Sparrows of Kabul — songs from war-torn Afghanistan
A unique retelling of Australia’s 20-year involvement in the Afghanistan War through music, is being held at the CWA Hall in Robinson Park next Sunday, August 7.
First in an exciting new “Spring/Summer Concert Session” from Jam Orange, the event involves Australian diplomat and songwriter, Fred Smith being joined by Canowindra musician, Nerida Cuddy.
“It was chaos,” Fred said in describing his final days in Afghanistan before the capital, Kabul, fell to the Taliban.
The first Australian diplomat to be sent to work alongside Australian soldiers in Uruzgan Province in 2009 and one of the last to leave in 2013, Smith has been described by many as the unofficial historian of Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan.
In 2020, he went back to Afghanistan to work in the Australian Embassy in Kabul. As the Taliban tightened their grip on the city, Smith was at the gates of Kabul International Airport (KIA) helping evacuate passport and visa holders.
His experiences at the horrendous human logjams at its gates of the airport are expressed in his new single, Gates of KIA, which he wrote in hotel quarantine after returning from working on the evacuation of Kabul International Airport in August 2021.
“Seeing such desperation with my own eyes struck me to the core,” Smith said.
Returning to Australia, he has integrated stories, poems, images and songs from the evacuation with the Dust of Uruzgan stage show he toured to 80 theatres between 2014–18.
The new show, Sparrows of Kabul, is a vivid account encompassing Australia’s 20-year involvement in Afghanistan, culminating in the fall of Kabul and the evacuation.
“The perception is that our evacuation mission was a ‘monumental stuff-up’. But, in fact, the Australian team managed to get 4100 people out, most of whom are now living in Australia,” Smith said.
“Their girls and boys are going to school and having swimming lessons. We’ve changed people’s lives…This is a story worth telling.”
An extraordinary song cycle, Sparrows of Kabul has been described as a “beautiful retelling of Australia’s Afghanistan experience”, “utterly beguiling” and “a must-see”.
His previous album Dust of Uruzgan received rave reviews and earned him comparisons to Australian balladeers: Eric Bogle, Don Walker, and John Schumann.
His 2016 book, The Dust of Uruzgan, was described by Channel 10 Political Editor, Hugh Riminton, as: “convincing a picture as we will ever have of the tragedy, hope, oddness, and courage of Australia’s Uruzgan enterprise… an astonishingly vibrant piece of reportage from the heart of our longest war.”
The lyrics to Smith’s song, Sapper’s Lullaby are engraved in marble at the Australian plot in the centuries-old British War Cemetery in Kabul.
Fred Smith will perform alongside Nerida Cuddy from 1.30pm, Sunday, August 7, at Orange CWA Hall Robertson Park.
Tickets are available at Lander’s Music or: www.jamorange.com.au