My Afghanistan research topic was about the music scene in Afghanistan. I learned that music is not just a form of entertainment but a necessary ingredient in the pot roast of life. Afghanistan may have many troubles involving wars and political turmoil, but once you boil down the situation, you see people still love their music as much as any first world person does. I learned from other people's projects and my own how problems such as poverty and drugs cannot destroy a group of peoples identity. When I previously research Afghan music I was concerned with the current scene more than the old traditional ways. I believe if i had researched traditional instruments more I would be able to understand the Afghanistan national identity better.
Many of my peers chose to show how women have really asserted their rights by going to schools , not covering every part of their body, or other ways that the average American would deem "normal." I believe this parallels how the music scene has evolved and (to use the term liberally) "grown up." The Taliban used to control the radio airways and not much music was ever played. The airwaves now reverberate with the many different types of music that many people enjoy. Music in Afghanistan now has pop music played and people picking their favorites instead of simple Taliban chatter. Women too have made their appearances on the music scene as singers. That is a major step for their rights and the right of all people to listen to the music they want.
Today in Afghanistan, things are different than what they were in August. More countries (including the US and Britain) are sending more troops to Afghanistan. This move is headed by Barack Obama and others who are in power right now. This move will certainly help the country's political problems with Taliban and other efforts to stabilize the situation there. Britain has now 10,000 troops in Afghanistan alone and the U.S has about 100,00 troops. This can mean two things for the people in Afghanistan's music culture. On one hand, it will mean more musical infusion. The Brits and American will bring their own pop musical ideas and enjoy their music while they are oversees in Afghanistan. The afghan people will inevitably hear this and Afghan artists will start to blend the foreign styles into their own ethnic styles. This infusion is already prominent in the area. Examples include Latif Nangarhari and Ahmid Zahir. The second thing that might happen is that the rural parts of Afghanistan will be introduced to music beyond the local folk music level. This can be good and bad. the good is that people will be able to witness a whole new variety of sensations. The bad side is that the old folk ways of music might be lost. As leaders of Afghanistan and the U.S come together, perhaps new opportunities will emerge. An example of a collaborative effort between the two governments is this press release. I hope talks like this will not only boost the military strategies there, but also the cultural and economic situation that are present in their area.
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I watched Mr. Obama speech about sending more troops to the area and also his plans for the area. I before was an objector to war at all in the area, but Mr. Obama has convinced me that the Afghan's need help and that this conflict is not in Afghanistan, but in all truth, the entire area around there including many countries who are supplying the Taliban and the mountainous regions of Pakistan. Afghanistan is like a person with an infected leg. That person needs the leg removed, or a job or task completed. What has happened in Afghanistan is like that person getting half their leg cut off and left bleeding. Bush came in, did a poor job, then left to fight a pointless war elsewhere leaving a scant amount of troops in Afghanistan where the real problems lie. Mr. Obama is sending troops there to finish a job left uncompleted and to help those people who desperately need it. He has proposed working with tribal leaders and removing any who are corrupt. The new troop surge is what needs to happened. I also believe the Afghan people are regaining their sense of national identity again and don't want these radical Taliban controlling them. When Bush first sent troops to Afghanistan we saw less poppy plants being grown and a more stable government starting to form, but when those troops were redirected, the goals we achieved in Afghanistan withered away. I see a bright horizon for Afghanistan ahead, but only if the president's plan is enacted.
