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Doha, Qatar – In the narrow room of the evacuees’ dormitory, a musical conductor without a baton instructs students to familiarize themselves with musical instruments that are not their own. The conductor asked the audience to remain silent while shaking their heads in and out of the room.
Since the Taliban surpassed the Afghan government and their school gates in Kabul were closed, the group has not practiced together for nearly three months. Although their music career has been sluggish after returning to China, they have the opportunity to display their talents again and plan to perform.
About 96 members of the Afghan National Academy of Music (ANIM), including teachers and musicians, fled their homes in Afghanistan.
They landed in Doha and are expected to move to Portugal in the next few weeks and obtain visas there.
ANIM opened in 2010 with funding from the World Bank and several other non-governmental organizations. The mission of the school includes ensuring the music rights of all Afghans and promoting gender-equitable learning.
Before closing in August, ANIM had enrolled 300 students, 60% of whom were from families with financial difficulties. The gate of the school has been closed since mid-August. The building is now under constant patrol by the Taliban.
Before closing in August, ANIM had enrolled 300 students, 60% of whom were from families with financial difficulties [Imran-Ullah Khan/Al Jazeera]Ground condition
Since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, music has not been completely banned. Instead, there have been some restrictions, such as not being able to play loud music in public.
Out of fear of potential consequences, several radio and television stations in Kabul have stopped broadcasting music or entertainment that they believe may violate the Taliban’s practices and governance, while the Taliban’s practices and governance continue to be shaped and reshaped.
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, there has been an outflow of artistic talent.Internationally recognized Afghan artists, such as Ariana Said with Sarafate Parwani They have left the country and expressed their concerns about the still existing in the art world on social media.
Back in the practice room, the students and faculty of ANIM are very happy to perform again in front of the audience in just two days. The band has previously toured in famous venues in New York and Davos.
Before leaving Afghanistan, the students are preparing to visit Colombia. Although the scale of the concert was much smaller than before, the room was full of smiles.
But the students’ eyes often shifted to the ground in a contemplative way, thinking of family and friends in their hometown.
“Now every door to go home is closed,” Shogofa said of her musical prospects under the Taliban. Shogofa is a percussionist, specializing in dhol and marimba. She is a member of the ANIM all-female orchestra Zohra, which means Venus.
She said that when the music school closed, all her music stores were put on hold. “I can’t play music at home. My neighbor told my family there are many Taliban [patroling] In the area,” Shogofa said.
Her classmate and violinist Muhammad said that on the day the Taliban occupied Kabul, his mother prevented him from going to school. He said that the moment made him very painful. “I am very dissatisfied with my future and my dreams. Not only myself, but all my friends are very sad,” Mohamed said.
During the first Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, no students were alive [Imran-Ullah Khan/Al Jazeera]Faculty and conductor Qambar showed more optimism in the room. ANIM’s education and practice system helped him to better focus on traditional Afghan music while incorporating the European symbol system, including harmony, composition and arrangement.
“Regardless of whether the Taliban takes over Kabul or not, we continue to fight because we have learned to become strong for our country, for our country,” Qambar said. “This country is not only the Taliban, but there are many larger things that transcend the Taliban’s ideology.”
During the first Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, none of the students in the room were alive and experienced a complete music ban. For countries without national anthems, this is such a severe ban.
But one person in the room does remember those times. Ahmed, ANIM’s English project coordinator, remembers it very clearly.
He remembers being arrested twice. Once it was because he shaved his beard. Another time was a tailor, designing clothes for women who were deemed “violating Islamic values.” He was held for five days.
This is the second time Ahmed has left Afghanistan. He fled to Iran for the first time. Although the situation in Afghanistan is uncertain, Ahmed, like the students and faculty in the room, cannot see himself without his motherland.
“Afghanistan will always be my home,” Ahmed said. “I will come back again.”
Meeting with Ahmed Salmast
Only a 15-minute drive from the evacuees compound, Ahmad Sarmast, founder and director of ANIM, sits in his hotel room. Several of his mobile phones are on display. He has been in contact with his family and school members in Afghanistan. About 180 members of the ANIM family are still in Kabul. Efforts are being made to get them to leave.
As far as Afghan music is concerned, Sarmast is similar to a walking encyclopedia of knowledge and history, including Dari, Persian, and Pashto music.His father is a Legendary composer and musician In Afghanistan.
In the 1990s, Sarmast fled the civil war in Afghanistan to pursue music education. In 2005, he became the first Afghan to receive a doctorate in music studies.
After the establishment of ANIM in 2010, Sarmast became the target of the Taliban for promoting women’s pursuit of higher education. In 2014, at a concert at ANIM, a suicide bomb attack killed two people, injured Sarmast and temporarily lost his hearing.
Sarmast had direct contact with Taliban members on the ANIM campus. He said that when the Taliban first took over Kabul and robbery was prevalent, some of the instruments were slightly damaged.
He said that the empty corridors of the school made him frustrated.
“At present, the Afghanistan National Conservatory is as silent as the entire country, which is a shame. A society without music is a dead society,” Samast said.
Ahmad Sarmast is an encyclopedia of knowledge and history about the walking of Afghan music [Imran-Ullah Khan/Al Jazeera]Sarmast said that one of ANIM’s campuses has been transformed into a command center for Haqqani network members, and the school’s night porter forwarded the information back to him.
He said that the ANIM campus still exists, but he has not received any guarantees about its future.
“They (the Taliban) assured me that the school would be safe, but when asked about music education, they said it was a decision made by the Taliban leadership,” Salmaster said.
When the ANIM students took the stage at the evacuees compound, members of the Qatar Military Band joined the band and played a three-piece suit.
The song that caused the strongest reaction of the night was called Da Zamong Zonal Watan, which means “our lovely and beautiful land” in Pashto. It is regarded as the unofficial national anthem of the country. During the performance, many audience members burst into tears.
With enthusiastic applause, Sarmast promised that once the students settled in Portugal, there would be several large-scale performances.
Sarmast’s commitment to protecting Afghanistan’s musical heritage and promoting its diversity has been his life’s mission. Despite the uncertainty surrounding ANIM, Sarmast said he and his students will continue to fight.
“They (students) have been silent for three months,” Samast said, looking at the crowd and organizers. “Thank you for getting their voices back again.”
Everyone in the article provided their full names, but only liked to print their names
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, there has been a loss of artistic talent [Imran-Ullah Khan/Al Jazeera]
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