Ballaké Sissoko's Kora Dismantled by American TSA

Two Soylentils sent in stories about the US TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and their handling of Ballaki(C) Sissoko's kora (musical instrument).

US customs dismantled 'impossible to replace' instrument

c0lo writes:

Prominent Malian Musician Alleges that TSA Destroyed His Instrument:

One of Mali's most prominent musicians, Ballaki(C) Sissoko, has alleged that the Transportation Security Administration [TSA] destroyed his specially designed instrument during a trip from New York to Paris that began on Monday evening. On Thursday afternoon, the TSA said that its agents did not open the instrument case or create the damage.

[...]Sissoko checked his kora, which was packed in a hard flight case covered with "fragile" stickers, as oversized baggage. Koras are large instruments that can stand more than 4 feet from the tip of the long, rounded neck to the base of its big gourd body.

[...]But once he arrived at his apartment in Paris, Sissoko says, he opened the case to find his kora dismantled.

An official statement posted to Sissoko's Facebook page, written by ethnomusicologist and former BBC presenter Lucy Durin, notes: "The neck of the kora has been removed. The strings, bridge and entire, delicate and complex sound system of amplification has been taken apart.... These kinds of custom-made koras are simply impossible to replace."

[...]Sissoko says that inside the case, alongside the dismantled instrument was an official note from the TSA written in Spanish, that said that agents had opened the case for inspection, and that its contents "may have been searched for prohibited items."

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