one of them is issam.d asylum in america in 2013 after being invited to teach music in a university here. i watch bombs, i watch all kind of military issues, and nobody knows when the bomb will come. did you know people that have been killed? a lot, you know, a lot of my friends, a lot of relatives as well. his father and sisters are still living in damascus. he hasn't seen them since he left. syria, what does syria mean for me, actually, family, you know? hopefully this will be, like, a bad dream, maybe, and to have a better life, so... accent. before the war, he, his sister and brother all played in the syrian national orchestra for arabic music. issam took over the orchestra in 2003 and conducted them for ten years, touring europe and the middle east. when he left, he didn't know if he would ever lead them again. but that could be about to change. international organisers are trying to bring the orchestra to europe for a one—off tour that would reunite musicians from inside syria and those now living ab