Farhad Darya Releases ‘Tired Land’ Marking Four Years of Silence in Afghanistan

Farhad Darya released his new song “Tired Land” to mark four years of silence in Afghanistan, portraying the nation’s grief, wounds, resilience, and unspoken struggles.

Afghanistan’s music icon Farhad Darya has marked the fourth anniversary of Taliban rule with the release of a new song, “Tired Land,” a work he describes as both a lament and a testimony to his country’s suffering.

In a message to his audience, Darya said not every story can be spoken in words, but that he has “wept” through this song. He urged Afghans to feel the pain of their land, share in its grief, and resist deceiving themselves about the hardships of the past four years.

The lyrics were penned by exiled poet Sohrab Seerat, who compares Afghanistan to a stranded boat, adrift and battered by storms. His imagery captures the sense of a nation weighed down by displacement, fatigue, and unhealed wounds.

Through haunting verses and Darya’s emotive delivery, the song paints Afghanistan as “an old wound reopened, the pain of a hundred battles,” symbolizing the broken dreams and resilience of its people.

The release comes at a symbolic moment: while the Taliban celebrate their fourth year in power, music and art remain banned. Concerts are silenced, instruments destroyed, and dozens of artists have been detained or tortured for pursuing their craft.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have dismantled cultural institutions, including dissolving the Faculty of Fine Arts from universities. Their bans on music and performance have left Afghanistan’s artists silenced at home, while many in exile struggle to keep cultural expression alive.

Darya’s “Tired Land” is more than a song, it is an act of remembrance and resistance. At a time when creativity is repressed, it gives voice to a nation’s grief and longing.

The song also serves as a reminder of the enduring strength of Afghanistan’s artists in exile, who continue to carry the spirit of their homeland, even as they live far from it.

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