Internally displaced people from Pasabad district who fled fighting between rival groups in an IDP camp in the provincial capital, Firoz Koh. (Photo by Ali Latifi)
The Harirod River flows from the border areas of Bamiyan province into Ghor and leads to neighboring Herat province.
Insecurity has greatly limited access to the villages and districts of Ghor. Local residents say venturing even a few kilometers outside Firoz Koh, the provincial capital, is fraught with danger, as warring local commanders have set up checkpoints along the roads.
Though there has been some progress — earlier this year Seema Joyenda was appointed as the province's first-ever female governor — Khatebi said women "cannot raise their voices when there is an active fight just outside their doorsteps."Even relatively safer districts have not been spared the affects of the insecurity.Gholam Nabi, a member of a community development council in Dawlatyar district, said much-needed infrastructure projects have also suffered as a result of the infighting.'They burned more than 140 households, nothing was spared. They even burned the donkeys.'
Haji Sultan Khan, 55, said his store and car were both burned by supporters of a local commander.
"If you aren't caught in the middle of the firefight, you have to maneuver through dozens of check-posts, each belonging to a different group asking for a tax," Mahmoud said.Though he says conflicts between a mix of Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimak and Pashtun ethnicities have long been a part of Ghori society, Haiwad, the former governor, said a lack of economic development has only further fanned the flames of conflict as commanders fight for limited resources.Rather than marginalizing the commanders, Haiwad said local leaders must learn to accept on-the-ground realities and work with them.Related: Hillary Clinton Sought Advice on Afghanistan From Former Bill Clinton Advisors'I will build a school in your area, but if anything happens to it, it's your head.'
Shah Mamor Shehab, who runs the Jam-e Ghor news site in Firoz Koh, says the insecurity in his home province has only further deteriorated in the last three years.