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17 years ago (top left), the powerful eyes of "Afghan girl" Gula fascinated the world; 17 years later (top right), Gula's eyes are still full of fighting spirit.

Gula is with her husband and children.

The fate of the protagonist in National Geographic, known as the most classic photo of the 20th century, has finally come out-she is still alive, has never been a governess to her daughter, and lives a miserable life as an ordinary Afghan woman.

The sad-looking Afghan girl in the photo was shot by Steve Mai Caucal, the ace reporter of National Geographic magazine, in a Pakistani refugee camp 19 years ago. Since then, this photo has won many international photography awards, appeared on magazine covers and posters all over the world, and even printed on expensive carpets.

However, what's the name of this Afghan girl? Does she know that her photos have spread all over the world? What was her life like in her later years? When people with these questions rushed to the Afghan refugee camp in Mai Caucal Jie to take photos again, the girl was at a loss. /kloc-Today, 0/9 years later, when the CIA agent is looking for someone with this photo of an Afghan girl, the fate of the mysterious Afghan girl has once again attracted the attention of the world, because it is reported that this Afghan girl has become the mentor of the daughter of the world's number one terrorist. National Geographic magazine and photographer Mai Kokalj felt obliged to find out the whereabouts of Afghan girls. Many things happen, and they really found this Afghan girl who worried the whole world!

"Afghan Girl" became the most classic photographic work in the 20th century.

1983 One day, Steve Mai Caucal, a photographer from National Geographic magazine, came to an Afghan refugee camp outside Peshawar. Michael Caucal is definitely the ace reporter of National Geographic magazine. High flyers, born in Philadelphia, graduated from the Art Department of the University of Pennsylvania and joined the press after leaving school. After working as a photojournalist for two years, he quit his job as a freelance photographer in India. This freelance career laid a solid foundation for his future glory. 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan won him his first photography honor: he sneaked into Afghanistan and photographed numerous scenes of Soviet invasion, which made him famous all over the world overnight, and won the "robert capa Gold Award for Best Photography" that year-the highest honor awarded to particularly brave and outstanding American photographers. From then on, where there is war, there is Michael Caucal Jay, and where there is poverty, there is his works.

So when Mai Kokalj walked into the Afghan refugee camp in Peshawar, he already knew what he was going to shoot. When the Afghan girl in the photo suddenly appeared in front of Mai Caucal Jie, his heart lit up: It's her! It took him less than five minutes to capture this photo that won many awards in the future and spread all over the world. The Afghan girl's eyes are so breathtaking that even Mai Caucal, who has experienced many battles and witnessed countless thrilling scenes, is shocked. Although the photo interview schedule was quite urgent that day, he talked patiently with the girl's relatives for a long time and learned something about the Afghan girl's life: she once lived in a small village called Akama in the eastern suburb of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. She left her hometown with her family in 1979, wandered all the way to Pakistan, and finally settled in a refugee camp. As a teenage girl, she experienced the same sufferings as millions of Afghan refugees. Without any words, people can read her and her motherland's experiences from her eyes that seem to penetrate other people's souls.

In a hurry, without an interpreter, Mai Kokalj did not ask the girl's name. It was not until he returned to Washington to develop this photo that he immediately realized how important this photo was, and he may have left an eternal regret. By the time Mai Kokalj and many journalists and even ordinary people wanted to know the true identity of the girl, it was already too late. There is not a girl in the Afghan refugee camp on the outskirts of Peshawar, and even her relatives who know her are gone.

There are rumors that "Afghan girl" has become a tutor to pull lanterns.

After the American war in Afghanistan, on February 3rd this year, the British Daily Telegraph suddenly exposed a news that the owner of this photo taken by Mai Caucal is still alive. She once worked as a tutor for Ben Lampard, America's number one enemy, and taught his daughter English. After the war on terror broke out, she was afraid that Americans would search for her, so she hid in the mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan!

Although such a report has eyes and nose, it is still very difficult to confirm. However, at this time, several relatives who are said to be girls suddenly appeared and were interviewed by American and British media reporters. The girl's real name is Aram Bibi, and she is now in her thirties. Shortly after the outbreak of the war on terrorism, she took two children and hid in the mountains in a hurry.

So, why did Aram hide from the Americans? These guys who call themselves "relatives of mysterious Afghan girls" can vividly remember:1In the autumn of 996, Alambie's family had a new neighbor. Before the arrival of the Taliban, the commander of the Mujahideen Organization invited bin Laden to Tora Bora. Before that, bin Laden had been looking for a safe haven because he was deported from Sudan. The Saudi-born terrorist came here with his two wives, more than 20 children and 100 followers. According to Aram Bibi's relatives, Bibi prefers to make friends with educated Arab women and teach them some informal English. Among her students, there is a daughter who plays lanterns. According to some information revealed by Bibi at that time, Lan Teng was very rich and generous in cultivating children. However, according to Muslim tradition, he can only find a woman to tutor his daughter in English class. Bibi was lucky to be chosen. She didn't know how to turn on the light at that time, and promised to be a tutor for her daughter, purely out of the needs of life!

When two people concerned are pinched together by the war on terror, the sensational effect can be imagined. For a time, this photo once again became the focus of attention in western countries, and many journalists began to explore her whereabouts. Even the CIA participated in this misty tracing operation, and the American media even called her "the mystery of South Asia"!

The fate of the "Afghan girl" was revealed.

Among many followers, National Geographic magazine and Mai Kokalj are most concerned about the fate of the "mysterious Afghan girl". In Mai Kokalj's words, as early as last year, before the United States went to war in Afghanistan, that photo reminded me of her suffering. Maybe she has been running for her life and finally hid in a refugee camp thousands of kilometers away! National Geographic and Michael Caucal have taken action. Unlike the hype of other media reporters, National Geographic magazine Paimai Kokalj and a reporting team have been searching for the whereabouts of this "mysterious Afghan girl" since last year. Many things happen. In June+10 this year, Mai Caucal finally found this Afghan girl and conducted a long-term follow-up interview with her. Even when the British media hyped the "mysterious Afghan girl" as a teacher, National Geographic magazine and Mai Kokalj did not speak out. It was not until the end of the follow-up interview that National Geographic magazine thought their interview was absolutely accurate that they held a press conference on March 12 and announced that they had found the "mysterious Afghan girl"!

According to National Geographic magazine, the "mysterious Afghan girl" whose real name is Sharbat Gul is 29 or 30 years old. This is because Gul herself is not sure of his exact age. Now she is the wife of a baker and the mother of three girls in a remote mountainous area in eastern Afghanistan. Mai Caucal Jie told reporters: "Although the wind and frost of 19 has honed that little girl into a vicissitudes middle-aged woman, I recognized her at a glance: she was the girl of that year! Because the constant is her eyes that can penetrate other people's souls! Over the years, she has been living a hard life. "

Mai Caucal Jie said that in the hard years of 19, Gul lost a child, and her parents died young due to war and poverty respectively. More importantly, during the period of 19, she knew for the first time that her photos were widely spread all over the world and could cause such a huge response. In this regard, Mai Caucal Jie said with emotion: "In the past 19 years, I received letters, emails or phone calls every day. There are always people who want to donate money to her or adopt her. Many men wrote to her and dreamed of marrying her! " However, over the years, despite his efforts, he has been unable to find the girl's whereabouts. In June 5438+10, Mai Caucal Jie was able to return to the refugee camp where the girl lived. After obtaining many clues, she still failed to return until she finally found Gul through the middleman.

Gul is a very conservative Pashtun woman. This time, she lifted the veil and, with her husband's special permission, let the reporter photograph her true face. Then National Geographic magazine was identified by the most advanced face recognition technology of the FBI and other technologies, and now it is absolutely certain that Gul is the Afghan girl! However, Mai Kokalj and National Geographic magazine, at the request of Mr. Gulfujun, could not disclose the current address of the Gul family, but only revealed that it was in the mountainous area between Jalalabad and Peshawar. Mai Kokalj owns the copyright of this photo, and now she is working with the Gul family to study how to make the Gul family get some benefits from her photo. The two sides are discussing ways of cooperation.

David Skono, editor-in-chief of American photography magazine, commented on the eyes of Afghan girls, "It feels a bit like the Mona Lisa. You can't read her eyes at once. Is she scared? Angry? Despair? Or are you very confident about your beauty? Every time you look at this photo, the meaning you read is absolutely different. Any photo that can be circulated forever should be like this! "

This touching story will be published in National Geographic magazine in April this year, and ABC will broadcast a documentary about this story at 9 pm this Friday. The National Geographic Society of the United States is also establishing the Afghan Girls Foundation, hoping to raise funds for the education of Afghan girls.