DAMASCUS
In a district of war-torn Damascus stands the refugee Yarmouk Camp where a 26-year-old camp resident and his friends play music to help alleviate suffering in the camp.
Like a scene from the Oscar winning movie ‘The Pianist’, Eyhem Ahmed plays a piano in the ruins of the city.
‘The Yarmuk Youth’ was set up by Ahmed and his friends. They brought a piano and other instruments to the camp with help in a portable handcart.
Ahmed tells Anadolu Agency (AA) that people in the camp, including his blind father, are suffering from hunger. His aim is to lift the spirits of those in the camp and to "'have our voices heard to the world through music".
‘’We prefer the sound of music to the sound of bullets,’’ Ahmed says. ''Music is a universal concept without the need for translation that hits the soul''.
Ahmed says that many people have died of starvation at the camp. Official figures suggest that around one hundred in the last year - and his aim and that of the band is to get the siege lifted so that food can come in.
Emphasizing that his band does not have any political ties or material expectations, Ahmed stresses that his band began to perform music in the camp for peace and joy in the country.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
