Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty March 29, 2022 U.S. cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined refugees from the Afghanistan National Institute of Music for a performance in Lisbon, Portugal, where the Afghan musicians have sought asylum. Ma joined young Afghan and Portuguese musicians for the performance of a Mozart piece on March 29 on a small stage at
8am: The Taliban have imposed certain restrictions and censorships on media and freedom of speech since August 2021. In addition to the Taliban’s interferences in media’s scope of work, the factors such as security threats, and lack of funds have forced many media channels to shut down. It is recently reported that more than 50%
Tolo News: “The disappearances and detentions of Taliban critics, journalists & activists continue. Sayed Baqir Mohsini & Nadima are taken by the Taliban & there is no information about their whereabouts. This a group of dictators & repressors who must never be recognized & supported,” said Samira Hamidi, a member of Amnesty International. Click
The Guardian (UK): Nancy Yu, AKA Asia One is drawing on the hip-hop movement’s activist roots to help a group of artists and their families escape the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).
The Guardian (UK): Television industry employees once used their programs to address progressive ideas. Many are now out of work and fearful to leave their homes. Click here to read more (external link).
AFP: Four years ago, Afghan film director Salim Shaheen was in the spotlight at Cannes, but now he spends his days confined to his home, afraid of the new Taliban regime and their clampdown on arts and music. Click here to read more (external link).
NBC News: It’s been only 2½ months since the last U.S. soldier left Afghanistan after a grueling two-decade war. Yet, perhaps sensing an opportunity to profit from the global attention garnered by the U.S. military’s withdrawal, Universal Pictures has reportedly already launched a cinematic retelling of American heroics during the evacuation. Hollywood tropes routinely brush
Seattle Times: The last time that the militant group ruled the country, in the late 1990s, it outright banned music. So far this time, the government set up by the Taliban hasn’t taken that step officially. But already, musicians are afraid a ban will come, and some Taliban fighters on the ground have started enforcing
Haroon Bacha Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 29, 2021 Young musician Ahmad Khan says doomsday arrived for him when the hard-line Taliban movement overran the Afghan capital, Kabul — the conclusion of a dramatic sweep across the war-torn country that saw Afghanistan’s pro-Western government melt away. Khan — using a pseudonym for security
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 29 2021 The family of an Afghan folk singer and musician says he has been shot dead by a Taliban fighter in a mountain province north of Kabul. The alleged slaying of Fawad Andarabi comes amid growing concerns that the hard-line Islamist group will return war-torn Afghanistan to the repressive