[ti:Musician Seeks to Rebuild Iraq through Music] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]War kept Naseer Shamma away from his homeland of Iraq for years. [00:06.16]Now, the famous musician hopes to rebuild his country [00:09.88]with performances and projects to support culture and education. [00:14.64]Shamma performed last week at the Iraqi National Theater. [00:19.08]The crowd was on their feet cheering [00:21.76]as Shamma played classic Iraqi and modern songs. [00:26.08]He played with an orchestra, as well as young women musicians, [00:30.48]who played traditional instruments. [00:33.76]"We will work on lighting the stage, [00:36.00]to get out of the darkness into the light," he told the crowd. [00:41.04]The 59-year-old Shamma is considered a master oud player. [00:45.92]The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument similar to a lute. [00:51.64]The instrument is central to Arabic music. [00:55.92]Born in the southern city of Kut, [00:58.64]he received his first oud lesson at the age of 11. [01:02.80]He later graduated from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. [01:09.32]He fled Iraq in 1993 during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. [01:14.20]He eventually gained international fame, performing around the world, [01:19.24]and receiving many awards. [01:21.84]In Cairo, he started the House of the Oud, [01:25.64]a school for teaching the instrument to new generations. [01:29.36]Shamma currently lives in Berlin, Germany. [01:32.92]He returned to Iraq for the first time in 2012 [01:36.84]for a performance supported by the Arab League. [01:41.08]He said he was shocked and felt great sadness [01:44.40]to see what had become of his country. [01:47.60]Iraq had been through repeated war and violence [01:50.76]after the U.S.-led war that defeated Saddam. [01:54.00]He returned several times since, most recently in 2017. [01:59.92]At that time Iraq was torn apart [02:02.88]in its battle with Islamic State group militants [02:06.16]who had captured much of the north. [02:09.24]This was Shamma's first time back to a country mostly at peace. [02:14.08]But it is in the middle of an economic crisis. [02:17.24]He said the city is more at ease and the audience more responsive. [02:22.32]"The audience's artistic taste had changed as a result of wars, [02:27.68]but last night it was similar to the audiences of the '80s. [02:31.52]I felt as if it was in an international concert [02:35.28]like one in Berlin," Shamma said after a recent performance. [02:39.44]It was the first of four concerts he is holding in Baghdad this month. [02:45.64]The concerts aim to bring attention to Iraq's worsening education system. [02:50.80]The education system has suffered under years of conflict, [02:55.12]government carelessness and corruption. [02:57.72]The World Bank says that education levels in Iraq [03:02.08]are now among the lowest in the Middle East and North Africa. [03:05.88]They were once considered one of the highest in the area. [03:09.32]Money gained from the concerts will go toward [03:12.72]improving the Music and Ballet School in Baghdad. [03:16.16]"In Iraq, there are still schools made of mud, [03:20.40]and students don't have desks, they sit on the floor," Shamma said. [03:25.76]"Education is the solution and answer for the future of Iraq." [03:30.60]Shamma is known for using his fame to support causes [03:34.88]that help people, children, and art. [03:37.28]A few years ago, he led an effort [03:40.32]that rebuilt 21 destroyed main squares in Baghdad. [03:44.64]He is also a UNESCO peace ambassador. [03:48.40]Shamma said he hopes he can return to Iraq permanently soon. [03:53.60]He has several other projects in mind for the country's reconstruction. [03:59.80]Fatima Mohammed, a 55-year-old Iraqi woman, [04:03.68]attended the Friday concert. [04:06.40]She said the event was a message to everyone [04:09.44]that Baghdad will never die. [04:11.76]"I felt as I witnessed the women playing [04:15.08]that Baghdad is fine and will return [04:17.96]despite all the pain that we carry with us," she said. [04:22.56]"I will come tomorrow also to listen to music, [04:25.68]it gives me hope in life." [04:28.72]I'm Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM