TIRANA, Albania (AP) — A group of Afghan artists evacuated after the Taliban seized power in their homeland painted a mural in the Albanian capital on Thursday to thank their host country and urged the world not to forget their brothers remained in the country.

The mural was painted by members of Artlords, an Afghan organization of voluntary artists, on a building in central Tirana, where dozens of such works have been painted in recent years.

“Thank you, Albania! We will not forget,” he wrote in Albanian, and “My homeland, tired of persecution,” in Afghani Pashto.

The artwork near the central Skanderbeg Square showed a map of Albania made up of several sections, in reference to the multi-ethnic character of Afghanistan, and an Afghan man at work.

“This is one of the ways we want to raise the voice of our (colleagues) who are being held hostage at home in Afghanistan,” said Omaid Sharifi, co-founder of Artlords.

Most of their works in Afghanistan were destroyed by the Taliban, according to Sharifi, who called on “the people of the world (not to) distance themselves from what is happening inside our country”.

Sixty-two members of the Artlords remain in Afghanistan, willing to leave at any time, he said.

“We try to mobilize every day and tell our colleagues (in Afghanistan) to keep fighting for your rights,” said Yama Farhad, 28, one of the painters, who lives in a compound in the northwest coastal town of Shengjin with his wife and two-year-old son.

Albania accommodated some 2,400 Afghan evacuees in hotels or tourist resorts. Some 150 of them have already left for other countries. The others will stay in the small Balkan country for about a year until authorities in the United States and elsewhere finish processing their special immigration visas.

The National Endowment for Democracy, an American non-profit foundation, organized the evacuation of 288 Afghans to Albania and their temporary residence in the country.

“(This is) a work of art from our Afghan friends…to thank the Albanian people, to thank the whole Albanian nation for their hospitality, their generosity,” said Damon Wilson, director of NED.

For years, Tirana City Hall has supported artists to paint murals all over the city.

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