In the hills above Kabul, Sima searches for things that others have left behind. She walks through cemeteries looking for plastic, scrap and anything else that might have value. What can be sold is gathered and carried away; some of what cannot is brought home and saved as fuel for cooking or winter.
Five years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, work is scarce. Sima, who believes she is about 60 but does not know her exact age, helps support her extended family. They survive largely through begging and collecting bread, scrap and recyclable waste.
