RONÎDA HACÎ

Hesekê- Sidar Muhammed is 17 years old and she wants to be a musician. Her brother Dilyar accompanies her in her musical journey. Actually, they are more than siblings; they are two friends. They also prefer to describe themselves as friends. Their journey into music began when they played “Ey Reqîb (Kurdish national anthem)” that Kurdish people have listened to with great respect.

Born in a family of five, two siblings live in the Kelasê neighborhood in Haseki city of North-East Syria and they are the only violinists in their family. Their parents, who are Kurdish language teachers, encouraged them to play the violin. Saying that music is one of the most important tools for people to reflect their own feelings, Sîdar told us how her interest in music started;

“When we were quite young, our parents always supported us to learn new things. My mother and father liked music very much. They made us listen to the tones of all musical instruments and asked which one we liked. I liked the tone of the violin the most. I began to learn and play violin and I understood how the tone of the violin affects people’s feelings.  Very strong ties formed between me and my brother. We were siblings but with music, we learned to be friends. As my ties with music got stronger, our friendship also got stronger.”

“We play the violin at least an hour every day”

Sîdar and Dilyar have spent most of their time with music after school. Sîdar told us that they have almost no free time, “Playing violin together makes us happy,” said Sîdar who is a high school student like her brother. “I have many lessons but we also keep playing the violin. We sit in our yard and practice violin. We receive very positive feedback from our neighbors. When they say they like our music, we feel happy. Every day, we start to play Ey Reqîb and it becomes like a tradition for us.”

She prefers to wear traditional clothes

Sîdar told us that she likes wearing traditional clothes, “Each nation is known for its traditional clothes, culture, and music. We prefer to wear our traditional clothes. We carry our cultural works we want our own culture to be known. Special war is carried out against our people and our culture. For this reason, all young people should protect their culture.” Sîdar participates in many cultural activities by wearing her traditional clothes.

Dilyar also told us how he loved music and his violin, “My sister and I are friends. We want to be professional in playing violin after completing our education.”