To mark Afghanistan’s National Day and the anniversary of the fall of Kabul, Fred Smith and band, in cooperation with the Afghan Embassy, will be presenting Sparrows of Kabul, the final iteration of Smith’s Afghanistan song cycle, at the National Press Club, on Friday 19 August.

Afghan Independence Day occurs on 19 August each year, however, it will be a melancholy occasion this year for many as it will be just four days after the first anniversary of the fall of Kabul. Diplomat and renowned local musician Fred Smith is inviting locals to show solidarity with the Afghan community in Canberra at the concert. The performance offers his personal perspective on his involvement in Australia’s 20-year mission in Afghanistan.

He was the first Australian diplomat to be sent to work alongside Australian troops in Uruzgan Province in 2009 and amongst the last to leave in 2013. Whilst deployed, he wrote songs inspired by his experiences; once home, he compiled them into an album titled Dust of Uruzgan and also wrote a book and a stage show.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Smith returned to Afghanistan to work at the Australian embassy, where he remained until August last year. When Kabul fell under Taliban control, Smith worked from Kabul International Airport (KIA) on Australia’s mission to evacuate passport and visa holders. He was part of the advance team which flew in to the airport on 17 August 2021. Their job was to help people get in to the gated airport, look after them and then fly them out.

Smith will be releasing his latest single, Gates of KIA, which was influenced by the experience of those few days in Kabul and the difficulty returning to his home environment after the intensity of the last two weeks of August. He says the concert is an opportunity to recognise the efforts of the many public servants and Defence personnel who worked tirelessly at home and overseas during that time.

“Despite the challenges, we flew 4,100 people out of that airport. Most of them are now living in Australia. I’ve caught up with some of them since; they’ve got jobs and houses and cars and they are free to live in way they weren’t in Kabul,” Smith said.

The concert will also feature a short speech from the Afghan ambassador. Among the audience will be members of the Afghan diaspora, including a number of the 140 or so evacuees who have recently made Canberra their home. Smith says it’s a great opportunity for the Canberra community to welcome them and offer solidarity in this difficult time.

Profits from the concert will go to supporting organisations that help those who have relocated to Australia from Afghanistan: Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia, Helping Afghans, and the Indigo Foundation which supports education for women and girls in Afghanistan.

Tickets to Sparrows of Kabul at the National Press Club, Friday 19 August from 7.30pm, are available via events.humanitix.com

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