THE PRINCESS OF SAMANGAN
Samangan is an archeological site of northern Afghanistan, where Buddhist monuments dating to the 4th and 5th centuries AD are preserved. Today, much of Balkh province is under Taliban control, in a war that has been raging for 40 years.
There, in the Takht-e Rostam stupa carved entirely from the rock, walking carelessly through the perimeter of the excavated structure, I felt a presence following me.
A little girl about 5 years old, with dirty clothes and hair and an empty sack often held by children in this country, with a complaining and frightened look, was coming after me. She had only one shoe and was stepping on the icy ground with her muddy feet! When I stopped, she did the same, when I continued she followed my footsteps. I tried to speak to her sweetly, to make her smile. The child was about to cry. Eventually I fell into tears first, tryingย to hide tears behind the dark glasses to get unnoticed.
I travel a lot in developing countries and have encountered great poverty, many children living in absolute misery… I had emotional moments many times, especially when help is never enough, when pencils and notepads are like a drop in the ocean … But this Barefoot princess broke my heart!
In the car I had a lot of markers for the children of Afghanistan, a second pair of socks, several wafers from my fellow passengers. The child hardly could hold them with in her arms, without changing her gaze or mood. We couldn’t leave this child like this. We asked our driver to take us to nearest town and buy her shoes. Our request was fulfilled, in another chaotic and dangerous city, we found children’s socks and perfect sneakers in a size suitable for the years to come.
The little princess was still waiting there when we returned, almost an hour later. We washed her feet and put on her brand new shoes. The little girl was still shy and puzzled until we left, she did not forget to collect her old shoe. Then we saw the little Afghan girl running happily on the slopes of Samangan, a princess in her own kingdom…
My full travel story from Afghanistan:
AFGHANISTAN
