After years of war, Chechens wonder what normal is

People in Chechnya's capital used to point proudly at the leafy trees lining the city as a symbol of its serenity. Now new trees are growing, but they silently emphasize Grozny's long torment.

The vegetation springing out of the city's war-ruined buildings give a rough guide to a decade of devastation -- the taller the tree, the older the wreck.

Last week's presidential election in Chechnya was part of a plan that the Kremlin says will lead Chechnya to stability after the war of 1994-1996 and the one that started in 1999. But Grozny is still in its war-induced daze.

Along with the thick vines that crawl up many of the hulks, the trees lend the city a melancholy stateliness akin to an ancient ruin. In fact, it is a young city, but one born in blood -- founded in 1818 as a fortress when Russian forces were first trying to subdue Chechnya and given a baleful name; Grozny means "the terrible."

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/10/14/2003071625

And what about Afghanistan?