Synopsis
S H A T T E R E D AFGHANISTAN recounts, in fragments, stories of tender affinity and existential need.In Kabul’s National Museum, Afghan archeologists attempt to reassemble works of art that were shattered by the Taliban. Their attempts seem surreal. Street scenes of the destroyed city leave us confused, stuck between curiosity and horror. The misery of more than thirty years of war comes painfully alive. But there is a place of hope and assistance where our horror is displaced by a feeling of surprise.
Shattered bodies, physical destitution, men, women, and children who have lost limbs are being treated. Here in the orthopedic center, the heart of the Red Cross in Kabul, there is a friendly atmosphere, cheerful, even hopeful and lively. Alberto, the head of the clinic, thinks it is a miracle when a young boy, Sher Ahmad, walks back into life. We accompany Sher Ahmad as he journeys back to his small village in southern Afghanistan, on the border with Pakistan.