As Syria descended further and further into a bloody civil war, Damascus-born clarinetist Kinan Azmeh found that he was unable to write new music. “Especially for the first year,” Azmeh, who lives in Brooklyn, said, “because there’s something much bigger happening than what I can express through my music.”
Azmeh is featured in a new video created by David Gough and Thomas Maddens, in coordination with the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Eventually, he decided that he needed to “keep my voice heard,” and composed a new piece titled “A Sad Morning Every Morning.” The video, premiering exclusively on VF.com, heralds the launch of a new campaign by the United Nations. The effort, organized under the hashtag #WhatDoesItTake, seeks to bring attention back to the crisis.
The Syrian civil war is now in its fifth year (the U.N. dates the start to March 2011). Azmeh said that he believes the world is no longer paying enough attention to the conflict, which has killed more than 200,000 people and made refugees of millions more. “On the news, there’s no Syria, at all,” he said. “I understand, that when something lasts for years, it’s no longer new. But it seems like nobody cares. The lack of action is the actual tragedy.”
The U.N. requests that world leaders and individuals post photos of themselves holding up the sign #WhatDoesItTake. The images will then be collected at the campaign’s Web site, creating what the U.N. described as “an online photo wall of solidarity and support.”
A number of world leaders, including U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, undersecretary general Valerie Amos, UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake, World Food Program executive director Ertharin Cousin, and World Health Organization director general Dr. Margaret Chan.
“As a musician I am proactive by nature. In my music I reflect on the world around me,” Azmeh told VF.com, in an e-mail from Oman. “I support other entities that are advocating for an end to all sorts of oppression, whether religious, tribal or governmental.”
“Yes, my music cannot stop a bullet, nor can it feed the hungry or rebuild a home, but I do hope that it can inspire individuals and organizations and possibly the world community to act,” he said. “And this campaign is just one way of doing that.” (NanityFair)
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