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.
