These images are hard-hitting and emotional. They are raw and honest, and reveal the darkest human emotions and turmoils possible. What prompted these people to write such things? What amount of desperation made them confess such horrifying thoughts on the walls of public vicinities? These are the things I wanted to know as I shot these photos.

But after reading Yasmina Khadras, The Swallows of Kabul, I realized how real violence and hopelessness can be, and how present are the evils that can push a person to the point of breaking. The severity of the violence and distrust that is present in this novel is terrifying, and really struck me.

The people in the village of Kabul couldn’t trust anyone, their friends and family were dying all around them, and it is in these times, these times of severe desperation, that people either give up and succumb to the pressures around them, or will do anything to survive; even turn their backs on the people they love.

These photos display the results of when these situations occur, of when violence, distrust, hatred, and most of all, fear, are present in our world. Although this novel is an extreme example, there are numerous pressures that people face every day that cause them to look to death with longing glances. This must stop.