Cultural Genocide of the Hazaras

About this piece

This work, titled “Cultural Genocide of the Hazaras,” addresses the destruction of a culture. Genocide does not only mean the physical annihilation of bodies, but also the silencing of voices, the erasure of history, and the severing of cultural roots. In this painting, the Dambura appears as a cultural symbol of the Hazara people — an instrument that carries within it their joy, sorrow, and identity. The intertwined forms of the Dambura, embedded in dark colors and wounded textures, portray the struggle for survival in the face of erasure and denial. “Cultural Genocide of the Hazaras” is a reminder that the silencing of a people does not occur only through bloodshed, but also through the suppression of their language, music, rituals, and art. This work is a visual outcry — for resistance, for the preservation of collective memory, and for the endurance of culture in the face of darkness.