Qusai Abtini (2002 - July 8, 2016,

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

) was a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

who starred in the

sit-com A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

''Umm Abdou the Aleppan'' broadcast by

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian gover ...

outlet Halab Today TV.

History

He was recruited from the Abdulrahman Ghaafiqi School, where he had started acting in the seventh grade. All the filming took place in the

Ancient City of Aleppo The Ancient City of Aleppo ( ar, مدينة حلب القديمة, Madīnat Ḥalab al-Qadīma) is the historic city centre of Aleppo, Syria. Before the Syrian Civil War, many districts of the ancient city remained essentially unchanged since it ...

. He joined his first street protests when he was eight, alongside his elder brother Assad. His brother joined the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

while Qusai took a first-aid course at the Jerusalem hospital. His acting career included video tours lamenting the state of ruined Aleppo, and school plays in which he played a rebel soldier in full fighting gear.

''Umm Abdou the Aleppan''

He played patriarch Abu Abdou in the

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

''Umm Abdou the Aleppan'', which aired on Syrian opposition channel Halab Today TV and on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. The show's cast was composed entirely of children who played adult characters, and was produced in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

during the Syrian civil war, dealing with life in Aleppo during wartime. Abtini played the husband of the titular character, Umm Abdou, who was played by his friend Rasha. Abtini appeared in the first year of the production, but as he aged into adolescence he was replaced by a younger actor for the second series. This actor, Subhi, left Syria with his family in 2016.

Death

As the siege of Aleppo tightened in July 2016, his father decided to take him to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He was killed July 8, 2016 in an air strike by the

Syrian Arab Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War * ...

, aged 14, while traveling in a car with his father in Aleppo. His father survived.

References

External links

Report of Abtini's death by the BBC

Abtini's obituary in ''The Economist''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abtini, Qusai 21st-century Syrian male actors 2016 deaths Syrian children Deaths by airstrike during the Syrian civil war 2002 births Male child actors Asian child actors