honorable mention
Phillip Walter Wellman united states
title
Prisoner Release
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entry description
On 26 May 2020, small buses transported hundreds of Taliban prisoners from Bagram prison — 50km north of Kabul — to the Afghan capital, where the prisoners were set free. The move was a confidence-building measure ahead of planned peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Both the prisoners and the government soldiers who escorted the buses said they wanted to see peace in Afghanistan after decades of conflict, and every freed prisoner signed a pledge not to return to the battlefield. However, mistrust abounded on both sides. In order for peace to take root, soldiers and insurgents will have to build trust, stop seeing each other as enemies, and find ways to coexist. The release of prisoners could be one of the first steps toward a peaceful future for the country.about the photographer
Phillip Walter Wellman is an American journalist and photographer. He is currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan.back to gallery