I received a letter from him about a beautiful Afghan girl, and her photograph. She was indeed an exotic beauty.

She was a beggar and that is how he met her. He wrote that he wanted to free her from the tyranny and exploitation of her parents by paying them a bride price.In his next letter he asked me to lend him the money. Although I was certain that I would never be repaid, I did. I was in some way infatuated with the story.

THE AFGHAN GIRL BY C ROTHSCHILD 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 90

Lars was so strikingly handsome, I was stunned. He had big, beautiful eyes with an innocent boy’s puzzled expression. It felt as if we had known each other for a long time. He was the son of a rich banker who worked in Warsaw and Paris. In his youth he enjoyed summers on the family’s island, Hassel Kobben, in the Stockholm Archipelago. Lars got married, but divorced and joined UNICEF.

We agreed to write to each other. And maybe we could see each other again if my UN missions btought me to India.

I received a five-page letter from him about a beautiful Afghan girl, and her photograph. She was indeed an exotic bea…