WEBVTT - Mango Recommends: Afghan Star, hosted by John Legend 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.200 Let me tell you a little something about Afghan music. 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:21.520 Back in the day. It was mainly classical and folk tunes, 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:26.880 influenced by traditional music from places like India and Persia. 0:00:27.640 --> 0:00:32.559 It was poetic and romantic. You know what you need 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:39.519 to hear it? Can I get some percussion? I'm thinking tabla. 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:43.199 Now give me a little down, down, down, down on 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:55.440 the rhubarb. Yeah, that's it. Now layer in some harmonium. Ooh, 0:00:55.560 --> 0:01:06.600 that's sweet. So music sounded like that for a while, 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:10.400 but then this guy came along and he started mixing 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:14.320 it up. His name was Akhmad Sayer and he came 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:18.280 from a prestigious Afghan family, the son of a prime minister. 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.720 So music that wasn't supposed to be his career path 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:32.120 shoved off, but Akhmad Zahir didn't care. He rocked a 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:36.640 pompadour and sideburns. He traveled the world seeking out musicians. 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:41.440 He met saxophonists and trumpeters. He learned to play accordion. 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:44.840 He listened to rock and jazz and flamenco, and he 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:48.440 started to write songs that were like mad mashups of 0:01:48.440 --> 0:02:28.440 different genres. 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:13.919 Indian raga and Western pop, folk and rock, jazz and poetry. 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:18.800 He sang in Dari and Pashto and Russian and Urdu 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:23.639 and even English, and the more people heard Akmanzayre's music, 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:28.240 the more they fell in love. Women with Jane Fonda hairstyles, 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.280 dangly earrings and mini skirts would shimmy and twist, and 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:40.600 he sold out concerts. People would line up outside record 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:52.560 stores to hear his latest release. Kabul in the seventies 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:57.480 was Akman Zahir's city, and he became known as something else. 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:12.560 The sideburns, the leather jacket he transformed into the Afghan elvis. 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:21.880 And then in nineteen seventy nine, on his thirty third birthday, 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:27.600 Zahir died. He got into a car crash. Mini and 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:31.600 Afghanistan think he was murdered, murdered by the newly installed 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.520 Soviet backed government who did not appreciate his songs about freedom, 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:40.080 his vision of the future. And on this tragic night, 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.400 instead of fans flooding the street to celebrate their idol's birthday, 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:54.640 they marched through the city carrying his body. But Afghans 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:59.720 never stopped listening. Even years later under the Taliban, when 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.200 music it had been outlawed by the religious police, people 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:07.520 would gather together in secret rooms and dance to Akhmad 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:15.480 Zahir's music, Dance with their shirts sticking to their bodies, 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:18.560 Dance as if the only thing that mattered at that 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:27.640 moment was dancing. And although Akhmed Zahir would never know it, 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:32.320 he became a beacon, an inspiration to a new generation 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:37.719 of Afghans, a spark that lived inside them that could 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:55.440 not be extinguished, however hard the Taliban try. I'm John Legend, 0:04:55.760 --> 0:05:01.000 I'm from Kaleidoscope, and iHeart podcasts. This is Afghan Stock. 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:22.799 Previously Daoud Sidiki is hired to produce a show unlike 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:28.840 any Afghanistan has ever seen. It's a nationwide singing competition 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:30.080 for Afghans. 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.040 I'm so thirsty and so angry and so exhausted that 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:35.640 I can't think about anything. 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:38.599 He works day and night to get the show on air, 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:43.400 convincing judges to take part and traveling all around the 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:52.360 country to audition singers Zindigiicasafer, But he has no idea 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.960 if the public is ready for something like this, if 0:05:56.000 --> 0:06:00.560 they'll be outraged or excited. Because it was just a 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:04.279 few years ago, making a show like Afghan Star could 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:24.200 get you killed. Chapter one Cinema Paradiso. 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:25.840 Un. 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:29.039 Daoud Sidiki, the man who is the host and producer 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:33.280 of Afghan Star, sits alone in his home office in America. 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:37.640 He often pulls an Akhma Zahir cassette and slots it 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:54.560 into the player on his desk models for hours, he 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:58.360 just sits and listens and thinks of his old life 0:06:58.440 --> 0:06:59.320 in Kabble. 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:02.400 By card. 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:06.880 Zitch And. 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.920 As a kid, Daoud was obsessed with music and movies. 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:16.600 He would spend all day either listening to tapes or 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:17.600 glued to the screen. 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.560 The vcor was kind of a magical box fermit. 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:42.120 Daoud tore through every record and VHS tape in his 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:47.280 family's collection multiple times. But when he wasn't watching or 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:52.200 rewatching videos, you could find him at the local cinema. 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:57.480 He remembers the short walk from his house, the bustling shops, 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:00.640 the neighbors who would wave or get give him a 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:06.240 little pat on the back, and he remembers the cinema itself, 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:10.520 big windows, heavy curtains, and ice cream shop next door. 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:22.000 It's his favorite place in the world. With his feet 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.040 barely touching the floor, this is where Daoud would see 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:29.640 his first Bollywood movie, Captivated for three straight hours by 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:34.840 the colorful saris and plot twists and perfectly choreographed dance numbers, 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.400 and in years that followed, each time he emerged from 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:41.480 that little cinema, he'd been. 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:52.160 I grew up watching lots of Bollywood movies and I 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:57.199 loved him. I love Amitabachan movies. I love like Metan 0:08:57.320 --> 0:09:02.199 Chickut renting movies big stars, and we will talk about 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.680 it for the entire week, maybe monson, we will buy 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:07.880 the music and go and buy the posters and find 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:11.800 the clothes and style. And still sometimes I believe like 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:16.040 I kind of imagine myself as a Bollywood actor, or 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:19.360 I hear it in a movie. 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:23.800 So that's Daoud's cobo. It's Bollywood have sensed. But it 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.920 isn't just Hindi music that fills his memories. To hear 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:32.480 Daoud tell it, afternoons were scored by harmoniums wafting from 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:40.160 the playground, kids played drums in the streets. Open shop 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.560 windows piped the sounds of the Afghan elvis to the 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:50.120 delight of passers by. But it isn't long before those 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:55.120 magical sounds that Daoud loves so much are replaced. 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:09.760 When the bullets camped. It has a very interesting sounding 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.680 zip zip zip zip. 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:21.360 By the time Daoud is in his early teens, he's 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:25.439 grown accustomed to falling asleep to the sound of bullets 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:31.520 being sprayed into the night, the sounds of civil war. 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.600 The war was a kind of a jungle low war. 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.800 In the nineties, war had broken out between groups of 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:41.960 rebel fighters called the Mujahideen. 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:45.679 These are the mujah Hadeen, the fighters of the Jihad, 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:47.160 the Muslim Holy War. 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:51.360 They are men of faith of Islam. 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:54.520 The Mujahadeen was made up of regular people who rose 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:57.679 up to defend their country against a Soviet invasion. 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:03.439 Of Soviet bloodshed and battle into five minutes ahead of 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.800 schedule as the Soviet army completed its retreat. 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:09.720 But then the Mujahideen fighters turned on each other. 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:12.520 Early this morning, the airport was shelved. 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:16.440 Throughout the day, heavy artillery thundered in the hills around Kabo, 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:20.120 and the streets descended into a battlefield. 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:24.000 Kobl was not a safe place to live. You will 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:27.000 be killed very easily. Just someone will come and should you. 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.960 Some shops have reopened today, however, most people are staying 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:35.439 off the streets, saying it's still too dangerous to leave home. 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:37.360 Even that is risky. 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:40.479 Many rockets are landing in residential neighborhoods. 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:46.040 Families across Kable were terrified. They couldn't lead their homes 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:49.679 for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. So anyone 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:52.440 with means moved to a different part of the city, 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:57.400 trying to outrun the fighting. But as Daoud's family quickly discovered, 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.800 the war was always right behind them them. 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:05.440 No one is talking. There's no conversation that house. Even 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:09.640 the kids were quite. Everyone was quite. This quietness was 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:13.480 kind of a hardest time of my life. 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:19.080 The days are long, no one really talks. Plus there's 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:23.840 nothing more to talk about. A silence fills the house. 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:44.520 Thou doesn't have much to keep him occupied, so most 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:50.200 days he sits by a small window in the attic alone. 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.120 From the right angle, he can just about see into 0:12:54.200 --> 0:13:00.079 his favorite cinema, the chairs, the curtains. It feels so 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.880 close he could just about touch it. 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:08.800 I was watching the sward from the small window. That 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:13.280 rocket came from the mountain. I can see this rocket 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:19.280 with like a fire behind it. He came and hit 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:19.920 the cinema. 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:29.240 Daoud leaps forward to get a better look. His forehead 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.240 pressed hard against the window, his breath fogging up the. 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:36.480 Glass, and I saw the inside the window. There fire started. 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:40.400 Maybe if it gets the curtains, it will destroy the 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:53.320 entire cinema. Sits paralyzed, and I'm watching, just watching my 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:59.520 memories the city. The seat that I grew up. The 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:03.760 cinema was kind of an image that I can't forget 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:07.480 that I always in my heart. Leg It was kind 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:16.080 of symbol of art, music, cinema. Just it was so 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:21.520 painful to see my past life was destroyed in front 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:22.120 of my eyes. 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:42.600 Chapter two, Angels of Peace. It's nineteen ninety six and 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:47.400 Cabo has suffered years of civil war. To Doude, everything 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:51.600 feels lost. His home has been destroyed by rockets, his 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.880 town reduced to rubble. And that's when a group of 0:14:55.920 --> 0:15:00.120 people come barreling down the dusty streets. 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:10.600 People called Toliban Angels of Peace. 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:15.880 Taliban means students in Pashta, and its members are quite 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:19.360 literally students from traditional religious. 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:23.920 Schools, Muslim seminarists trained in the madrasas the Kuranic Institute 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:25.840 of Western Pakistan. 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:31.160 Formed in Kandahar. The Taliban resisted the Mujahideen and took control. 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.440 After sweeping across the country. The Taliban now controlled three 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:37.680 quarters of Afghanistan and have long claimed to be the 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:40.680 only force to bring stability to a country to rent 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:42.320 asunder by factional fighting. 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:47.040 And now here they are wearing white and wielding white flags. 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:49.160 Come to save Kabu. 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:54.120 Taliban militia moved into the city shortly after one o'clock 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:58.040 this morning. They just swept into the city. Most government 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.880 soldiers and commanders led to the north. 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:06.120 People were so happy. Oh my god, Western forgot I've 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:06.560 one son. 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:11.520 The Taliban promised to restore peace and law and to 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:13.680 rid the city of corruption and crime. 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:18.360 So people are incredibly tired and they want and into 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:21.200 the fighting. I've talked to dozens of people so far 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:23.640 today on the street, and they just keep saying, maybe 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:25.680 this seems is an end to the fighting. 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:31.640 Like so many people in the region, Daoud is overjoyed. 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.680 He's just finished school and can finally go back to 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.840 being a teenager obsessing over how to style his hair 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:40.960 and what to study at university, and for a while, 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:49.000 life actually feels normal. Dawoud's family has food on the table. 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.880 They aren't dodging bullets or cowering in the basement, and 0:16:53.080 --> 0:17:06.199 everyone is obsessed with a new movie called Titanic. There 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:09.720 are Titanic shaped wedding cakes on sale gum package with 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:13.639 photos of the movie on it, and long lines of 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:18.400 boys wanting a floppy haircut like Leonardo DiCaprio trailing out 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:26.480 of barbershop doors. Everyone loves Leo, but Daoud quickly realizes 0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:35.080 that these angels of peace aren't quite what they see. 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:42.200 What tollibuns bring with them pure religious fanaticism. 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:44.960 They execute the former president the. 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:50.800 Haltim out of the un compound and to the Presidential Palace, 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:56.680 and he was beaten and there were several bullets booths. 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:58.560 To his lower body. 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:02.920 They bring in their own leader and before long they 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:07.280 remodel the country around their own interpretation of Islam. 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:10.760 They say, you need to have a long here, very 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.879 long or very sharp. This is a two wist. 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:17.960 They don't want any fancy hairstyles, no fades, no perms, 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:21.840 no pompadoors, and absolutely no Leonardo DiCaprio cuts. 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:25.000 You need to have a long beer, traditional clothes. 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:30.639 They start banning everything fun kite flying, pigeon racing, dancing. 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:34.359 Before long, Daoud's sisters are pulled out of school because 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:38.920 women are no longer allowed access to an education. They 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:43.640 can't even go outside without a male chaperone. And then 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:48.720 Daoud hears the latest band. The Taliban declares. 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:52.879 No TV, no music, no sound. 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:02.120 Daoud feels like all the air has been knocked out 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:06.520 of him. He realizes this means no more Afghan Elvis, 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:12.840 no more Bollywood movies. The music which once was his 0:19:12.960 --> 0:19:17.560 lifeblood has been replaced by the constant drone of Taliban chants, 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:24.479 hymns in praise of the Taliban's leaders and cars. To Daude, 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:28.520 this band feels heavy, stifling. 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:43.080 Talibhasan Kisu the shy Fuckermani bestudo sada sunny sunny dena sound. 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.119 Daoud watches as the Taliban set up checkpoints to stop 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:56.560 cars and carry out inspections. 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:58.919 They will come and check the dash forth you have 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:01.920 a tip, and if they do, they will beat the 0:20:02.000 --> 0:20:04.840 driver or the passenger in the car. 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:08.399 And then they'll confiscate the cassette, unspool the black tape 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:11.520 and string it up like Christmas lights for all to see. 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:18.080 Music instruments like guitar, tabla, roubaub TVs VCRs, they will 0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:21.400 break them and hang them above their checkpoint. 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:26.600 Anything that produces sound or provides entertainment is gutted and 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:29.200 hung from trees by its internal wiring. 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:32.200 That was kind of a symbol of their achievement. 0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:36.320 Daoude keeps his head down, terrified of bumping into the 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:41.399 Taliban in the street and being assaulted. He spends most 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:45.400 days studying for his medical degree at university and then 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:49.840 going straight home as fast as he can, until one 0:20:49.920 --> 0:20:52.480 day when he sees a crowd in the middle of 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:53.040 the square. 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:57.080 I was coming from the university and everyone is watching 0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:09.520 up happening in the sky. 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:11.920 He weaves his way through, trying to get a peek. 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:15.160 The people around him are muttering to each other, their 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:17.520 necks extended, trying to get a better view. 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:23.920 I'm also watching the sky. I tried to find what's 0:21:23.960 --> 0:21:29.160 going on. I can't see anything. Then I realized, oh 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:32.640 my god, people are watching something hanging. 0:21:35.359 --> 0:21:38.320 THOU can't quite figure out what he's looking at. 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:40.879 I just saw a glimpse of it. 0:21:41.520 --> 0:21:46.720 He squints a little harder, and then his stomach twists. 0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:57.200 Feets and hands are hanging. Catted feets and hands. Maybe 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:00.560 I watched it for five or ten seconds, and then 0:22:00.560 --> 0:22:01.000 I left. 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:11.600 The image of the severed limbs is etched into Daoud's brain. 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:18.160 It's a warning to him of what can happen if 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:24.959 someone tries to break the rules. Fundamentalist groups like the 0:22:25.000 --> 0:22:27.800 Taliban will give a load of reasons why they bring 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:32.360 in bands like these bands on television and blue jeans 0:22:32.400 --> 0:22:37.119 and music. I've seen something like it myself. When I 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.040 was a kid, I wasn't allowed to listen to secular 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:42.920 music for a time because it was considered to be 0:22:43.240 --> 0:22:46.479 the devil's music by the Pentecostal church I belong to. 0:22:47.080 --> 0:22:54.120 They wanted us to be different, distinct, sanctified. The generous 0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:59.040 interpretation is that they want you to be holy. But really, 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:03.640 I think all of these fundamentalist religious groups recognize how 0:23:03.800 --> 0:23:09.000 powerful music can be, and it might scare them a little. 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:15.879 It's all about control, controlling the information you get, controlling 0:23:15.920 --> 0:23:20.320 how you express yourself, because they don't want to lose 0:23:20.359 --> 0:23:30.040 you to the world. In Kabbo, Daoud watches as the 0:23:30.080 --> 0:23:34.720 Taliban set up checkpoints to stop cars and carry out inspections. 0:23:37.840 --> 0:23:41.479 When Daoud gets home, he sees his neighbors getting ahead 0:23:41.520 --> 0:23:46.000 of any suspicion, showing that they are following the Taliban. 0:23:45.640 --> 0:23:51.000 Code, they destroyed and burned their own media stuff in 0:23:51.000 --> 0:23:51.919 front of the people. 0:23:53.800 --> 0:24:00.000 The fire crackles as it devours cassette tapes and violins, 0:24:00.240 --> 0:24:06.760 watches as everything melts, the smell stinging in his nostrils. 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:09.040 Liked. 0:24:09.119 --> 0:24:12.800 They just get rid of them. We cannot take this risk, 0:24:13.080 --> 0:24:15.720 And some families put them under the ground, or some 0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:19.439 there that no one can find them. 0:24:20.480 --> 0:24:25.119 The ground becomes a graveyard of Afghan culture. Everything that 0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:33.280 Daoud loves most is buried six feet under radios, TVs, vhs, tapes, cassettes, 0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:38.640 all covered in dirt and purged from their owner's minds. 0:24:41.440 --> 0:24:46.639 But Daoud, he isn't interested in bearing his identity. He's 0:24:46.680 --> 0:24:58.560 got a plan. Hey, it's John Legend. If you've been listening, 0:24:58.800 --> 0:25:02.000 you already know that Afghan Star is a tale of 0:25:02.160 --> 0:25:07.399 resistance and hope. For fifteen years, Afghan Star was a beacon, 0:25:08.000 --> 0:25:11.119 But when the Taliban returned to power, they shut the 0:25:11.160 --> 0:25:15.320 show down along with so many Afghan rights. They band 0:25:15.480 --> 0:25:19.399 music education for girls and women, and they continue to 0:25:19.480 --> 0:25:23.760 clamp down on everyone's freedoms. But there are ways to 0:25:23.840 --> 0:25:27.800 show your support. We've teamed up with a WA Studios 0:25:27.880 --> 0:25:31.439 and their incredible graphic artists to illustrate some of the 0:25:31.440 --> 0:25:36.240 most extraordinary moments in this podcast. There is a unique 0:25:36.280 --> 0:25:40.639 print for each episode, bringing to life powerful moments that 0:25:40.720 --> 0:25:46.080 are moving and inspiring. And there's an unforgettable print based 0:25:46.119 --> 0:25:50.440 on a painting from superstar artist Raza that represents the 0:25:50.480 --> 0:25:55.160 spirit of hope embodied by the show. Art and music 0:25:55.400 --> 0:25:59.199 have the power to uplift us all, and ordering a 0:25:59.320 --> 0:26:03.560 work for yourself or as a gift help support Afghans. 0:26:03.920 --> 0:26:07.320 With every purchase, we'll be donating to the Nore Initiative, 0:26:07.560 --> 0:26:11.760 a nonprofit working to ensure that every Afghan girl has 0:26:11.800 --> 0:26:17.680 access to education and opportunity. For more information on our 0:26:17.720 --> 0:26:22.560 collaboration with AWA, the artworks available to listeners, and to 0:26:22.680 --> 0:26:26.920 learn more about the Nore Initiative's efforts to educate, support 0:26:27.000 --> 0:26:31.600 independent media, and transform lives across the region, head to 0:26:31.680 --> 0:26:41.200 the link in our show notes below. Chapter three the 0:26:41.240 --> 0:26:47.160 Rebels Handbook, How to Get Away with Music and Movies 0:26:47.240 --> 0:26:51.760 Under the Taliban. It's a cultural wasteland out here. If 0:26:51.800 --> 0:26:54.800 you miss flying kites and blasting music until three am, 0:26:54.840 --> 0:26:57.040 like da who does? This is how you do it 0:26:57.080 --> 0:27:01.560 without being killed or tortured. One get a group of 0:27:01.560 --> 0:27:05.080 friends together. Friends you can trust, rebels who want to 0:27:05.160 --> 0:27:08.280 party and find a secret clubhouse. 0:27:10.080 --> 0:27:14.080 We have this area in Kabul called Mcruraean. There are 0:27:14.359 --> 0:27:18.320 apartment buildings six floor, seventh floor, eighth floor. 0:27:19.160 --> 0:27:22.000 A lot of these apartments are empty since residents fled 0:27:22.040 --> 0:27:24.960 the country to escape the Mujaiden, So it's a good 0:27:25.000 --> 0:27:28.680 spot for a clubhouse. Plus, the apartments are so high 0:27:28.800 --> 0:27:31.960 up that you can blast music without fear of getting caught. 0:27:33.320 --> 0:27:36.160 I listened to live music a lot. I partied a lot. 0:27:38.840 --> 0:27:41.919 We went to this building and we were have live music. 0:27:42.359 --> 0:27:44.919 We have preparing a food for us. That was party. 0:27:45.960 --> 0:27:49.160 How if I tell you that I listened to more 0:27:49.280 --> 0:27:52.160 live music during the Taller One than my entire life, 0:27:52.200 --> 0:27:52.800 you will laugh. 0:27:58.480 --> 0:28:02.560 Step two, make friends with a smuggler. If you love movies, 0:28:02.640 --> 0:28:05.399 you're gonna need a guy on the inside. You can't 0:28:05.440 --> 0:28:08.000 just go out and buy VHS tapes from the store. 0:28:08.600 --> 0:28:12.800 People were bringing it from Boston, mostly moving a VC 0:28:13.000 --> 0:28:16.320 or moving a TV. It was kind of like you 0:28:16.520 --> 0:28:20.520 moving a truck full of drugs in the United States. 0:28:20.600 --> 0:28:22.080 That's how hard it was. 0:28:22.840 --> 0:28:27.280 Dawood's friends put him onto a smuggler. They tell him. 0:28:27.320 --> 0:28:29.960 Here's a house you need to go to the evening times. 0:28:30.119 --> 0:28:35.040 Knock the door. Special v you have had like secret 0:28:35.080 --> 0:28:36.880 word password correct. 0:28:39.440 --> 0:28:42.600 Go into the smuggler's house and shut the door behind you. 0:28:43.080 --> 0:28:44.160 He'll give you the movie. 0:28:44.840 --> 0:28:48.840 You put the cassette behind your belt, put the shirt 0:28:48.920 --> 0:28:51.520 about it, give the guy the money. 0:28:51.640 --> 0:28:53.920 You might think that's the hardest part of the whole thing. 0:28:54.400 --> 0:28:58.000 Well you'd be wrong. What comes next is the hard part. 0:28:58.320 --> 0:29:01.800 You need to get home without being caught by the Taliban. 0:29:02.280 --> 0:29:05.760 These VCR tapes were so big, and when you walk, 0:29:05.920 --> 0:29:08.000 it has some purses, makes noise. 0:29:08.320 --> 0:29:11.040 Tighten your belt around the tape. You don't want it 0:29:11.080 --> 0:29:14.080 to slip out. It's going to make a sound every 0:29:14.120 --> 0:29:18.080 time you take a step. Walk fast, but not too fast. 0:29:18.280 --> 0:29:20.000 You don't want to look like you're in a hurry 0:29:20.040 --> 0:29:23.080 to get somewhere. If a member of the Taliban spots 0:29:23.120 --> 0:29:42.080 you run step three infiltrate the smuggler network. Daoud is 0:29:42.120 --> 0:29:45.760 an electronics guy, and the Resistance needs more of them. 0:29:45.960 --> 0:29:48.640 Daud has been fixing stuff since he was in high school, 0:29:49.000 --> 0:29:52.320 and since the Taliban have been destroying TV antennas and 0:29:52.480 --> 0:29:55.920 VCRs always break. Having a guy like him around is 0:29:55.960 --> 0:29:59.640 pretty handy. The smuggler hooks Daoud up with his customers, 0:29:59.720 --> 0:30:02.840 and just like that, he's got a thriving business. 0:30:03.400 --> 0:30:07.000 We have our own style of doing business, like how 0:30:07.080 --> 0:30:09.240 what times you should come, how you should come. 0:30:09.880 --> 0:30:12.360 You need to give your clients a cover story just 0:30:12.360 --> 0:30:14.240 in case they're questioned by the Taliban. 0:30:14.880 --> 0:30:17.680 You should just know my name of my father, my brother, 0:30:17.800 --> 0:30:20.360 and if someone comes, you should say this, yea is 0:30:20.400 --> 0:30:22.400 my relative. I'm coming to my reltive house. It's not 0:30:22.440 --> 0:30:24.840 a big deal or something like. This was the situation, 0:30:24.960 --> 0:30:27.120 like it was so scary, honestly. 0:30:33.840 --> 0:30:41.600 Step four, Stay cool. Things are gonna get hairy. Like 0:30:41.800 --> 0:30:44.680 one day you might be in your repair then surrounded 0:30:44.680 --> 0:30:47.920 by BCRs and broken cassettes and you hear a pounding 0:30:47.960 --> 0:31:00.520 at the door. Don't panic, Oh. 0:31:00.320 --> 0:31:04.280 My god, there's no time for me to clean up 0:31:04.320 --> 0:31:11.360 this mess. It's no time, just impossible. When this happened, 0:31:11.480 --> 0:31:14.040 I went to a shock. I don't know what to 0:31:14.080 --> 0:31:17.520 do and what happened to me? Now I imagine O come 0:31:18.080 --> 0:31:21.000 and take me, destroy everything but me and the jail 0:31:21.120 --> 0:31:26.000 kill me. What happened? I'm thinking about this second time. 0:31:27.720 --> 0:31:31.920 The door is kind of like crazy knocking. I'm lost. 0:31:32.040 --> 0:31:36.960 I am here. I accepted the consequence of my work 0:31:37.080 --> 0:31:42.360 and said, I can't move even I can move, run put, 0:31:42.680 --> 0:31:45.600 go to the neighbor house, something, do something, run at least, 0:31:45.960 --> 0:31:46.960 but I can't do it. 0:31:57.200 --> 0:32:00.920 So that would sit ready to accept this. Paid the handcuffs, 0:32:01.040 --> 0:32:08.840 the lashes, all of it. But when the door opens, 0:32:08.960 --> 0:32:16.680 he hears giggling. It's not the Taliban, it's his kid nephews. 0:32:17.200 --> 0:32:19.400 You're so eager to come to our house. Both of 0:32:19.440 --> 0:32:22.000 them with hand them and foot. They are knocking out 0:32:22.000 --> 0:32:29.720 our door. Oh my god. When my haird this sack, 0:32:30.200 --> 0:32:33.120 I became with my own switch, and I said for 0:32:33.360 --> 0:32:34.880 thirty minutes without. 0:32:34.680 --> 0:32:54.080 Moving like I said, don't panic. Chapter four Freedom. It's 0:32:54.120 --> 0:32:57.720 November two thousand and one, six am. The food is 0:32:57.760 --> 0:33:03.040 startled by the commotion outside. It's music. Someone is playing 0:33:03.240 --> 0:33:07.720 music in the street. No one has played music in 0:33:07.760 --> 0:33:12.280 the streets for five years. Daoud rips the covers off, 0:33:12.640 --> 0:33:16.240 gets dressed, and practically tumbles down the stairs to see 0:33:16.240 --> 0:33:22.880 where the noise is coming from. 0:33:23.000 --> 0:33:27.000 They had this big giant cars with the big speakers, 0:33:27.080 --> 0:33:28.280 high quality speakers. 0:33:28.560 --> 0:33:31.840 People are hanging out of their car windows blasting tunes 0:33:31.880 --> 0:33:34.560 while they drive through the city music daoud used to 0:33:34.640 --> 0:33:37.600 listen to in secret alone. 0:33:37.880 --> 0:33:40.959 Lots of people on the street. People are celebrating your 0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:44.920 music are loud. Some people are shaving their beards, They're 0:33:44.960 --> 0:33:46.400