Photographing Afghanistan: ‘I was looking at a dead man’

A photojournalist recalls the Afghans he met, including the leader of a police unit left to fight the Taliban alone.

The Afghan villagers were told to stand in a line.

This photo was taken in Panjwayi district, Kandahar, on April 28, 2006. The joint Canadian/Afghan National Army (ANA) group I was with had surrounded the area while the ANA focused on pushing through to engage the Taliban fighters.

The villagers were having to leave the area as there had already been fighting, and it was expected to continue.