A musical instrument that was shot up by Iraqi militants has been restored to its prior glory and returned to its owner in Calgary.
Tariq Abdul-Razzaq, who spent two decades as a member of the Iraqi Symphony Orchestra, says his cello literally saved his life.
One night, in 2014, after performing at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, he was approached by armed militants who claimed that the symphony鈥檚 music was blasphemous.
鈥淭he music in this country鈥e don鈥檛 like it,鈥� Abdul-Razzaq said the militants told him. 鈥淪o just stop or we will kill you.鈥�
Abdul-Razzaq refused to follow through with their demands and the militants opened fire on him in his car, but the cello stopped the bullets from hitting him and he was unhurt.
Almost immediately, he and his family fled Iraq for Turkey, where they lived in a refugee camp for three years. His family moved to Calgary this spring and he was sponsored by a fellow cellist.
Natanel Sasaki, an expert in repairing stringed instruments who heard Abdul-Razzaq鈥檚 story, offered to repair the cello for free.
It took six months of work, but in the end, the cello was repaired and returned to its owner.
鈥淚 feel like a bird the first time when he flies,鈥� Abudl-Razzaq said of the reunion with his instrument.
Now, he is the newest member of the Calgary Civic Orchestra.
With a report from CTV Calgary鈥檚 Kevin Green and CTV鈥檚 Alberta Bureau Chief Janet Dirks
