The Good Earth

As the war-torn city of Kabul, Afghanistan, is transformed into a maze of blast walls, military checkpoints, and foreign bases, how might security architecture be changed to foster psychological stability?

Bartholomew Digby runs his calloused hands along the walls as he scrambles around the Parwan Fort. He’ll casually draw a finger down a mud-brick surface sill as he passes. Sometimes he caresses the paksa, or mud mortar, with what seems to be genuine affection. Like many occupants of this reconstructed 18th-century fort, the 25-year-old Brit was drawn to Kabul by a fascination with traditional building methods and a faith in their powers to heal a city wounded by decades of war.

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Charles Montgomery
Charles Montgomery was born in 1968. He spent his formative years on a farm in North Cowichan, Vancouver Island. He has been a writer and photojournalist since 1996.

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