Broken Bodies, Disruptured Landscapes
65
The Yellow Room
of land in Afghanistan. Only two of the twenty nine provinces are believed to be
free of landmines.” ^'
The carnage of Afghan people by landmines is also odious due to the
dislocation it has caused them. Not knowing where landmines exist, the land has
become a liminal zone. The ancient routes which connected the everyday life
worlds of Afghans have become “wastelands of modernity”.'^" Both human and
land are violated. The loss of intimacy with the land is sociologically mirrored in
Afghan kinship patterns.
In Afghan society individuals are located along tribal and clan lines.
Each member shares close ties with other members based on obligation and
honour. In this scheme, what affects the tribe or clan has an indelible affect on
the individual. For t \