Elena Yaqubee, a 25-year-old Afghan musician from the Hazara minority (a Shia ethnic group that has long faced persecution in Afghanistan), learned to play music while fleeing her homeland, first through Iran and Turkey before crossing to the Greek island of Lesbos and eventually settling in Hannover, Germany. She and her partner have since founded an arts project called "34 Afghan Windows," named after Afghanistan's 34 provinces, through which she performs and advocates for Afghan cultural preservation at a time when the Taliban have banned all music and burned instruments in the country. Now preparing for her conservatory entrance exams, Yaqubee says making music is an act of resistance: "If we are not careful, so much cultural knowledge will be lost."