After NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, announced on April 14 2021 that the alliance had decided to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, Taliban forces almost immediately launched an aggressive offensive against the Afghani government, quickly capturing the capital city of Kabul on August 14 that same year.

In an instant, life changed in the country, and musicians (and other artists) were among those in fear of attacks on their artistic expression and loosing their livelihood as working musicians.

Now, roughly two years into the second Taliban era, many musicians find those concerns to be true.

Faisal (whose full name we don’t use for safety reasons) is one of these artists. He has always believed that music could be a tool towards peace, harmony and love, but under the current circumstances he is forbidden from practicing his art.

When Faisal was a young boy, he heard something that moved him deeply. He described to me how he walked into a room, seeing a lady play an old Afghan song on the piano. He found the music and the whole encounter to be something very beautiful and comforting.

Finally the day came where he started learning to play the piano under the guidance of Mr. Haroon Halimi. Later he started playing professionally in collectives and bands such as Chakawak, Dawood Niga, West Youths and others.

At a young age, Faisal was quickly establishing himself as a sought after pianist, for live concerts and studio recordings alike, and with his music playing he used to be able to support himself and his family. That is, before the fall of Afghanistan.

Faisal tells me that he believes all artists should have the freedom to practice their passion and make a living for their families. He hopes that by sharing his story he can help create a change in his country that, before the long conflict, was a colorful place filled with an immense amount of beautiful history and culture.

“I wish for a brighter future, where music can heal wounds, inspire unity and allow artists to freely serve their communities.

– Faisal, Afghan musician

For the time being Afghan artists must wait, in hope for things to change, and pray they don’t get hurt in the process. In solidarity, we can all pressure our own governments around the world to help relocate artists that are in particular risk for their lives.

If you are an artist at risk, in Afghanistan or elsewhere, there are several organisations which can possibly help in a variety of ways. Some are listed below.

• France’s PAUSE: this program requires finding a host university or institution in France.
• Martin Roth Initiative is a fellowship accepting applications up until September 2023.
• Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization: SRMO is offering psychosocial support and safety training for Afghan HRDs in the country and launching a website where individuals can access secure resources in real-time. Email: srmo.afg@gmail.com
• Madre provides the following resources to Afghan Human Rights Defenders: Human rights violation documentation training, Relocation Guide, Resources Manual. Email hsaeed@madre.org.
• To get in touch with the Afghanistan Human Rights Coordination Mechanism contact info@afghancoordination.org
• To get in touch with Freedom House’s Program for Afghan Defenders, contact afghanistan@csolifeline.org

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻! 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂!