Hunt Library hears stories, sounds from Afghanistan

FALLS VILLAGE — Zarifa Adiba, a musician from Kabul, Afghanistan, and the author of “Playing for Freedom: The Journey of a Young Afghan Girl” described her journey from the dangerous streets of Kabul to Flushing, New York, at the David M. Hunt Library Saturday, March 22.

After being fortified with a bowl of homemade corn chowder, which she was very enthusiastic about, Adiba read a short story she wrote about a 2022 bomb blast at a college.

As she read, music that she and three of her musician friends created played in the background.

“I have lost three of my close friends in explosions” she said after the reading.

Adiba is a violist, composer and conductor, and currently works on Broadway. She and her family live in Flushing.

After the reading and music, Adiba took questions.

Asked about her background, Adiba said her family moved back and forth between Afghanistan and Pakistan when she was a child.

She said her family is part of the Hazara ethnic minority group, which has been targeted by Islamist groups such as Islamic State and the Taliban.

Asked about how she stays positive against a background of negativity, Adiba, who has been in the United States for two years and eight months, said “The first year was difficult.”

She didn’t realize she had “survivor’s guilt.”

“I didn’t know about depression and anxiety. I had panic attacks.”

She was able to get help and things have improved considerably.

One person commented on her excellent English.

Adiba smiled and told a story of how, as a little girl, she saw a woman on television speaking in English and talking about Harvard.

This made a lasting impression.

“I have to go there to learn to speak like this lady.”

Adiba said she is determined to promote the positive side of Afghanistan in the West. To that end, she is setting up a foundation to bring exiled Afghan artists together.

“There is so much endurance and bravery,” she said. “Here only the ugly is shown.”