John D. McHugh, '"You build a school, then find propaganda against you"', The Guardian, 2 May 2008

EXCERPT: "In his third diary extract from Afghanistan, embedded photojournalist John D McHugh visits a coalition-built school which ends up being his home for the night. Walking into a village on an exposed road overlooked by high ground is no fun. The total absence of children, known to soldiers as a 'combat indicator,' certainly raises the tension. But the soldiers of Charlie Company had no choice but to carry out their mission: to visit the village of Mangritay in south-east Afghanistan. This was my first operation this year beyond the bases and combat outposts - outside the wire, as soldiers call it - and I was jumpy as hell. I know from bitter experience that being a journalist, and therefore a non-combatant, makes very little difference once bullets start flying through the air. So, as we walked into the deserted village, I spent a lot more time looking around me, gauging where the best cover from gunfire might be, and a lot less time photographing and filming than I should have."

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'Schools torched, teachers missing: Afghan police', 24 April 2008
'Attacks on Afghan students up sharply', 23 January 2008
'Schools built by military twice as likely to be attacked: Oxfam', 3 January 2008