Relentless Afghan conflict leaves traumatized generation Among
them are some of the unseen victims of the war in Afghanistan: a
generation of people mentally damaged by their exposure to
incessant conflict. The accumulation of psychological problems
could begin to undermine national reconstruction and
development, say health workers at the country's only facility
for treating mental illness. Ghazia Sadid, a 26-year-old mother,
endured depression for years after a family member was killed in
a bomb attack, and she fled her home in fear of more violence. I
still hear the sounds of explosions. I still remember the
fighting, but since I have come here my behaviour has changed,
she said, speaking at the Kabul Mental Health Hospital, a green-
walled building on the outskirts of the city. I was totally lost
and my life was over. After two years of treatment, now I love
my children, she said. I loved them then too, but in my
imagination I had done something wrong. The concept of mental
illness is alien to many in Afgh