Music Behind Sednaya's Bars

Thirty years ago, a group of political prisoners formed a band inside the cells of Syria’s notorious Sednaya Prison—dubbed the "Human Slaughterhouse" by Amnesty International in 2017—to resist the oppressive noise that deepened their suffering. Using makeshift instruments crafted from food scraps, clothing threads, and other prison materials, they whispered and played their songs in secret. For the first time, 34 of these songs were documented through Eylaf Bader Eddin’s research on Sijniyya, a newly coined term for Syrian prison songs within the country’s cultural field. Now, decades later, several of these musicians have reunited to perform live, using replicas of the instruments they originally built in prison. This concert sheds light on the resilience and creative resistance that emerged within Syria’s prison system. Davidson College and its community are invited to witness this extraordinary U.S. premiere, followed by a discussion.