Australian Story: Oct 7

Tonight Australian Story features Fred Smith, an Australian political adviser in Afghanistan, who is using music to help those in a war zone.

Fred Smith has been described as “Australia’s secret weapon” in the field of international diplomacy.

The career diplomat has represented Australia in warzones such as Bougainville in the 1990s and Afghanistan more recently.

But he has a second career as a musician, having released eight albums and toured around the world.

In this episode of Australian Story, Fred Smith describes how his two careers came together during the conflict in Afghanistan.

In 2009 he was sent to Uruzgan to be Australia’s first political adviser in the province, working alongside Australian troops.

His job was to build relationships with local leaders, something he did with the help of his guitar.

“He used music to show that there is more to foreigners than just a military intervention. It brought Afghan officials into an environment where they could relax and open up communication,” says Colonel Jason Blain, who commanded the Australian unit responsible for mentoring the Afghan National Army.

But Smith had only been in Afghanistan for one day when a landmine killed Australian soldier Ben Ranaudo.

After witnessing the emotional memorial service for Ranaudo, Smith wrote a song called “Dust of Uruzgan” which he performed for soldiers and for the family of Ben Ranaudo.

The deaths of two more soldiers – Jacob Moerland and Darren Smith – prompted a second song, “Sapper’s Lullaby” which has become something of an anthem for Australians who served in Afghanistan.

“When Fred sings that song about the farewell to those two young men, I don’t think there’s a dry eye in the house,” says Colonel Blain.

The enthusiastic reaction to his Afghanistan songs has finally resolved the uncertainty that Smith felt for many years about having two divergent careers.

“When I went to Afghanistan, I finally made peace with the fact that I needed to be doing both lines of work,” says Smith.

“That’s just what I need. It’s who I am.”

Monday, October 7 at 8pm on ABC1