By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
HAZARAS will celebrate the survival of their music, poetry, theatre and art in a concert in Springvale this Sunday.
Singer and musician Taqi Khan said the Omagh Celebrations was an historic attempt to keep Hazaragi culture alive in Australia.
“It’s the first time we’ll be together to celebrate in a big cultural show with many artists coming from around the country,” he said.
Of the 20,000 Hazaras in Australia, an estimated 9000 live in Melbourne’s south-east, including Dandenong.
They are among millions who have fled Afghanistan due to ethnic-based executions, abuses and assassinations, Khan said.
“In Afghanistan, we weren’t allowed to keep alive our culture.
“These celebrations are a way to promote it and introduce it to our young people.”
Khan has workshopped traditional music and singing with young people in the lead-up to the event.
He will perform a mix of traditional folk, pop and classical music.
He will be joined by poet Farkhonda Akbari, photographer, filmmaker and journalist Barat Ali Batoor and actor and theatre maker Bashir Bakhtiari.
The event is part of the Emerge Festival, which is run by Multicultural Arts Victoria.
The Omagh Celebrations is at Springvale Town Hall on 22 June from 6pm to 10.30pm.
