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CNN Saturday Morning News
Music Returns to Afghanistan
Aired December 22, 2001 - 11:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The changing political landscape in Afghanistan is bringing more personal freedoms for its people. Under the Taliban regime, music was not sacred or secular. It was criminal. Well, that has changed.
CNN correspondent Jason Bellini is -- in conjunction with MTV News, we should say here -- spoke to some Afghan teens about letting the music play.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I listen to R&B music. I was wondering what kind of music do you listen to?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Indian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Indian music?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iranian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iranian music?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about American music?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes? Who do you like? What kind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jackson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jackson?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now that, I think, the Taliban has been lifted, and you can listen to music now, like, what music is available to you?
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You want to know what types of music is available here in Afghanistan. So I've come to this area of Kabul where there are a bunch of stalls where they sell video cassettes. They sell music cassettes. I'll show you what they've got.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome. Who are you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jackson, American top chart. Backstreet Boys.
BELLINI: Backstreet Boys are here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
BELLINI: Who buys the Backstreet Boys here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just the people who know English and they like the American music.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was it like trying to get music while were you under the Taliban regime?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear music but secretly. Because we couldn't increase the volume, the sound. Yes, because we were afraid about the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of sound outside, not to be found by the security forces of the religious police.
BELLINI: If the Taliban were to catch to listening to music what would happen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tape was of course broken and also the other, the person who was the listener were brought jail.
BELLINI: Why is music so important to you that you would take the risk of going to prison?
BELLINI: Because I really need, our soul needs such things, so if we didn't watch, if we didn't listen, so what would we be now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really like Jennifer Lopez. What kind of music do you like?
BELLINI: I brought with me this magazine that I bought in Pakistan and Islamabad, it's called "Star" magazine, "Celebrity" magazine and I wanted to see if you recognize any of the people in here. Do you know who this is right here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
BELLINI: J. Lo. Do you know who that is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
BELLINI: What about Britney Spears, have you heard of Britney Spears? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
BELLINI: Do you know who this is? Look at the face. Look at the hair.
BELLINI: I don't know.
BELLINI: You don't know? That is Michael Jackson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael...
BELLINI: That is Michael Jackson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also about Michael Jackson, his face is changing.
You know, in the situation that we were, it was, there was a position of every kind of restriction. Now there is a changing of government, no we, for example, achieved our freedom, yes, and you know, that for example, that watch TV, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that you see, for example, the artist, the others, but before we were not allowed, so of course now they are looking strange to us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are all, they are stars.
BELLINI: All of them are stars, yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BELLINI: Of course, in the larger scheme of things, musical tastes are a superficial difference between American and Afghan youths. But hopefully some of these answers that I got for young Americans will give them a little bit more insight into the lives of young Afghans, another way to relate -- Leon.
HARRIS: That's very interesting.
Now Jason, we saw earlier when the Taliban did leave, when the regime collapsed, there was still some women that had something of a Taliban hangover if you would.
There were women there who still were wearing the burkas. Now, the kids you talked with, would you say that they're representative of all the children or all the young people there in Afghanistan? Or, was it just only some of them feel comfortable now coming out and talking about things like this?
BELLINI: It's interesting you asked that question. I had a lot of difficulty finding young women to talk to, because you don't see young girls out on the street as much as you see young guys, and young women are in their burkas, so you can't tell whether it's an old woman or a young woman that you're looking at.
But I did find some parents who were willing to let me talk to their kids. The boys have much more liberation than the girls do, but I think that in terms of music, young people are thrilled that now they can listen to their music, not in hiding, but with their friends. Girls and boys are doing that now.
HARRIS: How about access to the Internet. Did you find much of that at all, or any existence of the Internet or some sort of outlet for kids to go to that outlet and try to find something? I know when you did that, you found something like that in I believe it was Sarajevo or Kosovo, when we talked to you a couple years ago about that. But what about in this case?
BELLINI: Well if you're looking for a cultural difference between American and Afghan youth, that's a very strong one of course, because no Internet access here.
A lot of times, homes are lucky if they have electricity. So a lot of houses I went to, and I wanted to listen to music, the people couldn't play their music for me because there was no power in the house.
So no, that's not an option for them at this time.
HARRIS: All right. Last question here. The parents didn't mind you showing these pictures of Jennifer Lopez' belly button?
BELLINI: Well I didn't ask the parents in advance, but showing those pictures to them was not meant to insult or to condescend. Young people in America had questions about whether young people in Afghanistan knew who these artists were.
And so I felt I needed to ask them if only to make the point that young people in Afghanistan have been cut off from the rest of the world for the last five years.
Whether they want to listen to Jennifer Lopez or not, that's a different issue. But most of the rest of the world, of course, would know who these artists were.
And these young people, they're curious but they, themselves, admit they don't know.
HARRIS: Well, they sure knew Michael Jackson. That was clear. Jason Bellini, good job. Thanks much for that report.
BELLINI: It's important to know Michael Jackson.
HARRIS: You got it. Take care and be careful. We'll see you later on.
BELLINI: Thanks, Leon.
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