Ibrahim Qashoush was a fireman and amateur poet from Hama

Hama

Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria—behind Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs—with a population of 696,863...

, Syria.

During the 2011 Syrian uprising

2011 Syrian uprising

The 2011 Syrian uprising is an ongoing internal conflict occurring in Syria. Protests started on 26 January 2011, and escalated into an uprising by 15 March 2011...

, Qashoush was noted for singing and authoring songs mocking Syrian president Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...

 and the ruling Ba'ath party. The protest anthem, "Come on, Bashar, time to leave", is attributed to him.

On 4 July 2011, Qashoush was found dead in the Orontes River

Orontes River

The Orontes or ‘Āṣī is a river of Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.It was anciently the chief river of the Levant, also called Draco, Typhon and Axius...

, his throat cut and his vocal cords ripped out. After his murder, fellow protesters hailed Qashoush as the "nightingale of the revolution".