And that is why I want to tell my story now in these pages. I want to raise my voice to dispel some of the fear and the lies. For pictures, too, can lie. Even if they contain a trace of the truth.
A photo can never really tell you what happened before or what came after. Like that picture of me sitting at a piano, singing a song amid the rubble of my neighborhood. It was reprinted by newspapers all over the world, and some people said it’s one of the photos that will help us remember the Syrian Civil War. An image larger than war. But when I think back to that moment, I think of another image, superimposed on all the rest, an image of three birds.
Aeham Ahmed is a little boy lives in Syria with his family. He is a second-generation ethnic Palestinian, and his family fled to Damascus as a result of the Arab–Israeli Conflict, building a new life in the refugee camp of Yarmouk. His father is a violinist himself and sees Ahmed's talent for playing the piano, so he encourages him to take it up seriously. At the tender age of 7, he is enrolled at the the Conservatory in Damascus, where he hones his skill to become a great musician.
Ahmad's family wish to return to their hometown of Palestine one day. However, they unfortunately face another conflict with the civil war in Syria following the rise of ISIS. Ahmad's family suffer through the siege by the Syrian military and faced starvation, with the radicals stating that he will be punished if he dares to play music.
The Pianist from Syria: A Memoir is an autobiography of Ahmad as he is displaced from his hometown of Syria, and his perilous journey to survival and finding safety amongst the relentless turmoil. It was published on February 12, 2019 and consists of 288 pages.
Visit Aeham's personal site here
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Ahmad received the Beethoven Award for human rights, peace, freedom, poverty reduction and inclusion for this book.
The Pianist From Syria: A Memoir has examples of:
- 10-Minute Retirement: When Aeham declares he will no longer play the piano, his father drags him to a wedding and makes him play there. When Aeham is applauded by everyone and paid handsomely, he is deeply touched and convinced to continue playing.
- Abusive Parents: Aeham recalls that some of his friends had fathers who beat their kids. He's grateful his father isn't one of them.
- Alliterative Name: Aeham Ahmad.
- An Immigrant's Tale: Ahmad is the child of Palestinian refugees, and lives alongside the Palestinian community of Syria.
- Apocalyptic Log: About the Syrian Civil War and the transformation of Syria under Bashar Al-Assad.
- Big Brother Is Watching: Chapter Four - Aeham and his father visit a wealthy man because he hired Mr. Ahamd to tune his piano. While his father insists it's on the house and he needn't pay him anyway, he hands Aeham a wad of bills instead. At home, Aeham gives his father the money, only for his father to panic, interrogate him about the man and ask what happened. He then warns Aeham to never speak to anyone about what happened, because "in Syria, even the walls have ears".
- When Aeham is older, he asks his father who that man was.
Years later, I learned his name, Mustafa Tlas. From 1972 to 2004 he had been Syria's secretary of defense, one of the old Assad's closest confidants. He was known to spread hideous anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and was said to have made a fortune smuggling weapons and antiques.Our visit to his villa had intimidated me so much that for months, I believed government spies were watching us. After all, we had been in the boss's house. Had we made a mistake? Had we become suspicious? Every time I stepped outside, I kept an eye out for anyone observing us. But I never saw anyone. - All Men Are Perverts: Vladimir Tsaritzky is one of the teachers at the Conservatory and is mentioned to often stare at Sandybell (one of Aeham's classmates) "with hunger in his eyes." Despite this, Aeham calls him a Cool Teacher and credits him with helping him discover his love for Mozart again.
- Autobiography: It's Aeham Ahmad's tale of childhood to adulthood in war-torn Syria.
- Best Friend: Aeham's best friend is Faisal, a boy from Aleppo who similarly has a passion for music and plays in an orchestra.
- Blind Musician: Ahmad's father is a blind violinist and a carpenter. He plays at weddings and owns his own music store.
- The Bully: Rana, Aeham's first teacher at the Conservatory, frequently puts him down and ignores him when he plays.
- Bullying a Dragon: Aeham recalls that one day at school, he was pushed by a boy, so he pushed him back. The boy ended up falling down the stairs and busted his lip. Aeham's mother berates him for it (even though he points out the other boy started it first) and hits him with a cane three times in front of everyone.
- Children Are Innocent: One day, a man who worked for Bashar Al-Assad arrives to the Ahmad's music store. Aeham, then a small child, can't understand why his father is so tense during their encounter.
- Child of Two Worlds: Aeham is Palestinian by ethnicity and Syrian by upbringing.
- Cool Teacher: Irina Ramadan, a foreign woman who teaches at the Conservatory. She was a Russian lady who married one of his dad's friends.She taught me the true meaning of music. She taught me how to listen to the pieces, how to find their exuberance or melancholy. With her, I forgot my joyless Syrian teachers who only paid attention to my mistakes, who seemed intent on smothering any joy I might take in music. Her fingers rushed playfully and boisterously across the piano keys. Music that had seemed stifling suddenly became free of heart. With her, I felt my playing become lighter and unconstrained, like the effortless flow of a Mozart sonata.
- Culture Clash: Aeham is an Arab, but dislikes certain aspects of Middle Eastern culture, and gets into arguements with his schoolteachers and family about it.
- Culture Police: The Islamic Insurgents oppose music and do not like that Ahmad is a musician, and ISIS members even burn his piano.
- Death of a Child: Aeham likes to play the piano for the neighborhood children. One of them is a little girl who regularly shows up to his performances, but one day, she is shot to death in front of him. He is so distressed he contemplates quitting the piano.
- The Dreaded: Ahmad's middle school Principal, who is a part of Assad's Baath party.After sixth grade, I went to middle school. The principal was a terrible man, quick-tempered and always eager to yell at people. The teachers were afraid of his explosive rage, and the students were ter- rified of his punishments. The school was financed by the UNRWA, which meant there was no compelling reason to play the Syrian national anthem. But the principal insisted. He was Palestinian, but he was so eager to assimilate that he had even joined Assad's Baath Party. Each Saturday morning, the students stood ramrod straight in the schoolyard, singing the national anthem, accompanied by a trumpeter, a drummer, and a keyboard player-me. It seemed I just couldn't escape the marching music I hated so much.
- Dude Magnet: Sandybell (just like the anime character she is named after). She attracts Aeham (who often calls her beautiful) and his teacher.
- Famed In-Story: Aeham is known as The Pianist From Syria In-Universe because of his YouTube channel and dedication to keep playing in spite of the war.
- The Famine: The Syrian Civil War results in food being cut off to Syria; Aeham says it's thanks to the UNRWA that he didn't starve to death.
- The Fashionista: Sandybell is mentioned to always be well-dressed, with her fancy dresses and pumped up high heels. It's a factor as to why one of the teachers is attracted to her.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: Aeham is put off by Middle Eastern music but loves European style musicians like Beethoven, Mozart and Lizst. One day he refuses to play Arabic music in class and is sent to the Principal's office while his dad is called. His dad insists Aeham is in the wrong and he has a duty to play Arabic music, but on the way home he tells Aeham to follow his heart, but try not to piss off the teachers.
- Good Parents: Aeham's father is humble and kind, and helps his son love music by always encouraging him. Even though he's blind, he still inspires him to play the piano and stay true to himself.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: It's an English language novel with bits of Arabic thrown here and there.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Bashar Al-Assaid, a megalomaniac leader with the blood of many Syrian civilians on his hands due to torturing them and depriving them of food.
- Historical Domain Character: Everyone, but prominently Bashar Al-Assad, the President of Syria, and his cabinet of equally corrupt men.
- In the Blood: Ahmad's father is a violinist, while he is a pianist.
- Searching for the Lost Relative: Aeham's brother goes missing during the Syrian Civil War. Aeham, who has witnessed many deaths at this point, panics that he may be dead.
- Token Rich Student: Ahmad mentions that at the Conservatory of Damascus, one of the students is named Sandybell (after the anime Hello! Sandybell) and she's from a wealthy family that owns a paint factory.
- Torture Always Works: Haffaz Al-Assad tortured masses of innocent civilians during his reign. When he's replaced by his son Bashar, the people of Syria hope that he's different, but he turns out to be even more bloodthirsty than his father.
- Unusual Pop Culture Name: Sandybell. No, really◊. Since the anime's big in Syria, everyone gets the reference.
- War Is Hell: Aeham's family are trapped in Syria during the Civil War and witness horrific things firsthand at the hands of Bashar Al-Assad.Assad had cut us off from the rest of the world. We had no water, no electricity, no bread, no rice. By that time, more than a hundred people had died of starvation.
- War Refugees: Aeham's family are Palestinian refugees who arrived in Syria around the 1970s.
- Would Hurt a Child: Aeham's mother uses corporal punishment to punish him for getting into a fight at school.
- YouTubers: Aeham is one as he regularly uploads videos of his music on YouTube. If you'd like to see it in the flesh.
