Evacuated Afghan artists paint mural in Albania’s capital

     

A group of Afghan artists evacuated after the Taliban seized power in their homeland painted a mural in Albania’s capital Thursday to thank their host country, and urged the world not to forget their brethren back home, AP’s Llazar Semini reports:

The work near central Skanderbeg Square showed a map of Albania composed of many sections, in a reference to Afghanistan’s multiethnic character, and an Afghan man working. ….The mural was painted by members of Artlords, an Afghan organization of volunteer artists, on a building in central Tirana, where scores of such works have been painted in recent years. “Thank you, Albania! We shall not forget,” it wrote in Albanian, and “My homeland, tired of persecution,” in Afghanistan’s Pashto.

“This is one of the ways that we want to raise the voices of our (colleagues) who are taken hostage back home in Afghanistan,” said Omaid Sharifi, co-founder of the Kabul-based Artlords.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) organized the evacuation of 288 Afghans to Albania and their temporary residence in the country, Semini adds.

“(It’s) a piece of art from our Afghan friends … to thank the Albanian people, to thank the entire nation of Albania for their hospitality, their generosity,” said NED President and CEO Damon Wilson. RTWT

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