00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - This concert would be unthinkable
00:08 in these students' homeland.
00:10 They fled Afghanistan after the Taliban
00:12 vandalized their music school,
00:14 the only one of its kind there,
00:16 and forbade music like this.
00:19 But now they're playing again in Europe.
00:21 - We can send some message with this orchestra to Taliban
00:25 to show them that we don't stop Afghan music.
00:30 (upbeat music)
00:32 - Zora and Farida are getting ready for breakfast
00:45 at their new home in Portugal.
00:47 Along with their uncle Yuma,
00:52 they fled Afghanistan in 2021.
00:54 Soon, they'll be embarking on a concert tour across Europe.
00:59 (traffic humming)
01:02 - What are the plans?
01:03 - We'll spend 17 days in Switzerland and Germany.
01:08 - Farida and Zora belong to the Hazaras,
01:12 an ethnic group persecuted by the Taliban.
01:15 The 14-year-old cousins grew up together
01:18 and were the first ones in their family to study music.
01:22 - Listening to music automatically makes people happy.
01:27 When music is removed from life,
01:29 many elements that constitute the foundation
01:31 and quality of life, such as joy, also fade away,
01:35 leaving only room for grief and sorrow.
01:38 This family's music,
01:42 that's perceived as forbidden by others,
01:45 should be brought into the mainstream.
01:46 - These girls know how political their music has become,
01:51 especially as the Taliban
01:53 are restricting women's rights in Afghanistan.
01:56 They can no longer go to cafes or public parks.
01:59 The Islamic fundamentalists
02:01 have shut down beauty salons, too.
02:03 - I'm that one person who's very lucky
02:07 that there are other girls in Afghanistan.
02:12 And I can be the one of sound of a voice
02:17 of Afghan girls or women.
02:20 - The girls head off to music school in Braga,
02:23 the city in northern Portugal that's welcomed them.
02:26 Portugal was the only country prepared
02:28 to grant the entire music school asylum right away.
02:31 En route to rehearsal,
02:32 they sing a Persian song about an occupied land.
02:35 (singing in foreign language)
02:39 At the music school,
02:51 the others are already tuning their instruments.
02:54 This is the dress rehearsal for the European concert tour.
02:57 They'll be performing pieces
02:59 about the suffering of the Afghan people
03:01 under Islamic extremist rule.
03:03 Portuguese conductor Tiago Moreira da Silva
03:06 is impressed by the young musicians' determination.
03:10 - Let's go to bar 63, please.
03:13 (speaking in foreign language)
03:17 Okay?
03:18 (playing "Turkish March")
03:22 (playing "Turkish March")
03:25 (speaking in foreign language)
03:32 During breaks, I'll tell them to go out
03:34 and get some fresh air.
03:35 But often, they'll stay inside
03:38 and keep making music together, improvising a little.
03:41 In their country, they had to fight to attend music school
03:46 and to make music at all.
03:47 That's completely different than here.
03:52 So they're teaching me to respect music more.
03:55 For them, it's really an act of freedom,
03:59 whereas we just take it for granted.
04:01 - Afghan principal Ahmad Zarmast
04:06 was on holiday in Australia when the Taliban took over.
04:09 From there, he organized the evacuation
04:11 of around 270 students to Portugal
04:15 because he knew his music school
04:17 would have no future under the Taliban.
04:20 - When I'm asked normally by the media,
04:22 they said, "Why the Taliban are banning music?
04:25 "Is it a religion?"
04:26 I said, "There's nothing against music in Islam.
04:28 "It's fear that music can send very important messages
04:33 "to far, far corner of Afghanistan,
04:36 "and music can assist the people of Afghanistan
04:39 "with a national uprising against the Taliban."
04:42 They are well aware of the power of music
04:44 because they use music.
04:46 They've got their own singers,
04:49 which prize bombing, suicide bombing,
04:53 killing in their songs.
04:54 - While she's practicing, Farida often thinks
04:59 of what it's like for her friends at home in Afghanistan
05:02 who can't even listen to music.
05:04 - My friends, they can't study, they can't go to school,
05:09 they can't go in also outside,
05:12 and also it's so hard for them.
05:13 It makes me sad, yeah.
05:15 - While Farida keeps rehearsing at school,
05:18 her cousin Zohra practices on her own at home.
05:21 (violin music)
05:24 - It's not a little concert or orchestra,
05:30 it's the voice of people from Afghanistan.
05:34 It needs to be very good.
05:36 - That's a big weight on a 14-year-old's shoulders.
05:39 Zohra shows us pictures from Afghanistan.
05:42 - Oh, this is the place where I was born.
05:45 It's very big.
05:46 This is our own house.
05:48 I miss the snow, everything.
05:51 The culture, the place where I was born,
05:56 my family, I really miss them.
06:00 Sometimes I cry, especially the first time
06:06 I was crying like a week.
06:07 At night, no one knows.
06:10 - Really, no one knows?
06:12 - No.
06:13 - Why do you cry in front of others?
06:16 - I don't like.
06:17 I don't like to upset my uncle.
06:20 - You need to be strong, right?
06:26 - Yes.
06:27 - Farida is back from school.
06:35 Together, they look at photos and videos
06:37 of the day they left Afghanistan in 2021.
06:40 It was their second escape attempt
06:42 as they had trouble getting the right papers.
06:44 Then they boarded one of the few charter flights
06:47 out of the country.
06:48 Their escape was financed by supporters of the music school.
06:52 Their uncle accompanied them
06:53 and filmed it all with his cell phone.
06:56 - Everyone's gone, only we're left.
07:02 - Where are you now?
07:06 - In front of the plane.
07:08 - That's great.
07:12 Just a few steps left to get on board, reach freedom,
07:15 and to quote Dr. Sarmast,
07:17 "Get your musical instruments back in your hands."
07:19 - We were a bit afraid because in the past time,
07:25 we had some videos of our choir in the TV shows,
07:30 and then we were afraid of that.
07:32 And then that's why we were scarred and also masked.
07:37 - You were afraid that they would recognize you
07:39 and stop you? - Yes, yes.
07:40 And also I had a music instrument
07:42 that was a violin with myself.
07:45 And also I was afraid of that,
07:47 that if some of the Taliban come to us
07:52 and then say, "What is this?"
07:54 - We were happy because we could leave Afghanistan
07:56 and start a new life,
07:58 perform our music again and achieve our dreams.
08:02 But it was very sad too.
08:03 We had to leave our family
08:05 and couldn't come back to Afghanistan.
08:12 - They arrived safely in Qatar,
08:13 where Principal Sarmast was waiting for them.
08:16 From there, they later flew to Portugal.
08:19 - I feel so safe when he hugged me.
08:22 And also he said that, "Now you're safe, my girls.
08:26 Now you can study music."
08:30 - What is Ahmad Sarmast to you?
08:32 - He did many things for us.
08:42 Whenever I see him, I see my grandfather.
08:47 Because my grandfather, he was like him.
08:54 He was trying to keep all my family together.
08:59 - Soon after, Zohra's mother calls.
09:03 She's still in Kabul.
09:04 A dozen of their family members remain in Afghanistan.
09:07 The girls speak with Zohra's mom as often as possible.
09:11 For safety reasons, we're not showing her face.
09:13 - Hello, mom.
09:15 How are you? Are you well?
09:18 - I'm fine. How are you?
09:22 - Zohra's mother tells them what life is like
09:24 in Afghanistan now,
09:25 where even five-year-old girls must be fully veiled.
09:29 - We are afraid that the restrictions could increase.
09:38 We are afraid that if they find out
09:40 you're playing music and performing,
09:43 we have to leave here before they know it.
09:47 We are always afraid.
09:53 It's great we could talk.
10:01 - We're glad too.
10:03 - Bye, say hi to the others.
10:05 - For the students, such conversations are hard to bear.
10:10 So, Ahmad Samas is working to get as many
10:12 of their family members out of Afghanistan as he can.
10:16 In 2021, he received aid from international supporters
10:20 to bring the Afghan students to Portugal.
10:23 He's counting on that now too.
10:26 - This is my request to the office
10:28 of the Prime Minister of Portugal.
10:30 - Portugal has already granted his requests.
10:33 Some 300 family members should arrive in Braga
10:36 in the coming weeks.
10:37 - First of all, to make the happiness
10:41 of the children complete.
10:43 Another hundred, around 150 women will be saved.
10:47 The women who lost everything in Afghanistan,
10:50 by reuniting them with their children here,
10:53 with their brothers and sisters here,
10:55 we also make them happy.
10:57 We also help them to get their dream back.
11:00 - Meanwhile, the music school is trying
11:04 to give as many concerts as possible,
11:07 like here at Geneva's prestigious Victoria Hall,
11:10 where they perform alongside Western musicians.
11:13 It's the first stop on their European tour.
11:17 (orchestral music)
11:21 (orchestral music)
11:49 - To play a concert itself is a protest
11:51 in a country of a musician from a country
11:54 which is forced into silence.
11:56 - And by the end of the day, it's also about
11:59 the celebration of the victory of the Afghan people,
12:02 that these dark days will be gone.
12:04 (orchestral music)
12:08 - Then Zohreh and Farida too,
12:10 hope to return to their homeland,
12:13 to a new Afghanistan,
12:15 where they can live out their dreams.
12:17 (applause)
12:20 (applause)
12:23 (applause)
12:26 (applause)
12:28 (applause)
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