Evacuated Afghan artists paint a mural in Albania's capital

TIRANA, Albania — A radical of Afghan artists evacuated aft the Taliban seized powerfulness successful their homeland painted a mural successful Albania’s superior Thursday to convey their big country, and urged the satellite not to hide their brethren backmost home.

The mural was painted by members of Artlords, an Afghan enactment of unpaid artists, connected a gathering successful cardinal Tirana, wherever scores of specified works person been painted successful caller years.

“Thank you, Albania! We shall not forget,” it wrote successful Albanian, and “My homeland, bushed of persecution,” successful Afghanistan’s Pashto.

The enactment adjacent cardinal Skanderbeg Square showed a representation of Albania composed of galore sections, successful a notation to Afghanistan’s multiethnic character, and an Afghan antheral working.

“This is 1 of the ways that we privation to rise the voices of our (colleagues) who are taken hostage backmost location successful Afghanistan,” said Omaid Sharifi, co-founder of Artlords.

Most of their works successful Afghanistan were destroyed by the Taliban, according to Sharifi, who called connected “the radical of the satellite (not to) locomotion distant from what is happening wrong our country.”

Sixty-two Artlords members are inactive successful Afghanistan, anxious to permission it astatine immoderate moment, helium said.

“We effort to mobilize ourselves each time and archer our colleagues (in Afghanistan) to support connected warring for your rights,” said Yama Farhad, 28, 1 of the painters, who’s housed astatine a edifice successful the northwestern coastal municipality of Shengjin unneurotic with his woman and two-year aged son.

Albania has sheltered immoderate 2,400 Afghan evacuees successful hotels oregon tourer resorts. Some 150 of them person already near for different countries. The remainder volition enactment successful the tiny Balkan state for astir a twelvemonth until authorities successful the U.S. and elsewhere decorativeness processing their peculiar migration visas.

The National Endowment for Democracy, a U.S. nonprofit foundation, has organized the evacuation of 288 Afghans to Albania and their impermanent residence successful the country.

“(It’s) a portion of creation from our Afghan friends ... to convey the Albanian people, to convey the full federation of Albania for their hospitality, their generosity,” said Damon Wilson, NED’s head.

For years Tirana City Hall has supported artists to overgarment murals each implicit the city.

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