Man Who Fled the Taliban Gets Violin from Stranger After Being Forced to Leave His Behind in Afghanistan
"I thought maybe I was going to die and when I came here I found hope," musician Ali Esmahilzada tells PEOPLE
An act of kindness brought together a radio host and a musician struggling to make a new life for himself in America after fleeing the Taliban. Now, they have a forever bond.
Los Angeles based radio and podcast host Latif Nasser still can't believe the response he's getting from a Twitter thread he posted on April 15 about his friend, Ali Esmahilzada.
"I think this story has gone more viral than anything I've ever done. I think part of it is the power of music – music unlocks something deep in people – and it's a more extreme version of the kind of classic refugee story," he tells PEOPLE.
Nasser, the co-host of Radiolab, used the social media platform to tell the story of his unique friendship with the 27-year-old musician and the chain of events that brought them together.
Esmahilzada knew he had to leave Afghanistan after he says the Taliban, which prohibits playing music, kept calling, threatening him. "I was really scared, it wasn't safe for me," says the musician, who's well-known in his home country.
Nasser explains, "The Taliban hates musicians and targets them and he was a high profile musician. He was on the biggest tv show, their version of American Idol, Afghan Star. People recognized him when he walked down the street."
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So Esmahilzada — who had played his violin around the world, including at Carnegie Hall — left Kabul with just the clothes on his back and not much else following the Taliban takeover in 2021, even leaving his beloved violin.
"When I received the call from U.S. immigration they said you can't bring anything from home, just come to the checkpoint. Don't bring bags, bring nothing, just the clothes you have no bag, no documents, no instruments, nothing," Esmahilzada says.
He made it to Los Angeles and spent months finding a job.
"I started from zero – it's really hard to start without family friends. I didn't have anything," he says. "I did everything by myself- I got my drivers license, a job, everything."
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And then he got a call from Nasser, a stranger who said he had a violin for him.
Nasser had been on a work trip in New York with Jeremy Bloom, a sound designer and musician who'd heard about Esmahilzada from a friend. Bloom had an antique violin he wasn't using in his closet and asked Nasser to fly back to LA with it and get it to the struggling Afghani.
Bloom tells PEOPLE, "Like so many Americans, I can also trace my origins to immigrants fleeing oppression. The instrument was a meaningful gift to me, so it never felt right to sell it and I've long felt bad the violin was collecting dust. When I heard of Ali, I immediately knew he could make far better use of it."
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It took a few weeks for Nasser and Esmahilzada to connect because the musician was working odd hours at a mall job but when they finally did, Nasser says the two formed an instant and powerful connection.
"I got a little bit of his story and I realized he's struggling. This guy is deeply alone. He has nobody. I told my wife so we invited him over for dinner and the first night he told us a lot of his story and it was such an epic and devastating story," says the radio host.
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Within the week, Nasser and his wife started trying to figure out how they could help.
"We made hundreds of calls and emails to see what we could do for this guy," he says.
Esmahilzada now has a visa and would love to once again teach music or attend music school, but doesn't have his transcripts from back home and financially he doesn't know how he would make it work.
In his friend's Twitter thread, which was shared to mark the musician's 1-year anniversary in the United States, the radio host began raising funds for Esmahilzada to continue music lessons. Additionally, they partnered with a non-profit raising money for other Afghan musicians.
While it hasn't always been easy, Esmahilzada hasn't given up on his dream of someday being a full time musician again — and he can't believe how so many people have been moved by his story.
"He posted it and the people support it all around the world and I'm really happy. I have hope now. When I left the country I lost everything," says the musician. "I thought maybe I was going to die and when I came here I found hope. I'm very grateful to Nasser. He is my best friend."
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As for Nasser, he's glad so many people have been moved by his friend's story.
"I sit up and I'm reading these responses and emails and dm's it's just so totally bowled over they make me cry – they're so touching, beautiful," he says. "It's really struck a chord with a lot of people. His story and different kinds of people, struggling musicians, immigrants and refugees and people in education, all different kinds of people, are showing up from so many different sectors of society and they want to help."
He adds, "And that gives me hope."
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