In 2003, I left New York to go cover the war in Iraq as the first fully reader-funded war correspondent for my web site, Back-to-Iraq.com. Eleven years later, I returned to New York after covering wars in Iraq and Lebanon, floods and attacks in Pakistan and then traveling for two years to India, Southeast Asia, Australia and Colombia. The images of those years are indelibly imprinted on my memory, and show the astonishing differences and touching similarities between people around the world. I was 11 years gone.
In the days immediately after the fall of Baghdad, Iraqis were frustrated and confused. Here. they vented their anger at the lack of organization and answers at a young American Marine in Baghdad in April 2003, less than a week after the fall of the city.
Christopher Allbritton
One of my first memories of Pakistan was Independence Day in Rawalpindi in 2009. Here a man celebrates pride in Pakistan. Little did I know that the country would soon enter some of its most trying times in its brief existence.
Christopher Allbritton
A 16-year-old member of a security detail and a tribal militia in Swat Valley near Mingora, Pakistan, relaxes for a few quiet moments in the captured house of a Taliban commander in September 2009. The Pakistani Army has been urging the formation of these tribal militias to combat the Islamic militants bedeviling the frontier and tribal areas of Pakistan, and even invaded the Swat Valley in a bid to bring it under control. It remains under de facto military rule today.
Christopher Allbritton
2010 was a rough year for Pakistan. In the late summer, floods of bilblical proportions submerged 20 percent of the country, an area the size of Italy. Millions were displaced and thousands killed. Here, a woman walks behind the remains of a house destroyed by the floods on Friday, Sept 3, after waters swept through the village of Mohammad Kot. Residents of Mehmood Kot waited a month for relief aid.
Christopher Allbritton
Not every thing in Pakistan is doom and gloom, however. Amidst even the worst assaults by terrorists, life goes on. There's even a lively fashion scene with local designers showing at swank fashion shows. Here, a model vamps it up at during Karachi Fashion Week in 2009.
Christopher Allbritton
In Bali, where I was sometimes able to go when I needed a break from Pakistan, traditional dance is central to the culture and often used to tell stories of the great Hindu epics. Here, a dancer takes part in a kecek dance depicting a battle from the Ramayana.
Christopher Allbritton
After leaving Pakistan in 2012, India beckoned. A country of immense contrasts, it was crowded, dirty and sometimes ugly. But there were moments of transcendent beauty, like dawn in Uttar Pradesh, India. This was the starting point on a three-day trek I took to document the effects of climate change on the Pindari Glacier.
Christopher Allbritton
As we hiked in the Indian Himalayas, we often saw locals working the fields, like these two women.
Christopher Allbritton
Porters enjoy a rough shisha in the high mountains en route to the Pindari Glacier.
Christopher Allbritton
Southeast Asia was next. On assignment for Greenpeace, I was asked to document the plight of fishing communities in Tha Sala in southern Thailand facing disruption because of the proposed development of a coal-fired power plant. Here, the nephew of a family I befriended plays in the rainwater in the family's humble compound. While too young to work on the boat, if the power plant is completed, it's unclear what his future will hold, as the children of Tha Sala have the most to lose as traditions give way to development from the government and big industry.
Christopher Allbritton
At sea in the Gulf of Thailand, Panit, left, and Harit Hankla listen to the captain's instructions on where to lay out the nets for the best catch. The community is worried thaht run-off from the power plant will drive the fish away and destroy the bay's ecology.
Christopher Allbritton
Monks at dawn in Luangprabang, Laos. The traditions of Theravada Buddhism remain strong here despite the communist government's official stance against religion. It seems tourism dollars can be more important than ideology.
Christopher Allbritton
New Year's rodeo in Western Australia, 2012. The cowboy culture is alive and well in the Outback.
Christopher Allbritton
Juan David Fernandez, 16, of Bogotá, gets painted by a friend at a protest against the removal of Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro, who was ousted by Colombia's Inspector General in December 2013. The dismissal of Petro polarized Colombia and caused those on the political left to express fears for the future of democracy in the Andean nation. Petro was eventually reinstated.
Christopher Allbritton
David Fernandez protests against the removal of Petro. The words on his chest say, "Democracy is Our God."
Christopher Allbritton
The protests at the removal of Petro continued well into the night.
Christopher Allbritton
Carrying coffee in Salento, in Colombia's coffee region. This pretty little town is usually packed with Colombian tourists fleeing the larger cities in search of some peace and quiet. Only the early mornings granted that, however. I soon returned to the United States, ending 11 years on the road.
Christopher Allbritton
