For over a quarter of a century, Afghanistan has been devastated by war, drought and famine. Her people have been displaced, and her culture eviscerated. The world renowned photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, now Swiss citizen returns after twenty-three years in exile, to re-discover his homeland at a crucial moment of transition. Working in rich color, and frequently using a panoramic format that embraces the vastnessof the sky and sand, Zalmaï immerses us in the ravaged landscape and the bustle of reconstruction.

"My project tries to capture the resilience of a people who have rarely known peace, their optimism in the face of overwhelming odds and the very real worry that the country remains on a knife-edge and could easily slip back into a nightmare from which it is still trying to escape."

At the same time, the work reflects the relief of a long-awaited return home and hope for the future. His work in Afghanistan has been supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The book "Return, Afghanistan", published by Aperture, a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to advancing fine photography, features a preface by High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers, and an introduction by an award-winning journalist, Ron Moreau, which discusses the undertaking of reconstruction and the psychology of return.

The "Return, Afghanistan" exhibition began its world tour in Geneva in May 2004 with the support of Aperture foundation, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the City of Geneva, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, the Swiss Federal Office for Refugees, Fedex Express. The exhibition was displayed in June in Washington, DC at the National Geographic Museum and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the support of Aperture. The exhibition, "Return, Afghanistan", opened at Kabul's Amani High School in July with the support of UNHCR and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was an emotional experience for the photographer, Zalmaï, who had fled the country in 1980 and was now returning to share with his compatriots his vision of a long-lost homeland through photos taken after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Among the guests was Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who said, "You showed this country as it is today. These images tell the truth, and that is why they are important."

Zalmai's work reveals the continued need for the world's focus on this region and in particular to assist Afghanistan in its endeavor to reconstruct itself despite serious odds and difficulties. More than 3 million persons have returned back to Afghanistan under the auspices of UNHCR making this its largest repatriation operation ever. However, much more needs to be done to assist in the reintegration of returnees, through the reconstruction of destroyed houses and livelihoods, and restoration of devastated land and infrastructure.

The exhibition will travel internationally to Berlin, Boston, Brussels, London, Milan, New York, Ottawa, Paris, San Diego, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto and Tokyo.