February • 2022
globalheroes.com
Afghan Orchestra Finds Hope in Portugal Islamists have yet to formally reinstate the ban this time around, When the Taliban seized the Taliban have ordered radio power, Afghan musicians knew stations to stop playing music in their futures were in jeopardy. parts of Afghanistan. Conductor Shogufa Safi, 18, As soon as Taliban insurgents escaped. Now in Portugal, her new took control, ANIM’s director home, she feels safe, but her dream and founder, Ahmad Sarmast, is to return one day and bring knew he had to get his students music back to her country’s streets. out of the country. They escaped “I haven’t had peace in my life to Qatar with the help of yet,” an emotional but hopeful various donors before making Safi said after she landed in their way to Portugal. Portugal’s capital Lisbon along “I’m very happy to be in with 272 other members of the Portugal because I see all my Afghanistan National Institute friends smiling,” said another of Music (ANIM), including young conductor, Marzia students, staff, and relatives. Anwari. “They are the future “My huge dream is to go of Afghanistan.” back to Afghanistan…It’s a Some young musicians stepped huge dream,” she said. “I believe out of the commercial charter that I’ll go back…and teach the flight clutching new instruments, younger generation.” from drums to violins. Their old Safi is one of the musicians in instruments stayed behind at Afghanistan’s renowned all-female ANIM’s campus in Kabul, now a orchestra Zohra, part of ANIM. Taliban command centre. They have played at some of the The future for music may look world’s major concert venues, bleak in their homeland, but from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Sarmast is confident that now his Oman’s Royal Opera House. students are safe, they will be able Portugal has granted asylum to not only pursue their artistic to all ANIM’s members and dreams but also keep Afghanistan’s their immediate families, rich musical heritage alive. making it the largest rescue ANIM will reopen in Lisbon operation of a self-contained next year, and the group will Afghan community since return to big stages once they August’s takeover of Afghanistan settle in. by the Taliban, the music “It will be impossible for the institute said. Taliban to silence the people of Afghanistan,” Sarmast said. Under the Taliban’s repressive 1996-2001 regime, music was —Reuters banned. Although the hardline CATARINA DEMONY
A GROUP OF AFGHANS THAT ESCAPED FROM KABUL ARE SEEN EXITING AN AIRPLANE AFTER ARRIVING AT LISBON, PORTUGAL. © REUTERS/PEDRO NUNES
Canada to Resettle Female Afghan Judges and Families Living in Limbo ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY
Canada will take in female Afghan judges and their families who have been living in limbo since their evacuation from Afghanistan in the fall. In addition, Canada will resettle an unspecified number of Afghans from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities who had been referred by a third-party aid organization, said a spokesperson for the immigration minister. Since the Taliban took control of the country after the U.S. troop withdrawal in August,
Canada has resettled 3,915 Afghans with connections to the Canadian government and another 2,535 on humanitarian grounds, according to government figures. Afghan women made great strides in the two decades since the Taliban last ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, joining previously all-male bastions such as the judiciary, the media, and politics. “All the achievements of 20 years came back to zero within the blink of an eye,” said Freshta Masoni, a family court judge staying in Athens with her toddler daughters.
Since returning to power, the Taliban pledged to protect women’s rights in accordance with Islamic law, announcing a general “amnesty” for all former state workers. But advocates fear a backslide to when women were not allowed to work, and girls were banned from school. Even if they can leave the country, Afghan asylum-seekers may face years of waits amid logistical backlogs and delays. Western countries usually resettle refugees referred by the UN refugee agency, which has limited capacity to process applications for resettlement.
AFGHAN LAWYER BIBI CHAMAN HAFIZI AND HER CHILDREN ARSHEYA AND DIANA ARE SEEN IN THE KITCHEN OF THEIR APARTMENT IN ATHENS, GREECE, OCTOBER 15, 2021. ©REUTERS/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS
“The biggest bottleneck there is the issue that referral partners in the region have not been able to ramp up capacity,” Canada’s immigration minister, Sean Fraser, told Reuters. “These challenges are going to take a little bit of time to sort out.” Afghanistan’s refugee situation is different from the Syrian refugee crisis that galvanized the world several years ago, UN refugee agency officials and advocates say. Unlike Syria, the Afghan crisis escalated rapidly during a global pandemic and many face difficulties leaving the
country. Those who do leave face additional waits, often in countries with little capacity to support them. Some of the female judges, who have been living in Greece since October, told Reuters they have lacked health coverage because of their temporary visa status. Advocates have called on countries to resettle Afghans without requiring a designation from the UNHCR or other NGOs, a step Canada has signalled it is open to. —Reuters
AFGHAN LAWYER BIBI CHAMAN HAFIZI IN ATHENS, GREECE. © REUTERS/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS/FILE PHOTO
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