Hesham Modamani fled Syria following the disappearance of his brother and swam the eastern Mediterranean Sea with fellow Syrian Feras Abukhalif. Sean Cooney of The Young’Uns wrote the song Dark Water about what happened to Hesham and Feras. It was performed live at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival on 2 September 2017 as part of the acclaimed song cycle, The Transports – A Tale of Exile and Migration. Narration is by Matthew Crampton.
Hesham Modamani now lives in Berlin.
The Young ‘Uns acclaimed new album, titled Strangers, was released on 29 September 2017. They are touring across the UK from 11 October. The Transports – A Tale of Exile and Migration tours nationwide in January 2018, tickets on sale now. Matthew Crampton’s’ latest book is Human Cargo.