A musical journey for refugee who fled Syria with violin
A SYRIAN refugee who fled the war-torn country with his violin on his back is to release a debut album.
After escaping the Syrian city of Homs in 2015, Rami, 21, travelled almost 2,500 miles by foot and boat across eight countries with the instrument wrapped in clingfilm.
Journeying through Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria, Rami would entertain security guards and fellow refugees with his music before eventually finding refuge in Germany.
He became separated from his violin after being thrown off a train in Hungary and chased through a Budapest forest by police.
After arriving in Germany he was given a replacement by a local before being housed by a German couple who learned of his story.
Rami recorded the album, titled My Journey, with awardwinning producers James Morgan and Juliette Pochin.
It features traditional Arabian music from his roots alongside a classical version of the American band OneRepublic’s Counting Stars.
The album’s lead single, an Arabic-influenced version of Beethoven’s Ode To Joy, is being released digitally in support of British Red Cross’s Red Cross Week, raising awareness of people in crisis across the world.
Homs, Syria’s third largest city, has been a key battleground in the uprising against Bashar alAssad. It was dubbed the “capital of the revolution” after residents embraced the call to overthrow the president in early 2011.
My Journey is available on Decca Records from today.
He travelled almost 2,500 miles by foot and boat across eight countries.