My life collecting the folk songs of Iraq

Sa'di al-Hadithi is one of Iraq's best-loved vocalists, known for researching, collecting and translating the folk songs and poetry from the area around the city of Haditha, where he grew up. Raised mostly by his grandmother, his memories of childhood are full of music and poetry, and of the love of his family - but following the Ba'ath party's rise to power in Iraq in the 1960s, he was imprisoned for five years on the false charge of being a communist. He tells Emily Webb about why his years in prison were far from a cultural wasteland, his international singing career, and his enduring sense of love and duty to the songs he collected as a young man in Haditha.

When Rikke Schmit Kjaegaard fell seriously ill with bacterial meningitis no one thought she would make it. She survived but found herself in a terrifying situation, she couldn't talk and the only part of her body she could move was her eyes. At first, no one was aware she was conscious, but then someone noticed her attempts to communicate through the blink of her eyes. For this story Saskia Edwards spoke to Rikke and Peter Kjaergaard in June 2018.

Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Laura Thomas

Photo and credit: Sa'di al-Hadithi

Get in touch: [email protected]