Kurdish art, music flourish as regime fades from northeast Syria
As the Syrian regime forces have receded from Syrian Kurdistan, Rojava’s artistic scene has been blooming, with Kurdish artists leading a popular revival of Kurdish folklore and history.
DARBASIYAH, Syria — The Syrian revolution has given rise to an unprecedented phenomenon within the Syrian artistic scene. The political schism also affected Syrian artists, dividing them between regime supporters and dissidents amid the ongoing popular movement in both its peaceful and military forms.
Many Syrian actors including Yara Sabri, Abdul-Hakim Kutaifan and Mohammad al-Rashi expressed their opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. Rashi took part in the early protests staged by Syrian youths in Damascus’ al-Qabun neighborhood in December 2011. When Rashi chanted, “Long live Syria, down with Bashar al-Assad,” the Syrian regime and its supporters took it as an expression of the demands of Syrian intellectuals and artists.
Syrian Kurdistan, also referred to as Rojava, has seen the rise of a generation of young anti-regime artists and singers who became adults at the height of the Syrian revolution. They sing for the revolution on stage or during popular celebrations like Nowruz.
Biman Khalaf, 25, born to a Kurdish father and an Arab mother, told Al-Monitor, “I started singing at the age of 12 and joined Kurdish folkloric bands in our region. Despite our community’s negative perception of a young girl who goes out alone and sings on popular stages and during national celebrations, my neighbors and cousins had a different view. I have also had to deal with other challenges, which came in the form of security pursuits by the regime, as Kurds were banned from celebrating their folklore.”
