Afghan woman holds pink balloons handed out by artists and activists in Kabul. (Photo: AP)
After a day of explosions and gunfire, residents of Kabul woke up on Saturday morning to be greeted by a public art project in which volunteers handed out 10,000 neon-pink "peace" balloons.
Organised by Yazmany Arboleda, a 31-year-old conceptual artist from the United States, the project was an unusual attempt to bring a dose of creativity and fun to the Afghan capital, which has been wrecked by decades of war.
Each balloon contains a written message of peace from volunteers around the world, said Arboleda. More than 100 Afghan artists and other volunteers were up before dawn Saturday to put the messages inside and fill the balloons with helium. Then they took to the streets of downtown Kabul's riverfront to distribute them to passers-by.
The timing of the event, which had been kept secret, came just hours after Taliban militants had launched a major suicide and gun attack on a compound of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in central Kabul.
One police officer was killed and five gunmen were shot dead in several hours of violence as security forces hunted down the attackers, with bursts of gunfire and grenade blasts heard across the city late into the evening.
"I did think of calling it off last night but all the volunteers insisted it continued," Arboleda said. "I could hear explosions from my house but everyone was just ignoring them and doing the last-minute preparations unaffected."
"They said that this is what happens in their city, and they have to get on with their lives. How people have embraced this shows how much creativity, positivity and love there is here despite everything."
The colorful spectacle clearly delighted many Afghans, even as the war with Taliban insurgents grinds into its 12th year since the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban's hard-line regime.
"This brings color to Afghanistan and I want to see my people smiling and happy, said 22-year-old Afghan volunteer Nargis Azaryun as she passed out the balloons.
She added "We hope that by giving away 10,000 pink balloons, we will give this city 10,000 ideas of life beyond war."
At distribution points in the city centre beginning at 07:00 am, adults were given one balloon each and encouraged to keep them until the end of the day.
"The balloons are not worth any money but they are distributed in the cause of peace so we admire this initiative," said Waheedullah Nizami, a soldier who received a balloon.
But Haji Mohammad Khan, 62, selling bananas on the street, dismissed the idea, saying: "What's the benefit of this? It is not going to help bring peace here."
Called "We Believe In Balloons", the event was paid for by individuals and groups around the world sponsoring each balloon for $1.
Arboleda, who has launched similar events in India, Japan, and Kenya, said the Afghan version is important to allow the world to see the country's people, not just the conflict. "I see this project as a platform that transforms the single story of catastrophe that the world sees in Afghanistan into multiple narratives that highlight our shared humanity," he said.
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