Gifts from DAMASCUS
Gifts from DAMASCUS
SUSAN MCDONALD
When I first traveled to northern Iraq in 2013 to create a summer guitar program, I felt as if I were peeking behind a heavy curtain into a forbidden room, only to find that it was far from the austere and dangerous place I'd been taught to expect. I was enchanted by the rich tapestry of culture, history and hospitality, charming formality long-since vanished in my own country, determination to prevail despite bloodshed, the innocent pleasures of dancing and playing music with friends, bright hopes for the future swirling like the steam from the sweet tea ceremonially served to guests.
When ISIS raged through the region like a flesh-eating virus, I moved my guitar program to the relative safety of Lebanon. I’d been noticed by ISIS operatives in Iraq, so when the Syrians arrived in my basement studio, I assumed that the electric current I felt was fear. Until they played for me.
The music that soared out of their guitars shifted the earth under my feet. I felt electrified by a sense of recognition and knew in that moment that I was forever changed.
I had a vision of all that they would face when they returned to Syria: the shrieking of bombs, rumbling earthquakes of passing tanks, the endless, bone-aching thunder of generators when the electricity failed, wailing of babies as their mothers frantically struggled to silence them, trying desperately to hide from the dark forces which surrounded them.
I couldn’t bear the thought of such blazing potential crushed beneath the wheels of violence. Despite the fact that I knew nothing of war beyond my own lifelong battles to quash my insurgent doubts and emotional uprisings beneath strong-armed determination, I set out on a mission to help them find safety in a world which had slammed its doors shut to Syrians.
Gifts from DAMASCUS is the story of a journey into the lives of musicians who are determined to find hope despite the fear and heartbreak of war.
It is about following inspiration, wherever it might lead.
It is, above all, a proclamation that even in the midst of chaos, beauty and creativity cannot be silenced.