Kobani – North-Press Agency
Fattah Issa – Fayad Muhammad
As a means to communicate with people under the precautionary lockdown imposed by the Autonomous Administration to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a popular singer in the city of Kobani, northeast of Aleppo, has used social media to post songs.
Days after the lockdown, Kamel Hassan, a folkloric artist from Kobani started the first live post on Facebook, to perform folk songs, to enable his followers to spend a good time indoors, after the cancellation of all gatherings, including artistic and musical parties by the Autonomous Administration as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Existing reality
Kamel Hassan said that the lockdown led him to think of another way to communicate his voice and folk songs with his fans so that he does not remain idle inside his house.
Baqi Khedo Center for Culture and Arts in Kobani, where Hassan was an official in, started organizing folkloric evenings every Thursday. Hassan said that those evenings were aimed at introducing the audience to the heritage songs of the region, noting that social media helped him to reach his fans from his house during this period.
Breaking boredom
Hassan, the popular artist shares live clips on pages and groups interested in art at the time of the lockdown with the participation of his daughter and his son-in-law.
Kamel Hassan calls on his fans and the people of Kobani to stay at home wherever they are and listen to his songs “to help them to spend their time inside their houses.”
In this way, Hassan noticed a rise in the number of his fans and admirers of his performance during the time of the quarantine.
He was born in 1971 in the village of Zeravik in the southern countryside of Kobani and started singing at the age of 18. He is considered as one of the most popular artists in the region, concerning the Kurdish folkloric songs.
Preventative measures
As for his commitment to preventative measures, Hassan said that he tried to avoid the participation of other artists and musicians, but only his daughter and his son-in-law, where he kept the distance between him and them more than a meter.
Encourage the idea
Fatima Muhammad, a resident of Kobani, said that she stays at home with her family most of the time, spending her time browsing social media and listening to Hassan’s songs.
Fatima noted the important role of posting live videos by the artists in helping to spend their time inside their houses during the lockdown.
Not only Kamel Hassan, but other artists from Kobani post live videos and share their musicals on social groups.