Weaving Magical Whispers Against Silence

Thomas
Midas Touch , News
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Poetry of Resilience

Location: postane

Friday 26.09.2025

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

With

Somaia Ramish, (NL/AF) / Journalist, Poet
Laily Ghazal, (AF/TR) Poet
Oranus Musamen, (TR/AF) / Journalist, Poet
Lina Rozbih Haidari, (USA/AF) / Journalist, Poet

Moderation: Dr. Najib Paikan

“Load Poems Like a Gun”, is the striking title of Somaia Ramish’s poem that gained powerful momentum after the fall of Afghanistan and the return of Taliban rule. In 2023, it became the cornerstone of BaamDaad, the House of Poetry in Exile.

From the Netherlands, Ramish returns to the circle of her Afghan poet friends, embracing voices that echo across distances. Among them shines Layli Ghazal, a beacon of the Afghan poetry community in Istanbul. At her side, Uranus Musamen, a fierce voice against the shadows of gender apartheid. Across the ocean, Lina Rozbih Haidari—renowned Afghan American journalist and celebrated poet of verse and fiction—will join us through the glow of Zoom, her colleagues awaiting her words as if awaiting light.

The event opens with the short documentary I SPIT MYSELF ONTO A PAGE about Ramish’s relocation to the Netherlands and her emergence as a poet in exile, using her voice and activism to campaign for freedom in Afghanistan. The movie was created by Alka Sadat – director, camera and sound.

Come and listen to these powerful voices and discover why literature has always held such a profound place in Afghan culture:

Photographs and videos will be taken at the event for use on our website and social media, and in the press, and other marketing materials and publications. By entering this event, you consent to the photographing, filming and using your image for these purposes.

If you are outside of Istanbul, you can participate online via ZOOM:

Zoom-Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83686042439

Meeting-ID: 836 8604 2439

Code: 385101

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Under the title Midas Touch this year’s Mahalla Festival is calling for a confrontation with the dystopian reality of a growth-based global economy
that ignores the threats of climate change, increasing international armed conflicts and forced migration.

Mahalla Midas Touch is dedicated to give a voice to the vulnerable, excluded, unseen and to revert vulnerability into strength. Questioning narratives appears through individual, collaborative and corresponding artistic works in a historical Set-up in Istanbul inviting for site-specific interventions.

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