"A dream come true" for Kurdish artist, refugee to perform in Sydney

Farhad Bandesh spent almost eight years in Australian immigration detention centres, in Manus Island and in Melbourne. For this year's Refugee Week he participated in the Band Together event, which was organised by Asylum Seeker Centre, Amnesty International Australia and City of Sydney, at Sydney Town Hall. Farhad performed a number of his songs in English as well as a Kurdish song.

Farhad Bandesh Kurdish refugee and artist on stage at Band Together for Refuge Week 2021, on stage at Sydney Town Hall 23rd of June 2021 Source: Erin Black-Asylum Seeker Centre

In this interview with SBS Kurdish Farhad Bandesh describes his feelings of finally being free, after enduring nearly eight long years in dentention, mostly offshore, on Manus Island. "For a Kurdish person music is like breathing, I don't believe one can ever take away music and dancing from a Kurd.”

Craig Forster, former Australian soccer player, sports analyst, and refugee advocate, who co-hosted Band Together, asked Bandesh about what helped him keep going while in detention? For Farhad, it was painting and music that helped him get through the harsh years in detention.

Kurdish Musicians and refugees Farhad Bandesh and Mostafa (Moz) Azimitabar on stage at Sydney Town Hall preforming a Kurdish song at Band Together on Refugee W Source: Erin Black-Asylum Seeker Centre

Farhad performed a number of his songs on the night, which he had written before his release in December 2020. He was later joined by fellow Kurdish musician and refugee Mostafa Azimitabar (Moz), who also spoke about his bitter experience in detention, before preforming a Kurdish song together. The artists explained how this had become their favourite song during their years "in prison".

Farhad Bandesh told SBS Kurdish that this particular song was liked by many of their fellow asylum seekers when Moz and him used to sing it together. The song called "May" meaning "liquor/wine" is originally sang by Firmesk, a famous Kurdish singer, and the lyrics are by Hejar Mokriyani, a renowned late Kurdish poet. 

Farhad said that he received many positive messages from the audience (whom all attended the event exclusively online, due to the new COVID-19 restrictions in Sydney), about the song and many have asked him to sing more in Kurdish.

As for future plans, Farhad is currently involved with producing a documentary that will be released in a few months’ time. He is also hoping to have concerts in a number of Australian capital cities, an exclusively Kurdish concert, as well as an exhibition for his artwork.