Well, if I look back to my work and to my being in Afghanistan through these images that
hang on this wall, I'm certainly not very optimistic about the future of Afghanistan
because I've been meeting people through which I've seen how, with each progress of the year,
they really became more pessimistic about a better and prosperous and peaceful future for
Afghanistan. Therefore, there is still hope and it's the final moments upon which I hope
that the international community will react and find a new react and make the decision
that will enable the lives of ordinary Afghans to change for the better.
Well, it's why I went to Afghanistan for the first time. I think I was 22 years old. I was just
about the age where the world opened for me and I was curious about the world and at that time
Afghanistan became a big major story and also I think it was because of the medium, it was because
of my curiosity. I wanted to go and see whether this big news about the women are now liberated
and there's peace in Afghanistan now is true. So I think different things came together and I
simply went while I was going back to Afghanistan. I guess if I'm honest today, when I came there
for the first time, I understood how little I actually understand because, okay, I read two
books but the reality was totally different and I became even more curious. I wanted to learn
more. Therefore, I was, I don't know, something brought me in Afghanistan and I can't return.
Certainly it has, I think, because I was kind of growing up with Afghanistan.
No, I would like to go back to Afghanistan as soon as I get the opportunity to go back but it's true
that with the book I ended a certain story and for me Afghanistan up to now was mainly a story
about the war and the consequences of war and poverty. It was a story about what it means
there is a war, a long-term war in a country. I was ten years old when there was the war
in Slovenia and the Balkans and Yugoslavia so frankly it did not affect me. I mean,
Slovenia was very lucky. We had ten days in war. So for me all the Balkan war experiences was not
there and I kind of understood. With Afghanistan and traveling to Afghanistan, I started to understand
what the war really means for the people, for the ordinary people and that really shook me and up
to now and with the book that's basically the story I'm talking about, the lives of ordinary
Balkans who have been influenced by the war and poverty. How I ended up in the country of the
president, well, coincidence. I mean, I fell in love with an Iranian and I married an Iranian and
therefore I moved to Iran and started to live in Iran. So I was in Iran before, traveling. It
is a totally different experience when you start working in Iran and living there more permanently.
Well, as I said, it's totally different experience when you try to work there as an accredited
photojournalist. I actually can say now that I had more freedom working in Iran as a tourist,
I mean, traveling and taking pictures than I had when I became an accredited photojournalist
for media. But it took me a while to realize that because, okay, it's a long process first,
you wait for a couple of months to get the accreditation, then you start applying for
permissions and it takes several months. So you can kind of figure out that there's no,
it's not possible. Of course, you do the press conference, you do the demonstrations,
you do the revolution anniversary and it's all interesting for the first second time. But then
I wanted to do much more of it. I guess I forgot that I am working in a very auto-practic system
and that it's practically very dangerous and difficult to do.
Not at all. My husband is not in photography, so I don't think that really helps. And besides,
once you're living in a country, you feel the people differently. I mean, you have your own
social network and in such a system as your own system is, I would never want to endanger anyone
just because of my story or just because of my story being published in the foreign media and
that can happen quite easily. I mean, everyone's talking about the red lines and, you know,
do not cross the red line. However, nobody's actually telling you what the red line is. Basically,
it could be pretty much anything depending on the situation or response by the government.
Well, it was quite a challenge to admit to yourself that basically something that you
thought you were going to be doing forever and you never had to think about, you know,
I never had, I loved photography since I was in primary school. That's the time when it began
interesting me and then I went to the art school and I did photography and since then I was totally
driven. I mean, I never thought about doing something else. However, different circumstances
and I force you to think about other things, especially either when you cannot do the work
that you want to do or you are not able to financially make it. So for me it was a combination
of both. Therefore, I was forced to start teaching and it's, I mean, once you clear the ideas in
your head, it's not a problem. Many photographers have been, you know, working, doing other things
in order to be able to fund their projects and that's something that I'm on right now.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
