Afghanistan’s alternative culture: Skateboards, graffiti and motorbikes – Truthloader

Posted by on Apr 23, 2015 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Travis Beard is an Australian filmmaker, musician and event organizer extraordinaire who has been living in Kabul in Afghanistan for the past seven years. Since 2006 Travis has been helping to revolutionize youth culture in the city introducing thousands of young Afghans to skateboard, graffiti, and modern music festivals for the very first time. We spoke to Travis to find out more. “So I first came here in 2001 just as the Americans were entering in from the north. I came in from the south and did some reporting on the refugee crisis and then I came back in 2006 obviously I had a bug, I had the bug. I came back to teach photojournalism at an NGO here. I did that for two years, halfway through that I started in an organisation called ‘Skateistan’ who bought the first skateboards to Kabul and taught the first kids how to ride skateboards and that turned into it’s own NGO that’s still running today. Also in that time I started the first motorcycle club in Afghanistan the Kabul Nights MC and a bunch of foreigners and Afghan’s used to ride around the provinces on motorcycles touring and checking out the country.” How do you feel as an Afghan going in with a bunch of foreigners? Well to me, it’s quite hard. If they found out I’m working with refugee, they’re going to cut my head off.” “Wall-ords was a project we started in 2010. It was initially funded by Oxfam and it was meant to be on the theme of cost of war so we did a stencil campaign around the city. And it became so popular that we got funded a second time to do an actual graffiti workshop where we bought in a graffiti artist from England. His name was Chew and he taught a bunch of graphic designers, contemporary artists, how to use spray cans for the first time ever in this country. Then there’s my band White City which is the first expat band in Afghanistan. And then lastly there is the festival, Sound Central Music Festival. We came through in 2011 and we did the first modern music festival in something...

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Culture Wire: Afghanistan in 4 Frames

Posted by on Apr 22, 2015 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Welcome to CultureWire, I am Meg Shiffler. Today we are here Beautiful Civic Center Plaza and I am here with artist James Lee “Hi James!” “Hi Meg” And James has been exhibiting artist in Arts Commission gallery new exhibition Afghanistan in 4 Frames and we are gonna have a little chat today. About to buy a brick that year presenting its called, Counter Narrative. Now after you left the military what come you to go back to you know it a place where the US is engaged in military action. “Sure I think it is interesting if you look that the population in Afghanistan is you know around $29 million and there is probably no more than with eighty thousand US soldier serving in and Afghanistan right now. But if you look at the stories a command in Afghanistan you think that the the numbers are completely reversed all the stories are about america. NEC almost no images are stories and about the Afghan people themselves. So I think if you look at that like the kind of dominate represent representational paradigm that we see today it is all about foreign soldiers. So my idea was to go there and try and create a counter to that, popularized narrative and focus on images and stories that really reflect their lived experience and complicate the lies about young people.” Now you are exhibiting with three other photographers, Reklama, Eros hoagland and Lynsey Addario and it is true all three of them have really focused in the areas, where a lot of US and allied forces are seeing action. You know are actually involved in combat. And so your story is quite different than theirs, what does it mean to you show your body of work alongside give the stories that and probably are more familiar. What kind of juxtaposition does that create for you as an artist. “Well, I think the strength to creating a bringing those two different stories together is that I think there’s a real danger in at focusing only on surface similarities between complex. When people look at a body work and I say all I see that this is competent...

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Culture in Afghanistan

Posted by on Apr 21, 2015 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

The Reasons in the United States invaded. Afghanistan in the first place is obviously because Osama Bin Laden, had moved his operations to Afghanistan a number of years, earlier and that is where the basic planning for the nine eleven operation took place. Stephen KinZer – (NY Times Correspondent) : There is a natural emotional overheads still in the United States from the event’s of September eleven. We feel that we are facing of global and enemy that worthless in the evil. Shukria Barakzai – (Afghan Parliament) : Unfortunately no one want to understand what is Afghanistan. I believe Afghanistan is not a very complicated country, but yes it’s a complicated situation. It is not impossible issue to break peace for Afghanistan. it is a bit difficult but we can try our best whenever, we got what vision for Afghanistan and one goal. Do you know the difference between the Taliban and Al Qaeda? “No, I did not know.” “No, I do not know the difference between the Taliban and al-qaeda”. Who is the President of Afghanistan? “I have no clue.” “I do not know who is the president of Afghanistan is.” “No idea.” Do you Recognize the term Pashtun? “I do not recognize the term actually.” It is accurate to think about has Afghanistan as muslim country. For our purposes it is even more affected to think about it postured country. Thomas Barfield – (AIAS President) : The main group in Afghanistan as the questions constituting perhaps. Forty percent of the population on they were belong the Pakistan border. Anand Gopal – (Journalist) : If you go to the board area of the south this is the passion hard line. You feel to understand the essential principle of what’s called Pashtunwali, which is something like Pashtun Messed — .Do not invade my women’s dressing room. Do not invade my house. Do not invade my complex. Do not invade my village. Do not invade my — . We have done all of those things. Erica Gaston – (Hinningson Fellow) : When they lost a family member. They lost a home and some our injured. Afghans immediately expect an apology and they expect compensation. There...

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Afghanistan’s cultural heritage plundered – 15 Jul 07

Posted by on Apr 19, 2015 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Hidden away along this bumpy track on the edge above field, this is one of the most important archaeological sites in all over Afghanistan. Covered by rickety metal roof to protect it from the elements, this is the oldest mosque in the entire country.Thought to date from the 9th century the mosque is important to experts because it was built incorporating symbols from the area’s previous religion, buddhism. Today, were the only foreigners here in bulk. I’m sure if this was anywhere else in the world not Afghanistan, a country that’s seen over thirty years of bloodshed, this place would be packed with tourists. It’s an area that’s had settlers for over ten thousand years. The problem though is that the history this place is slowly being stolen. I was shown around the site by Razor Hussaini, a self-taught local archeologist. “I’m an archeologist. I’m feeling one day stealing something. They’re stealing our history. All of us, all of African people. So it’s really sad for me, it’s really really sad for me. I cannot tell them, I cannot tell them about that. Here, despite the absence of visitors, an armed security guard is employed twenty four hours a day. But there are thought to be about a thousand ancient sites in the immediate area, most are not guarded. Close to the walls of the old city, a bulk, this burial site has been looted consistently in recent years. If this site had been uncovered by archaeologists, the work would have been carried out extremely slowly and carefully but the thieves have taken no such care. Many of the ancient relics, these are from the Roman and bacteria in areas have been destroyed by the pick axes they’ve used to dig up the area. Experts believe most of what’s not been destroyed has been sold abroad. “Bases are robbed, they dug-out, things are removed to whichever central place is a group. I presume it’s couple summer and probably they get moved of and out of the country very quickly to push our Pakistan as a principle place for loading up and packing up. And most of the crates that I’ve seen, if not all...

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Celebrating culture in Bamyan (NATO in Afghanistan)

Posted by on Apr 16, 2015 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Nestled under one of the great Buddha alcoves in Bamyan, the governor and people of the region have gathered to celebrate arts and culture. “If we have such active youths and people like all of you, there’s no doubt our culture will live forever.” Bamyan is one of the most visited place in afghanistan, with the lush landscape surrounded by mountains and the Band-e-Amir lakes a short drive away. Back during the Christian era, as part of the Buddhist Kusha Empire, Bamyan became the forefront of Buddhist expansion since it began, dating back to 580 ADBC. The world’s earliest oil paintings have been discovered in caves behind the mostly destroyed colossal statues. Monks used to live in the caves surrounding them, now inhabited by Afghans. Bamyan is a much-loved area for historians and archaeologists. Its ancient site, much of which still waiting to be found and excavated, fuse influences of a time combine by when Greek Turkish, Persian, Chinese and Indian all at some stage had a foothold here. Today, its population is predominantly ethnic Hazara. As much as the day is about celebrating culture, the message also seems to be about tolerance and history. This pays homage to the most famous of Bamyan’s site, the Buddha Statues- the tallest standing at 55 metres which were destroyed by the Taliban, 12 years ago. We organised this festival to re-live the history of Bamyan, because during the wars it was hidden underground.” Highlighting the arts scene of the area.films, songs and stage plays make up the day’s entertainment. The main event being the stage play, which sought to belittle the Taliban, and their illádvised decision to destroy such fun examples of Bamyan’s heritage. “He wasn’t the leader behind the Buddhas destruction.” “So you mean that he didn’t know what he was doing, he was just following orders?” “Yes, He is not the person we should be investigating. “No! I am the person who bombed the Buddhas. “Yes, he is not the person we should be investigating.” “No, I am the person who bombed the buddhas. I’m the person behind the burning of the Buddhas. Hassan Fazili said “When I first heard about the destruction, I...

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