Bringing you Untold Stories from  Firdaus Sessions - Expo 2020 Dubai  performed by Seeta Qasemi  
From  Afganistan 🇦🇫  
 
English Translation:  
 
Afghan Woman’s Voice  
World, hear my voice;  
For centuries, my call has been oppressed by the war imposed on me.  
I invoke peace.  
Let’s embrace; my wish is harmony.  
The ricocheting of bullets weigh heavy on my ears,  
The battle renders me weary.  
Beyond conflict, beyond headlines,  
I breathe a beauty that finds sisterhood in the art of India,  
I breathe a beauty that is the magic of this world.  
I am an instrument of amity;  
I am an Afghan woman.  
 
I am dispatched from life  
As a doctor, teacher, vaccinator, educator.  
I fight for each breathe  
As a journalist and social activist.  
In times like these, I ask —  
Who should I be to not be killed?  
 
World, hear my voice;  
For centuries, my call has been oppressed by the war imposed on me.  
I invoke peace.  
Let’s embrace; my wish is harmony.  
The ricocheting of bullets weigh heavy on my ears,  
The battle renders me weary.  
Beyond conflict, beyond headlines,  
I breathe a beauty granted by Badakhshan’s lapis,  
I breathe a beauty that is the magic of this world.  
I am an instrument of amity;  
I am an Afghan woman.  
 
The days pass  
As the bodies of my daughters and sons  
Lay upon mounds of gunpowder.  
I cannot bury them for they’re not whole when I find them.  
I clutch their remnants, their martyrdom of peace.  
My song is sorrow, it's my eternal plea.  
 
World, hear my voice;  
For centuries, my call has been oppressed by the war imposed on me.  
I invoke peace.  
 
Written by Rafifulla Kelewal  
 
Composed and arranged by A.R. Rahman  
Mixed and Mastered by Firdaus Studio  
 
Arabic ensemble  
Bass: Lea Haddad  
Guitar: Maryam Deeb  
Oud: Amal Waqar, Maryam  
Nay: Rebecca Abou Jaoude  
Percussion: Pascale Farhat & Lama Kassem  
Qanun: Sahar Khoueiry & Lara Kasem  
Sitar: Anvita Shankar  
 
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