18

We are once again in Afghanistan.
The children in this photograph belong to the Hazara ethnic group — descendants, it is said, of Genghis Khan.
They are among the poorest and most oppressed people in the country, easily recognized by their Asian features.
At first glance, the image might seem playful, but it is not.
The children are not joking — they are traveling in the trunk of a car.
Scenes like this are common in Afghanistan: when the seats are full, passengers ride in the trunk; and when even that is full, they climb onto the roof.
McCurry recalls counting up to twenty people crammed into a single mid-sized car.
This particular vehicle is a 1950s Chevrolet — still in use nearly forty years after it was built.
Everything ends up in this country: second-hand cars, machines, and discarded goods from the West find new life here.