Ebdo Mihemed () or Abdo MohamadToivonen, Janne: "Pensseli-Setä" saapui riemuiten Suomeen, Helsingin Sanomat, November 5, 2009, page A 12. () is a Syrian Kurdish wedding singer from Efrin.Pensseli-setä löytyi Syyriasta, Helsingin Sanomat. Accessed on November 7, 2009. He became popular in Finland in the autumn of 2009 due to a YouTube video which attracted over two million viewers, and reached at over four million views as of November 2018.Pensseli-setä on Suomessa, Iltalehti, November 7, 2009. Accessed on 20 November 2009.
On the video, the Kurdish language song "Pinsedî Zêde" ("Over Five Hundred") sung by Mihemed is buffalaxed into Finnish, witht the soramimi being called "Niilin hanhet" ("The Geese of the Nile") after a phrase repeated in the refrain. Another phrase repeated in the soramimi is Pensseli-setä ("Uncle Paintbrush"), which also became Mihemed's nickname in Finland. Several other videos of Mihemed buffalaxed into Finnish have also appeared on YouTube, such as "Mursuvaara" ("The Walrus Danger"), "Lakana" ("The Sheet") and "Mihemmedin Eskimolaulu" ("Mihemmed's Eskimo Song").
The television production company Filmiteollisuus brought Mihemed to perform in Finland in November 2009. He appeared on the show Ne Salmiset. On December 9, 2009, his music album Pensseli-setä was released in Finland.Helsingin Sanomat: Pensselisetä Abdo Mohamad julkaisee joulukuussa albumin. Accessed 23 November 2009. He toured Finland a second time in February 2010, where he has since not appeared. In 2011 and 2012, he was the local contact for the Finnish media for reporting events in the Syrian civil war.
Face of the Syrian civil war in Finland A national uprising started in Syria in early 2011, as a part of the events in the Arab spring. Reporter Ville Similä from Helsingin Sanomat asked in June 2011 what had happened to Mihemed in the midst of the situation which had escalated into war. Mihemed reported from Aleppo that "it is still quite peaceful here" and "most people try to live like before. In the evening people go out to smoke shishas." He also reported that people are afraid to go out at night, and the streets are full of police and soldiers. Mihemed told the reporters that he had continued working as a wedding singer despite the conflict, mostly in weddings in villages near Aleppo.Pensseli-setä sodan jaloissa 12 June 2011, Helsingin Sanomat. Accessed 22 March 2012.
The tabloid newspaper Iltalehti asked Mihemed's friend, Al Hanan Saydo, about Mihemed in May 2012. According to Saydo, Mihemed had very little work because very few weddings are being held in the time of the civil war. Saydo also reported that considering the circumstances, Mihemed is well.Pensseli-setä pulassa sodan keskellä! 2 May 2012, Iltalehti. Accessed 29 June 2012.
As the battles continued to Aleppo in summer 2012, Mihemed escaped from the war together with his wife and two youngest children first to Turkey, attempting to get a visa to go to Finland. When this failed, the family travelled illegally to Greece, and in spring 2013 continued to Sweden where Mihemed's wife's relatives live.Pensselisetä pakeni Ruotsiin, kun Suomi ei ottanut, Helsingin Sanomat 19 December 2013. Accessed on 19 December 2013.
See also Internet phenomenon
References