A world-renowned kora player says that his custom-made instrument was ruined after going through TSA at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Ballaké Sissoko, one of Mali’s most prominent musicians, shared photos of his ruined kora and a statement on Facebook on Wednesday, blaming the “ignorance” of the TSA agents that handled it.
The statement said that after Sissoko and his trio 3MA, which brings together string instruments from Mali, Morocco and Madagascar, concluded their recent tour in the United States, he boarded an overnight Air France flight back to Paris, where he lives, landing on February 4.
“He checked in his kora, in its hard case, with its state-of-the-art amplification system, specially designed by sound engineer Julian Cooper,” the statement said. It wasn’t until Sissoko and arrived back at his home in Paris that he opened the kora case.
When he did, “he was shocked and dismayed to find his kora in many pieces, with only a note from US customs – in Spanish, with the unfortunate motto: ‘Intelligent security saves time,'” the statement said, adding, “Not Ballaké’s time, for sure.”
The statement alleged that when Sissoko opened the case, his unique instrument was “in pieces,” and explained that it would be next to impossible to replace.
“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.”
The statement continued to say that such a thing would not have happened to a white musician, slamming TSA’s “cultural ignorance and racism”.
“In Mali, the jihadists threaten to destroy musical instruments, cut the tongues out of singers, and to silence Mali’s great musical heritage,” the statement said. “And yet, ironically, it is the USA Customs that have in their own way managed to do this. Would they have dared do such a thing to a white musician playing a classical instrument? What does this tell us about the attitude of the administration towards African musicians?”
“This is an unprovoked and sad act of aggression, a reflection of the kind of cultural ignorance and racism that is taking over in so many parts of the world and that endangers the best of musicians from Africa and elsewhere.”
However, when reached by PEOPLE on Thursday, the TSA said that Sissoko’s kora case was never opened by its agents.
The TSA said that officials screened the instrument using a computed tomography machine, and that the case was not opened because it did not set off an alarm. An officer then placed a decal on the case to show that it had been screened and cleared, and was then sent to be loaded onto the aircraft, the TSA said.
As for the note that Sissoko said was inside the instrument case, the TSA said that the notes are easily obtainable, given that there are millions in circulation, and that the one found by Sissoko could have been placed in the case by anyone. They also pointed out that Sissoko’s photo of the note showed tape affixed to it, and that the TSA does not put tape on its inspection notices.
“It is most unfortunate that Mr. Sissoko’s instrument was damaged in transport, however, after a thorough review of the claim, it was determined that TSA did not open the instrument case because it did not trigger an alarm when it was screened for possible explosives,” the TSA said in a statement to PEOPLE.
No matter how the kora was destroyed, Sissoko is now left with the problem of replacing it. He is scheduled to perform in France and throughout Europe beginning at the end of the month and through April.
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