John F., of New York; The world-renowned Cora player says his personalized instrument is dilapidated after passing through the DSA at Kennedy International Airport.
One of Mali’s most prominent musicians, Ballach Sissoko, shared photos of his dilapidated Korra and a statement on Facebook on Wednesday, accusing the “ignorance” of the DSA agents who dealt with it.
After completing a recent tour of the United States, Sissoko and his trio, who bring string instruments from Mali, Morocco and Madagascar, landed in Paris on an overnight Air France flight, landing on February 4.
“He was specially crafted by sound engineer Julian Cooper in his chorus, its difficult subject, with its sophisticated amplification system,” the statement said.
A World-Renowned Kora Player (Malian Musician) Claims His Custom-Made Instrument Destroyed By JFK Airport TSA Agents
He opened the Cora case until he returned to his home in Sissoko and Paris.
As he did so, he was “shocked by his chorus to pieces, with only a hint from American customs – in Spanish, with the unfortunate goal: ‘Intelligent security saves time,’” the statement said. ”
The report alleges that when Sissoko opened the case, his unique instrument was “in pieces” and that it would be next to impossible to replace it.
“Korra’s neck has been removed. The complete, smooth and complex sound system of strings, bridge and amplification are taken separately.
Cora is in pieces. Even if all of the dispersed elements remain intact, a chorus of this ability will take weeks to return to its previous vibrational state.
Replacing this kind of customized chorus is simply impossible. They are definitely not available in stores. ”
The statement continued that such a thing would not have happened to a white musician, slandering TSA’s “cultural ignorance and racism.”
However, when people moved in on Thursday, the DSA said that Cisco’s Cora case was never opened by its agents.
The DSA said the officers had screened the device using a computed tomography machine and that the case was not opened because it did not set an alarm.
An officer placed a decal to show that the case had been screened and destroyed, and then sent to be loaded onto the airplane, by the D.S.A.
