Music makes the world go around

KABUL, Afghanistan - The ravages of civil war twist lifelessly in the breeze, a macabre warning to those who might disobey Islamic rule. Dangling from signposts every few miles on the road into Kabul are long shreds of cassette tape, confiscated from their owners and strung up as a reminder that virtually all music is now illegal in Afghanistan. The hanging tape is a chilling metaphor in Kabul, where residents are still recovering from the sight of deposed Afghan President Najibullah's mutilated body swinging from a wire noose in a public square after Kabul fell to the forces of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement.

Michael Lev, Chicago Tribune, Dec 1996

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Can you imagine a life without music? I sure can't. I remember a Garfield poster I had hanging in my college apartment that said "music makes the world go around." I have never forgotten that and continue with my wife to make music an important part of my children's lives.

In Afghanistan, there was a period as described above where people could not even listen to music without fear of punishment. Those times are in the past! Caleb and Amanda Earnest are doing their part to see that the next generation in Afghanistan is different than the last. The newleyweds are teachers at the International School of Kabul (ISK) where 250 kids receive an education, partially funded by USAID. Amanda's love for music is played out in her classes everyday as she passes on her knowledge of music to both elementary students and high-schoolers. They are clearly making a difference.

This past Saturday I took a trip with the National Military Academy band to visit ISK for a short concert. The band is a collection of cadets that have a wide range of age and experience. This was their first time away from the academy to play for an audience. Although their skills were lacking at times, they were well received from the children who are also getting an introductory education in musical arts and their first look at real instruments. I hope this will be an encouragement to the band members to keep playing, a lesson to the kids that music does indeed make the world go around.

More next time about the kids and how education is changing in Afghanistan...