It's a long way from Carnegie Hall, but this unlikely venue is exactly where this cellist needs to play. Emad Mercy is a Syrian cellist who's toured the world. Now, he's returned to Damascus performing in the rubble of Syria's capital. The Arab nation was devastated by a years-long civil war, which only ended in 2024 with the abdication of authoritarian president Bashar al-Assad. But Syria's woes are not behind her. The country is in ruins, literally, as Mercy is trying to show. Mercy told reporters that music, an international language, can express both the pain and hope that run through his country. And his rendition of the Syrian anthem is a cry for help. For the children orphaned by the war, and for a country that is trying to

rebuild.