‘Afghanistan has a very rich musical heritage and with music we can tell stories that not many people are brave enough to talk about,’ says Afghan cellist-composer Meena Karimi. In March 2021, she premiered Dawn, her piece for cello and orchestra, with the National Orchestra of Afghanistan. ‘Dawn represents the struggle and strength of women and girls in Afghanistan,’ she says. ‘Afghan women had to fight for their basic human rights or to participate equally in the country that they are part of. With music we have the opportunity to share both sides of the story, the beauty and the struggle.’
What Karimi didn’t foresee was that, five months after that Kabul premiere on International Women’s Day, she and all the musicians of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) would be struggling to get out of the country in those chaotic scenes at Kabul International Airport after the Taliban returned to power in August of that same year.
Karimi, now 16, was one of the lucky ones as she had already been awarded a place to study at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, where she’s now based. Other members of ANIM failed even to get into Kabul Airport when a plane was first sent from Qatar to evacuate them. However, the last students and teachers of ANIM were finally able to fly out in November 2021. They have been given asylum in Portugal and are currently hosted by the conservatoire in Braga.
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