Fred Smith. Father, folkie, foreign affairs correspondent recently of Afghanistan. Now taking his moving musical portraits of the Afghan war to regional Australia – starting a tour in Mount Isa.
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Fred leads us on a tour of dust ingrained Uruzgan province, telling tales and signing songs of Australian soldiers and their bravery, friendliness of Afghan people, complications of life in a tribal country, and amusingly stereotyped encounters with US and Dutch soldiers and Australian politicians.
The complexities of making sustained difference, building trust in locals fearful of tribal leaders from other parts of the country who have ascended to power supported by western forces, and building trust in a people now connected to the internet and in dusty western Queensland the description of the daily challenges of keeping equipment working are clearly paralleled.
Fred mixes the right dose of merriment, a rendition of his Dixi Swaffelen ditty and a couple of extra choruses thrown in to keep the audience smiling.