Kathleen Edwards taking IlluminAqua stage Songwiter speaks out about recent life-changing trip to Afghanistan Canadian singer/songwriter Kathleen Edwards says that she has a good feeling about performing at IlluminAqua Friday evening at Welland's Merritt Park amphitheatre. Edwards and her lead guitarist Colin Cripps (who is also the leading man in her life) will play songs from her most recent, critically-acclaimed alternative country album, Asking for Flowers, as well as other originals from her previous two albums. Edwards admits she has heard that the outdoor venue is "really beautiful." 'The weather is going to be perfect because it's the night before my birthday," she says. "We're going to make it a fun night." But these are perhaps the lightest sentiments she expresses before turning to a far more serious matter - her recent tour in Afghanistan, where she performed for Canadian troops during the Christmas season last year. "I went because I felt it as an opportunity that most people will never get in their lifetime, to experience - especially as a civilian," she says. Although she doesn't have any relatives involved in the mission, she viewed it as an "incredible opportunity to see the world and see what that life is like." The experience exceeded her expectations. She says that the people that she met really "humanized the face of the military" for her. "For a long time, the military was a big box that I really didn't understand," she says. "I was never into guns and (combat) - which is a simplistic way to look at it, but I kind of think that represents what a lot of people think - especially young people who don't necessarily understand what being in the military is about. Edwards says that she was blown away by how young her audience was. "When I went over there I realized the sense of commitment and sacrifice that these people are making, and obviously there are some people who've made a sacrifice that is really unbelievable and sad, and devastating," she says. In addition, she recalls amazing sights and experiences, such as sitting in the cockpit of a Herc, (a military transport aircraft) and getting a chance to see Iran and Pakistan, while flying into Afghanistan, as well as Kandahar air base and Kabul. "I don't know if there's any female Canadian civilian who's had that opportunity," she says. On a sadder note, Edwards says that many soldiers - she is quick to mention that there are many women in the military as well as men - over there who are missing their families back home - especially during the Christmas season when she visited. During her stay, Edwards had the opportunity to go to a forward-operating base by Chinook helicopter. 'that was one of the most extraordinary few hours in my life," she says. "It was quite a high-security type operation because these forward-operating bases are very much exposed to explosions and there's a lot of Taliban in the area." The trip came complete with a close-call for Edwards. "As we were leaving the Chinook fired off several anti-missile flares," she says. "I wasn't really told until afterwards that they suspected something was going on around the Chinook." Edwards says that the event was "obviously scary" but that she felt secure with exceptionally trained team of people, including a military general, around her. "I felt safe the whole time," she says. "But after that particular trip, I was told that within an hour, a soldier was killed while on patrol at the base. His vehicle was blown up." Edwards pauses and collects her thoughts and emotions to continue. "It really hit me, for the first time and now, when I hear a soldier has died, I feel so much more of an impact," she says. "I feel so much more of a personal connection." For Edwards, traveling to Afghanistan was life altering. Although she considers herself a pacifist by nature, after seeing the conditions in which the native people of Afghanistan endure, she says that she now understands the need for military aid. "Conditions are basically medieval. When I flew in that Chinook over these sparsely populated areas I could see that many of these people don't have anything. They hardly have any agricultural sustenance," she says. According to Edwards, Afghanistan is still very much a tribal-structured country and many tribal leaders are trying to protect their communities based on who's in power and aligning themselves with whoever is going to benefit the survival of their communities. "For so long it was the Taliban, which meant people were incredibly impoverished and being punished for being a female, or a child who would not be schooled," she says. "When I saw that first-hand, I realized that this is a situation and a country that really needs international support to help turn itself around. It really changed everything I understood about the mission in Afghanistan." While she was there, Edwards says that she tried to play music that would make the troops "feel like they were home, even if only for 45 minutes." She remembers that many of them approached her after her show, telling her that her music had indeed given them that home connection. "Someone came up to me after a show and told me that ‘we're in this world that is completely surreal and nothing about it reminds them of home,'" she says. "When someone comes over there and talks to them or plays music for them, for just that hour, they can stand there and feel like they're at a concert back home with their friends. "Another person told me that it helps them take a deep breath and keep going," Edwards says. Lynn Peppas Welland Tribune				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews