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Iraqi artists, volunteers seek to restore morale in Mosul

Singers, poets and volunteers try to revive pluralism in Mosul but old wounds, particularly between different religious groups, linger on.
REFILE - CORRECTING ORCHESTRA NAME Conductor Karim Wasfi leads the Peace Through Arts Farabi Orchestra during a concert in Mosul, Iraq October 27, 2018. Picture taken October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC11765B9AD0
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MOSUL, Iraq — The youth in Mosul are using music, art, poetry and volunteer projects to breathe life back into the multicultural city, after its liberation from the Islamic State (IS). 

The city’s first music festival took place Nov. 1-2, which featured musicians from all over the country, including Yazidi, Assyrian, Chaldean, Shabak and Syriac groups. One of the main attractions was the Basra Band for Folkloric Arts, an internationally acclaimed group that performs traditional regional and national folk dances.

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