ABSTRACT
The first time I visited Kabul, Afghanistan was in the summer of 2002. The late June days were sunny and pleasant, a welcome change from the oppressive heat of neighboring Pakistan. Of course the real relief was that after 5 long years, the Taliban were gone and the city felt momentarily more secure under the watchful eyes of international peacekeepers. There were thousands of Afghans who had come back to the city after years as refugees in Pakistan and elsewhere. Some were back just temporarily to assess the conditions for themselves. Others, deciding to brave the still unpredictable situation, had just returned to try to restart their lives. The combination of the good weather, the defeat of the Taliban, and the peacekeepers also gave residents who had remained in Kabul all along a cautious optimism, enough to bring them out of their houses during the day.
