Photos: Music offers refuge from the misery of war in Yemen

For the young Yemenis who receive lessons from Abdullah El-Deb'y, a former member of the nation’s disbanded orchestra, music is a language of peace, offering refuge from the misery of Yemen’s devastating war. At the Cultural Centre in the national capital Sanaa, El-Deb’y offers free lessons to students eager to escape, at least psychologically, for a time the suffering caused by the three-year long war and is seeking to form a national orchestra comprised of young people amid the bombing.

Updated on: Apr 17, 2018 1:57 PM IST

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Yemeni music students play violins during a music class at the Cultural Centre in Sanaa, Yemen. For the young people who receive lessons from Abdullah El-Deb’y, music is a safe haven from the misery of Yemen’s devastating war. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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Abdullah El-Deb'y (C), instructs his students during a music class at the Cultural Centre. El-Deb’y offers free lessons to students eager to escape — at least psychologically — for a time the suffering caused by the war and is seeking to form a national orchestra amid the bombing comprised of young Yemenis. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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A student practicing playing the guitar is accompanied by a violinist. “I have a passion for music because it is the language of peace, especially considering the bad times we’re going through,” El-Deb’y said. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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A Saudi-led coalition has been at war with Iran-allied Houthi rebels for more than three years, devastating the Arab world’s poorest country. “Despite these circumstances, we will keep learning and playing music,” El-Deb’y said. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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A music student is reflected in a mirror as she practices playing the violin during a music class. The conflict has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis and Saudi-led airstrikes have killed thousands of civilians and destroyed hospitals, schools and markets. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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Abdullah El-Deb'y, holds out sheet music during one of his classes at the Cultural Centre in Sanaa. Students must worry about airstrikes when coming to class in a government building in the capital, Sanaa, and must sometimes seek shelter when fighter jets fly overhead. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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A female Yemeni music student practices playing Oud. As part of his “Learn Music For Free In Wartime” initiative, El-Deb’y gives students both theoretical and practical lessons. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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El-Deb’y (C), who is in his early 50s, has academic degrees in both Arabic and Western music and was part of a 40-musician national orchestra created in 1975 that eventually dissolved. (Hani Mohammed / AP)

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With the students he is training the dream of a national orchestra of young Yemenis, El-Deb’y hopes to revive an art form that he says has nearly vanished from Yemeni life. With the revival he hopes to pass on his expertise to create a new generation of musicians. (Hani Mohammed / AP)