Syrian war refugees find solace in song in Cairo
Some Syrians in Egypt have formed bands to make a living and remember their homeland through music.
Abdal Haleem Ajm, from eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside, was a popular singer in Syria. When the war broke out in 2011, it interrupted his career, and Ajm moved to Cairo with this family, thinking it would only be for a short stay. Five years later, he is still in Cairo.
“When we arrived in 2012, I thought we would be back home within a few months, and I would rejoin the band I had formed before the war erupted,” Ajm told Al-Monitor. As Ajm's stay in Egypt extended to one year, then three years, then five, he decided to form a band of Syrian musicians in Cairo. His new group carries his name, Ajm.
For Ajm and his colleagues, as well as other members of the Syrian community in Egypt, Syrian songs are a way of staying connected to their war-ravaged homeland.
“Of course, the majority of my performances are for Syrian audiences, but with Syrian songs becoming popular in Egypt, many Egyptians started requesting Syrian bands at their events,” Ajm said.
