Syrian pianist who played for refugees to perform in Barcelona

Aeham Ahmad, 29, from the Syrian capital of Damasco kept his displaced compatriots entertained through their ordeal as they hid out in inhuman conditions in a refugee camp in Yarmouk, a few kiilometres from his home city, in April 2015 – until Jihad terrorists set fire to his piano.

Now, thanks to strings pulled by organisers of the International María Canals Music Contest and the Catalunya Peace Association, Aeham will play for audiences in Barcelona on Friday and Sunday, in a move aimed at sending out a message of hope to refugees and calling for help and awareness from the European public.

Aeham, whose videos of him playing in empty streets and the ruins of buildings to symbolise the horrors of the Syrian civil war went viral on social networks, is a refugee himself – the self-styled 'Islamic State', or DAESH, occupied 90% of the territory where the camp was based, forcing him and those living there to flee for their lives.

DAESH burnt his piano, since it forbids any type of cultural or artistic expression.

Ahmad made it to Turkey and then survived the perilous crossing to Greece, forced to leave his family behind as he did so.

He reached Germany, where he was given asylum and continues to live and, a year after his arrival, his wife and two children followed and they were reunited.

Two months ago, Aeham Ahmad was awarded the Beethoven International Prize for Human Rights, Peace, Inclusion and Fight Against Poverty.

The brave young musician will perform in Barcelona city on Friday and in the nearby town of Sant Boi de Llobregat on Sunday.