Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Heidi S. Affi

Heidi Sarah Affi is an editorial assistant for MERIP and a PhD student in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter.

Listening to the Jazira—Songs as Counter Archives in Northeast Syria
Syrian Kurdish men, women and children dance the dabke in a meadow to celebrate the spring holiday of Nowruz near the town of Qahtaniyah in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province, March 2020. Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images
Syria

Listening to the Jazira—Songs as Counter Archives in Northeast Syria

Local shaabi music legend Khader al Nasser calls himself the “master” as he professes to teach a group of young women about love while plucking chickens in an old music video circulating on YouTube. Eventually a group of women elders kick him out for his mischievousness. It is ridiculous, endearing
Heidi S. Affi • 11 min read