Balanced on an inner tube, an Afghan fisherman floats away from a sandy bank before inspecting several submerged nets along the glacier-fed Kunar River on March 8, 2010. These local fishing nets are anchored to the riverbed and frequently snare brown trout or carp.

A young boy wears a handful of wild flowers behind his ear in Kunar province, on March 6, 2010. Locally known as Gully Nargas, these vibrant flowers are traditionally used during funeral ceremonies. As the Karzai government attempts to end institutionalized corruption, similar flowers could mark the return of legitimate horticulture and assist in the overall reduction of illicit poppy cultivation. It is estimated that 90 percent of the world’s illegal opium is grown in Afghanistan.

“Flowers such as carnations could have a positive impact on the local economy,” said Jose Sanchez, the U.S. Department of Agriculture advisor in Kunar and Nuristan provinces. Having grown up on a farm in the Peruvian Andes, he understands the benefits of promoting selective crops within a developing country. “The value of flower production is not based on local markets alone, emerging global markets would be the destination of flowers grown in Afghanistan.”

Inside a small roadside stand, Afghan interpreter Ali Walikhan (seated in the center) speaks about a life in America with vendor Sheer Mohammad and his teenage son, Noorullah Mohammad, in Kunar province on March 5, 2010. Like many interpreters, Walikhan is ready to get on a plane headed for the U.S. and leave the war far behind. But without a Special Immigrant Visa, it is doubtful that he will ever see a boarding pass.

According to the National Visa Center, Afghan interpreters can petition for a SIV after working directly for U.S. armed forces for at least a year. Unfortunately, the demand for this category of visa exceeds the annual limits established by U.S. immigration law. Annual limits are not the only obstacle to a new life abroad. Interpreters are required to pay a filing fee of $375, which is more than half of their average monthly earnings. Additionally, SIV applicants must submit a long list of supporting documents, some of which are not commonly used in Afghanistan. “I have never seen a birth certificate,” said Walikhan, who was born while his parents were internally displaced by armed conflict.

Clutching an empty wash basin, a young girl rushes to shut a courtyard door after encountering a security patrol of Afghan National Army and International Security Assistance Force soldiers near her home in Saw Village, Kunar province, on March 1, 2010. Last month, oral testimony at the U.S. Senate hearing on Afghan women and girls indicated the need for continued international support on many key issues, including gender-related violence.

According to official transcripts, Ambassador Melanne Verveer argued that violent crimes against women have slowed development gains in the area of human rights. Verveer is the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues. “In addition to facing pervasive discrimination at every level of society, Afghan women suffer domestic abuse, rape, forced marriages, forced prostitution, kidnappings, so-called honor killings, and cultural practices that use daughters as payment to settle disputes and that condone self-immolation,” testified Verveer.

Building up speed, a local laborer steers up a steep ramp as he delivers a mound of dirt at the future site of a large telecommunication tower in Saw village, Kunar province, on March 1, 2010. Lightened by an empty cart, he races back down toward a shallow ditch containing men with shovels and his next load.

“This tower is the first example of private development in the area that was not initiated by Coalition Forces,” said Capt. Stoney Portis, a U.S. Army officer with the International Security Assistance Force. “This project could be an indicator of an improved quality of life for the people of Naray district.”

However, this potentially valuable development is not without risk. While deployed in the Middle East, he became aware of how telecommunication equipment can easily become a weapon. “In Iraq, most of the remote-controlled improvised explosive devices were detonated through the use of cell phones,” said Portis.

After being ordered to exit a station wagon carrying five men, passenger Abdul Hamid is detained by Afghan National Army and International Security Assistance Force soldiers at a roadside checkpoint in Naray distict, Kunar province, on Feb. 28, 2010. As Hamid peers over his fingertips, a hand-held iris scanning biometric device is used to record the fine texture of the driver’s eyes.

Similar to a fingerprint, the distinct pattern of the pigmented muscle of the iris remains unchanged over a lifetime. Once the electronic scan captures the pattern, the information can be quickly screened against a database of suspected guerrilla fighters and criminals. Without a probable match, the soldiers released Hamid and the other men a short time later.

Framed by a farmer’s window, a wave of winter wheat sweeps across the fields of Shirgal village, Kunar province, on Feb. 27, 2010. According to international aid organizations, years of armed conflict and drought have significantly reduced food security for millions of Afghans. Last year, seed distribution contracts awarded by the Afghan government failed to produce as promised. Problems stemming from general insecurity and corruption were often cited as the root causes of these unfruitful private contracts.

Taking a small drink of black tea, Capt. Stoney Portis, a U.S. Army officer with the International Security Assistance Force, listens to the nearby voice of his translator during a meeting with a tribal elder in the Afghan village of Shirgal, Kunar province, on Feb. 27, 2010. As Shirgal’s tribal elder, Hajji Tazikhan (seated second from the left) speaks for the estimated 100 families that live and work in this mountainous farming community located along Afghanistan’s eastern border. According to Tazikhan, living so close to Pakistan can be dangerous.

Having crossed over the border, guerrilla fighters often walk along the soft terraced fields of Shirgal toward a suspension bridge that spans the Kunar River. A recent encounter with these transiting guerrilla forces has Tazikhan worried. While fingering a bowl of hard candies, Tazikhan explained that armed guerrilla fighters had visited the village and threatened to execute several young men employed by the Afghan Border Police. After hearing of the threat, Portis prompted Saeed Rahman (seated far right), a young lieutenant in the Afghan National Army, to gather further information about guerrilla activity near the village.

At a whisper, Samargul Jauntguz recites poetry from a book written by revered Pashto poet Malang Jan. “Some of the poems in this book are about freedom and the need for Pashtuns to reclaim their tribal lands from the government of Pakistan,” said Jauntguz, a soldier in the Afghan National Army at Observation Post Bari Alai, Kunar province, on Feb. 20, 2010.

With a water kettle blackened with soot, Muslim Nuqari rinses soap from a meal tray at Observation Post Bari Alai, Kunar province, on Feb. 21, 2010. As a soldier in the Afghan National Army, Nuqari is often required to work at the Bari Alai field kitchen. “Washing dishes is not a bad job,” said Nugari, while squatting down to peel a large sack of brown potatoes.

High above a vertical rocky slope, a pair of flagpoles displays the colors of Afghanistan at Observation Post Bari Alai, Kunar province, on Feb. 21, 2010. At an elevation of 1,300 meters, this small mountaintop post rises over several terraced river valleys. Less than a year ago, more than 100 guerrilla fighters climbed toward OP Bari Alai and launched a coordinated attack. With a deadly barrage of machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the guerrillas were able to gain control of the post. Three Afghan National Army soldiers were killed during the battle and 11 were captured by the armed guerrillas. Additionally, five International Security Assistance Force soldiers were killed. Among the dead were three U.S. soldiers and two Latvian NATO soldiers.

Afghan National Army soldier Arif Chander cautiously reaches for his rifle through the window of a guard tower while listening to a sudden burst of automatic gunfire at the mountaintop Observation Post Bari Alai, Kunar province, on Feb. 21, 2010. Chander decided not to return fire after he was unable to positively identify a target. “I was not afraid to shoot back,” said Chander. “I could not see who was shooting at us.”

Early this month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered armored transport vehicles and electronic equipment to those NATO member countries that are willing to deploy soldiers to Afghanistan. But there was no word of equipping the Afghan National Army with this type of expensive military hardware. However, many ANA soldiers are not concerned with the reported advantages of next generation armored vehicles. According to Hydargul Hawskhan, they are waiting for combat gear and expanded training.

“We need night vision gear and scopes for our rifles,” said Hawskhan, a soldier in the ANA at Observation Post Bari Alai, Kunar province, on Feb. 21, 2010. “We also need training on the weapons used by the Americans, I can not operate some of the weapons located in our fighting positions.”

Hydargul Hawskhan leans into his assigned shack on the embattled edge of Observation Post Bari Alai, Kunar province, on Feb. 21, 2010. He shares this makeshift shelter with fellow soldiers in the Afghan National Army.

Kneeling in the direction of Mecca, Nieh Bullaah ignores a loud group of fellow Afghan Security Guards while performing the Qu’ud in Gahziabad district, Kunar province, on Feb. 16, 2010. Before praying, he squatted outside the crowded ASG barracks room and rinsed his body in warm water. Standing behind Nieh Bullaah, another guard waits for enough space to begin the Salaat, the Islamic prayer.

With a compact mirror in hand, Mahlang-John Hasta-Khan watches the hands of his barber, while seated on the roof of a sandbag-reinforced guard tower located in Gahziabad district on Feb. 14, 2010. “I always feel better after a haircut,” said Khan, an Afghan Security Guard. As a guard, he inspects vehicles at a roadside checkpoint at Combat Observation Post Pirtle King.

Before lunch, Marsham Khan rotates a goat head above a steel ammunition can full of hot coals in Gahziabad district on Feb. 15, 2010. “Removing all the hair is the hardest part,” said Khan, an Afghan Security Guard at Combat Observation Post Pirtle King. “The tongue is the best meat, it has a very sweet taste.”

A fast-moving snowstorm finds Hakim-John Al-Sadine splitting wood at a labor camp in Gahziabad district on Feb. 15, 2010. Millions of trees have been lost to deforestation in the past decade, as illegal timber exporters and local villagers compete for wood inside of the few remaining forests in Afghanistan. Tree felling has reduced the biodiversity of woodland habitats and increased the risk of deadly avalanches.

Out of fear, interpreter Osman Mohammad covers his face while being photographed at Forward Operating Base Bostick, Kunar province, on Feb. 11, 2010. In Afghanistan, guerrilla forces and criminals have targeted interpreters and their relatives.

Looking for better pay, Osman Mohammad walked away from the Afghan National Army and became one of thousands of privately contracted interpreters that work alongside International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan. Without these local interpreters, ISAF would be unable to effectively communicate with national security forces and civilians alike.

According to several interpreters employed by Mission Essential Personnel, this Afghan connection has fallen into disrepair. Based inside the U.S., MEP employs more than 4,000 people worldwide. In Afghanistan, issues ranging from safety to disability benefits have strained relationships between contracted local national interpreters and ISAF. A few interpreters have tried to speak out, but claim their voices were ignored by MEP supervisors.

After hearing the familiar sound of incoming gunfire, Sgt. Abraham Cavazos scans a jagged ridgeline and prepares to return fire from inside a guard tower at Observation Post Bari Alia on Feb. 21, 2010. Half an hour later, Cavazos lowered his machine gun without having fired a single shot.