A Kuchi caravan of women, children and livestock move to more fertile lands, as the males move ahead and recce the location by truck. Khost Province, Afghanistan
Just who are these people
Who wander the lands?
With their colourful clothes
And their colourful bands
From nomadic herders of Royal descent
They travel for miles
As freedom is meant
But for oh too long now
They’ve been caught up in war
Triggering land mines
What is it all for?
They side with the Taliban
They’re Pashtun after all
They fight for their freedom
Until they see Kabul once again fall
Lands free to roam
Is becoming less and less
As the animals steal the crops
So the land owners press
Hazara, Usbeks and Tajiks
Don’t want the Kuchi tribes
So they kick them from their lands
It’s all really bad vibes
For centuries they have wandered
With their camels, goats and cows
Everyone would accept their presence
But now there are rows
A young Kuchi woman walking alongside a laden camel.
There’s a split in the lands
That’s why there’s a civil war
But the West doesn’t understand
What that split is really for
Some Kuchi have sold their daughters
While continuing to sell their stock
Do they get more for a goat
Or a girl in a frock?
My photos of the Kuchi
All colours and bright
Hides the realities of a hard life
Which is hardly a delight
Many are no longer nomads
Now living in one place
They mix with the locals
No longer a Kuchi race
From India across the Durand Line
Into Afghanistan and Iran
For centuries they’ve travelled
As a livestock caravan
Bright colours on the landscape
Over the mountains along the plain
But for how much longer
Will we catch the Kuchi train?
A Kutchi family moving by truck to a village to settle.
Bob Shepherd 
During the days of the British Empire, some of these men moved to Australia with their camels. The camels are still thriving in the Aussi desert. And some of these men came back to Afghanistan with Aussi wives…..
Sent from my iPad
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