Free Bassel





Something different for the Junto this week: a soundtrack for images of an ancient city inspired by the work of a computer programmer detained in Syria.

Wasn't sure at first how to approach this, I really wanted to play bass but that didn't seem right. I didn't want to create a sense 'orientalism' either and hopefully this doesn't sound like a bad interpretation of the Muslim call to prayer because that wasn't my intention either.

My idea to sing was based on the idea that the human voice is timeless but also, given the subject matter, it was about giving a voice to those who are silenced.

This Junto underlined how messed up the situation is in Syria by giving it a face with the life story of Bassel Khartabil, who interested me for his work with Creative Commons, an alternative to copyright I've been using for almost 10 years. For much of the weekend my thoughts have been wondering about his family and those of other people detained or missing in Syria.