On August 15, 2021, Afghanistan fell once again into the hands of the Taliban. As a result, Afghan musicians faced imminent and extreme threat as music of any kind is banned and its makers are silenced. I was involved in an international campaign to get Afghan musicians to safety and to protect musicians from persecution.
At their musicology forum, Bath Spa music students had been shown a film about the persecution of Malian musicians, They Will Have To Kill Us First (2015). I was invited to give a lecture the following week exploring the resonances between the persecution of Malian musicians and Afghan musicians.
Dr Pete Yelding 