Mujahideen. The Taliban's brutal atrocities and bloodshed against the Soviet army on the one hand and civilians on the other were at their peak. As many as 5 lakh Afghans fled to Pakistan as refugees and 12 lakh to Iran. In the 19th century, the Soviet Union withdrew troops from Afghanistan and a Taliban government was formed. As many as 15,000 Soviet troops and 3 million Afghan civilians were killed, including three million children and a similar number of women. Not only the Soviets but also the Mujahideen forces were blowing up the constituencies in their own country if they did not follow the rules made by them or in support of the government.

Refugee camps: Hell on Earth

Millions of Afghans have been stranded on the Pakistan-Iran border, stranded in extreme weather and mountainous terrain. Their lives were worse in that camp than in animals like sheep and goats, most of whom lived for eight to ten years. Flying warplanes hovering overhead would also carry out air strikes. World charities would kill each other in a loot if they threw food kits or other items from a helicopter. Everyone's faces lit up at the sight of men being enslaved and agents of women's prostitution. Women wore burqas to keep out of sight. The competition in the American and world media for coverage of the hellish life in the camp was frozen. The outreach or awareness of human rights organizations did not become active. Reaching the camp was like inviting death. The global funds that were sent were also being digested in the meantime. Neither the governments of Pakistan nor Iran were economically poor, and the citizens of their countries revolted against their government after years of seeing refugee camps and many of them turning into terrorist groups.

Steve McCurry had to take a photo of his face, not his face

Most countries in the world had no idea what a brutal life is like in a refugee camp in Afghanistan. It was at this time that the famous photographer Steve McCurry, with the help of his source, managed to reach the camp at Nasir Bagh, near Peshawar, Pakistan. McCurry's heart melted at the sight. Magazine camp reports from America's Time and Newsweek, as well as all the news photographers, quickly published images of the devastation and exploitation. Steve McCurry was a photographer with a different vision and angle. He was shocked to see the inhumane life of the refugee camps, but his vision was to make the faces of these refugees the subject of the photo. Steve saw the fear of death at any moment on the faces of the refugees, the relentless tremors of being sold into slavery or prostitution. The helplessness of the helpless family clan, who were huddled in tents with children starving and thirsty, was also on their faces. The mere presence of a stranger made them cringe.

..And suddenly Steve's eye fell on a girl

Steve visited the camp where the school was run by a charitable organization. Suddenly his gaze fell on a 15-16 year old girl. Seeing her blue cat eyes and the shades of aggression, fear and helplessness mentioned above, Steve clicked the photo of the girl with the permission of his teacher. It is said that the girl was wearing a veil like the other girls who were killed by fear but Steve Rtten requested the teacher to capture the image of an innocent age with a trace of fear on her face. Steve also reassured the teacher that the world would be drawn to you after I published the picture in a world-renowned magazine. You will receive millions of dollars in aid and pressure on the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops. Steve gestured to the teacher to the girl with the blue cat eyes. At the teacher's persuasion, the girl unveiled her face for a moment, removing her veil, and Steve took a close-up photo, looking at her with the camera's eyes, without losing a single moment. Steve assured that his report would not mention the girl's name or where the picture came from. Steve didn't even waste time asking for the girl's name so that no camera roll would be caught with the actual photo taken.

And with this one picture of Camp in his camera, he immediately flew back to Washington. Supplementary images were to be obtained from another photographer or agency. Steve and another journalist wrote a report on the plight of civilians and refugees in Afghanistan, but National Geographic put a photo of the girl on the cover of that issue, and "Rest is the History." Steve received phone calls and letters from around the world asking where the Afghan girl on the cover story was, who she was, what her name was. Magazine and Steve also came under pressure from the Soviets and the Taliban for information. How they find this girl out of millions of refugees. In Afghanistan, there has been speculation that the picture may have been taken from Iran, Pakistan or other Islamic countries.

Who is the Afghan Girl after 17 years?

The cycle of time revolved. In 2006, the TV production department of National Geographic magazine came up with the idea to find a picture of an Afghan girl who had become a historical figure in the 19th century, and to present her painful name to the world. This was National Geographic's marketing strategy for earnings and publicity. It doesn't matter if photographer Steve McCarr gets a second chance to be immortal. However, it was very important to make sure that the identity of the girl was correct and that no young lady got fame and earnings. For this, photographer Steve Jode was accompanied by a special forensic expert from Italy and a scientist who geometrically perceives changes with the aging of the face. Naturally, they first reached Nasir Bagh near Peshawar, where they first photographed an Afghan girl 15 years ago. There were still homeless Pakistanis who had taken refuge there. Those in the fifty- to seventy-year-old age group were asked where the Afghan girl was. Some of the brown-eyed girls claimed, "I am that girl and you took my photo near the tent." However Steve also had a well-chosen camera vision. He failed in the forensic study of three girls. They roamed for four months as if investigating an American spy agency. They also hired some local agents. Finally, a veteran man reported that the girl you were looking for was hiding in the Tora Bora mountain range in Afghanistan from the Taliban. She left after a ceasefire with her husband.

Steve's eyes recognized the Afghan girl

At the risk of their lives, Steve and his team would scurry through the Tora Bora mountain villages, unaware of their mission. The man who provided the information in Peshawar also came along. It is possible that Steve and his colleagues paid a good amount for this. He knew in which village the maximum refugees of Nasir Bagh lived. "The Afghan girl you are looking for is named Sharbat Gula," said a citizen who had faith with local leaders. He will now be thirty years old. She was sitting in her room right in front of him when he reached home. Steve's and the young woman's heart stopped beating together. Even though she was only 30 years old, Sharbat Gula did not look young. Not even a faint line of smile crossed his face. Yeah Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like BT aint for me either. There was a constant stream of shock and anguish over him.

Sharbat Gula lived secretly in a mountain village

"She was just six years old when her parents and sisters were killed in a Soviet bombing in front of her," Gula said. Along with other refugees, he and his four sisters, as well as his grandmother, joined the millions of migrants in the Nasir Bagh camp. I remember the picture you took but after that my life became very difficult. I have always been in the veil. At the age of 18, I got married to Rahmat. He died four years ago in an epidemic after coming here. There were four daughters at the time, one of whom died, the eldest being 15 and the youngest three. We were escorted to vast desert-like areas in large trucks transporting Tora Bora in an unknown way, hiding from the army. After walking for several days, they reached here without any food or water. Finding a way out of a snow-capped mountain. No one even has enough blankets. How many would have died in the snow. No financial help reached us after you published the photos. The death of a sympathetic teacher also left my secret to the world as an Afghan girl, which enabled me to survive. '

Shined on the cover of National Geographic again in 2002

The forensic and geometric oceanographers who accompanied Steve tested Gula with a scientific test and gave her a certificate with a facial graphic that she was the same young woman who shone as an Afghan girl. National Geographic re-launched the story on print and digital platforms in 2007 with its identity. Magazine of 18 and 2009 was published in the magazine. It has been revealed that the Afghan girl is now a girl named Sharbat Gula. After this, trouble was bound to arise for Gula. She arrived in Pakistan under a false name and document with the help of an agent before being captured by the Taliban. During the overthrow of the Taliban government by the US, the Pakistani government came to know that the girl living with the documents was a sherbet gula. He was sent back to Afghanistan with his family in 2012. This time, fortunately, he did not have a Taliban government. Ashraf Ghani's government was formed with the support of the United States. He gave Gula land and a house.

Again the Taliban government and again Gula became homeless

Gula barely became an honorary citizen, but a few years later, Biden's government withdrew troops from Afghanistan this year, leaving him alone. Within days, the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan. Millions fleeing the Taliban have fled the country. Countries like Italy, Britain and Turkey took the humane step of giving shelter to the refugees. Sharbat Gula has been sheltered in Italy and has been settled there since last September. The Italian camp must not be as brutal and worse as Pakistan or Iran.

Life is like a thriller from Afghan Girl to Sharbat Gula. The Soviet invasion, and the Taliban's care, Pakistan's hell camp, again Afghanistan, then Pakistan, again Afghanistan during the Ghani government, and now with the arrival of the Taliban government, Italy's asylum prime minister Mario Draghi's announcement.

Before concluding the interview, Sharbat Gula was asked by Sharbat Gula, "Why did you live in the midst of so much violence, death throes, deaths of inmates and inequality?" Frustrated with the blue cat's gleaming eyes, he replied, "By the will of the one above."