From Mosul To Baghdad, A Song Of Iraqi Solidarity And Resistance

Mosul, Iraq, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Nov, 2019 ) :While Baghdad anti-regime protesters have clashed with riot police, their supporters in Mosul are using art to fight for change, with a new take on the resistance anthem "Bella Ciao".

In a viral music video clip, the World War II-era Italian anti-fascist song has been tweaked to "Blaya Chara" -- meaning "no way out" in Iraqi dialect.

It captures the fatalistic sentiment many young Iraqis hold towards their violence-torn homeland.

"I don't have heating, not a cent to spend. Why would I even study if there's no way out?" sings one gaunt performer, huddled under a blanket in a gutted building.

Others in the video, which has scored hundreds of thousands of hits despite frequent internet blackouts, hold up signs that read "Justice for our martyrs" and "I want my rights.

" Like activists elsewhere, they borrow from popular culture, donning the red jumpsuits and Dali masks of the Spanish Netflix hit series La Casa de Papel (Money Heist), which has revived the Italian classic.

Much of Iraq, especially Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south, has been gripped by a wave of street protests since October 1, decrying a lack of jobs, poor public services and endemic corruption.

But in Mosul, a mostly-Sunni city recaptured from the Islamic State militant group two years ago, social and political pressures have kept demonstrators from coming out in large numbers.

"The song is an artistic message of solidarity from Mosul to the protesters to say: our hearts are with you," said 25-year-old Abdulrahman al-Rubaye, the clip's director.