Canadian soldiers and LAV-III in Afghanistan 2003
Acrylic on canvas, 26 1/4 x 22 1/8 in (2006)

First in a series of paintings honouring Canadian forces in Afghanistan.

Our son Sean is an infantryman with the Royal Canadian Regiment 1. His first tour of duty was in Afghanistan, in the Kabul area, from August 2003 to February 2004.

Sean was a C9 light machine gunner, on foot patrol in the hills and villages around Kabul, in a light armoured vehicle (LAV) such as the one shown. At that time, the majority of Canadian forces were stationed out of Kabul.

As with many soldiers sent overseas, the culture shock can be phenomenal, and the overall experience becomes something one might rather forget than remember with pride. Afghanistan is an ancient country, with aeons-old traditions and tribalism. It has also been the clearing house of global political ambitions, and is strewn with the scars of warfare stretching back to time immemorial.

Change will come to Afghanistan very slowly. Given the burden of its history, it is not clear that the tough, muscular push towards democracy will achieve the changes it is intended to make in the lives of citizens struggling to survive each day.