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An Anonymous Coward writes:

“The kora is a fragile, hand-crafted instrument, and Ballaké’s kora is tailormade to his own specifications. It is an intrinsic part of his very special sound. Would US customs have dared to dismantle a Stradivarius? In its own way that is what has just happened to Ballaké. The neck of the kora has been removed. The strings, bridge and entire, delicate and complex sound system of amplification have been taken apart. The kora is in pieces. Even if all the components that have been dissembled were intact, it takes weeks before a kora of this calibre can return to its previous state of resonance. These kinds of custom-made koras are simply impossible to replace. They are certainly not available in shops.” (Lucy Duran)

Traveling in the US is difficult enough for African musicians, who already have trouble getting visas and crossing borders, even without their custom-built instruments getting mangled in the process. Here's hoping that Sissoko can repair his kora back to his specifications and that the next time the TSA wants to perform a little security theater, they leave the fragile instruments out of it.

https://afropop.org/articles/ballak%C3%A9-sissokos-kora-dismantled-by-american-tsa [afropop.org]

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