Basim Jamal, 62 years old, was a cultural figure in the Iraqi millionaire city of Mosul. He worked as a music teacher, played the clarinet and ran a bookstore where the city’s intellectuals gathered.
Everything changed when the Islamic State occupied Mosul in 2014. Basim was beaten and imprisoned simply because of his profession. He was also banned from working as a music teacher.
– I wanted to continue living, so I fled, he says.
Hope to be able to work as a music teacher in Luleå
For two years he was a refuge musician in Umeå and performed numerous concerts. Now he is Luleå’s new sanctuary musician.
In addition to playing concerts, he hopes to be able to stay in Norrbotten and resume his profession as a music teacher.
– My job as a music teacher is about helping children and young people. They are the future, he says.
In the clip, Basim talks about the sadness of not being able to work as a music teacher and how he sees the future.