The roar of a car bomb has been the prelude to Karim Wasfi's performances of late.
The renowned conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra has been appearing at the sites of explosions across Baghdad. Just hours after attacks, Wasfican be seen seated amid ash and rubble in a black suit jacket, long hair combed back, playing his cello. For him, this combination of music and place has become a form of resistance, something he told Morning Edition when the show reached him at home in Baghdad.
"This was an action respecting the souls and the spirits of the fallen ones due to terror around the world — and, of course, Baghdad, because we're living the reality over here," Wasfi says. "The other side chose to turn every element, every aspect of life in Iraq into a battle and into a war zone. I chose to turn every corner of Iraq into a spot for civility, beauty and compassion."
[For more of this story, written by Kevin Leahy, Arezou Rezvani, go to http://www.npr.org/2015/06/08/...ates-a-one-man-vigil]
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