A Song for Syria

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2016

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Since war broke out in Syria over a million people have sought refuge in Lebanon - a small country of just over 4 million people. The reporter Lina Sinjab left her home in Damascus in 2013 to live in Beirut, and for her, as for so many Syrians, the poignant music of home has become a crucial source of comfort and resilience. As the war drags on, music and songs provide a strong link to the past and hope for the future.

Lina joins refugee musicians across Lebanon and hears how their music is one of the few things they were able to bring with them. In the Bekaa Valley, close to the border with Syria, she meets an oud player, a percussionist and a piper who arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs and their precious instruments. And she visits a refugee youth choir who have found new joy and hope by singing with others who have been uprooted from their homes.

In Beirut, the Oumi ensemble use music as a counter to religious extremism, taking their inspiration from the peace-loving Sufi poet Mansur Al-Hallaj. The arrival of Syrian musicians has also had a big impact on the cultural scene in Lebanon, and Lina discovers how this has inspired bands and artists in the capital.

Image: Ahmad Turkmany who plays the Mizmar, Credit: Just Radio Ltd

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's over five years since the brutal civil war began in Syria. An estimated 11 million Syrians have fled their homes in search of safety,
0:15.1	and around half of the population is estimated to have been displaced.
0:19.3	Good evening, the turmoil in the Middle East has spread to Syria,
0:22.2	which has seen unprecedented challenges
0:24.6	to the 10-year rule of President al-Assad. Over the last week anti-government
0:29.0	demonstrations have been gaining momentum.
0:31.0	Killings in and around the southern town of Dera have sent people out onto the streets in protest across the country.
0:39.0	Daily life, civilians caught up in serious conflict is becoming increasingly desperate. Food supplies and the rebel-held
0:45.2	areas of the capital Damascus are close to running out and while the International Committee of
0:49.6	the Red Cross is calling on all sides to allow aid to be brought in. The Syrian Army has
0:54.3	told the rebels to surrender or starve.
0:57.0	I'm Lena Sinjap on the BBC World Service. I left Syria myself three years ago when I could no longer do
1:06.1	my job as a journalist safely in my home city Damascus. After being arrested, having my movement restricted and facing a travel ban, I very reluctantly left home, and now I live here in Lebanon. More than a million Syrian refugees are now here in this small
1:27.9	country of just over 4 million people. For to play and to sing the songs of home.
1:32.8	For many music is a vital source of comfort and at almost every social gathering people
1:39.2	come together to play and to sing the songs of home.
1:42.8	This is a program about Syria and about refugees,
1:50.4	but told through music. Every family, each Syrian person lost somebody there.
2:04.0	Music for me now is a way of relief.
2:08.0	It makes me feel happy where it's not so easy to find a happy part now in life.
2:18.0	I play Arabic music that's in my blood.
2:22.0	For sure, it's part of Syria for me. Without music I even cannot survive and I
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -3017 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.