Chyeah! Photos of girls ripping it up are a welcome sight amid the doom and gloom in a country facing an troubling future when international troops withdraw in 2014.

In the photo below, Skateistan volunteer Erika ollies in front of the destroyed Buddhas of Bamiyan, which were built in the 6th century but blown up by the Taliban in 2001.

The photo is from the Skateistan, a new book about a young generation of Afghan skateboarders and artists.