![]() ![]() ![]() Mr Qiam first arrived in the UK to study for a master's degree in Scotland in 2008. There have been wars for many years but on the other hand Afghans are quite peaceful people as well.” It's this duality that is prominent in all aspects of our culture. “There is a serendipity in flying a kite, but then we also fight the kite. “I guess it's one of the reasons that it's so popular in Afghan culture - because it relates to things that are very in contrast, it flies but it's also very unreliable. You have to be gracious in dealing with frustrations,” he tells The National. And it's the magic of flight and you have to deal with that disappointment. “The thing is, you can make a very good kite and it will look fantastic but it won't fly. Mr Qiam shrugs off the ruin of his merchandise, which he went on to painstakingly repair, with the same peaceful acceptance he adopts with kite-flying. He also didn’t take into account the enthusiasm of the UK’s Border Customs controllers who, while boring holes in the shipping crates to look at what was inside them, did the same with his kites. “I may have overestimated British enthusiasm,” he says. Mr Qiam took his fascination to the UK when he moved there as an entrepreneur in 2011, taking 10,000 kites with him.Ĭhildren with Afghan kites. “I was so excited but my grandmother wasn’t very happy with that.” he laughs. It’s a skill he has honed since he flew his uncle’s giant kite as a child, returning home with bloody hands from the pull of the strings. The London edition of the festival will take place on Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath and Mr Qiam will be there to teach people how to make and fly kites. Mr Qiam wants to spread the meaningful joy that can be found with “some bamboo sticks and some paper material” across the UK.įly With Me, organised by Afghanaid, will raise funds for the development organisation's By Her Side match-funding campaign to support women in rural Afghan communities. You build something very simple and then this simple thing does the amazing thing, which is flight.” But it's also a craft and a sport, in a way. It's a collective activity, it's a form of cultural art that brings everybody together. “It's something that you do with your little brother, little sister, with your neighbour, with your friend, with your uncle. “In all cultures we have a way of formulating relationships and bonding with each other and engaging in crafts is one of the ways in Afghanistan where people socialise,” he says from his home in Brighton, where he set up a toy shop over a decade ago.įly With Me, which is taking place in UK and European cities, is an Afghan kite-flying festival in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. ![]() Feeling Afghan culture 'between our fingers'īritish-Afghan kite maker, Sanjar Qiam, who developed Fly With Me, tells The National the festival is a chance for everyone to “feel between our fingers the strings that connect us to an incredible country”. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |