Ode to Resistance

Amid turmoil in Gaza from Israeli attacks and the spread of the coronavirus,
Haider Eid shares a celebration of Palestinian life and resistance.
B Y   H A I D A R E I D   AUGUST 31, 2020

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As Israel continues its bombing of Gaza for the 15th night in a row,
while our sole power plant is forced to shut due to Israel’s decision to
ban fuel from entering the Strip, and amid the spread of the coronavirus
outside quarantine facilities, artists in Gaza have produced a new video
clip. It comes as part of a creative project produced in besieged Gaza,
Occupied Palestine, where a group of activists and artists came together
in order to highlight:
1. The Palestine that every refugee is dreaming to return to;

2. Resistance to Israeli occupation and apartheid; and

3. The links with progressive Arab forces and the Arab Spring.

It is an established fact that:

Two million Gazans are trapped in the world’s largest prison.

Thirteen years of Israel’s brutal siege by land, sea and air has devastated
every aspect of life in the Strip.

97% of Gaza’s aquifer water is undrinkable, 52% of our essential drugs

are at zero stock, and over 50% of the population is unemployed.

Gazans suffer chronic water, medicine, fuel and food shortages.

Add to this the latest COVID-19 cases that have been reported with only
66 ventilators for the 2 million residents of the strip. Unlike the
pandemic all over the world, in Gaza it is allowed to spread simply
because apartheid Israel has decided to tighten the medieval siege.
The UN already predicted that by 2020 Gaza would be uninhabitable.
And we are already there!

Despite our situation, we, in Gaza have never stopped fighting for
freedom and justice. Hence, the video clip. As activists and artists, we
cannot stand by while Gaza’s entire population is slowly dying the hands
of one of the most sadistic colonial powers.

This is why we wanted to highlight not only the suffering of our people,

but their resilience and resistance. Students, children, elderly,
shopkeepers, women, girls, worshippers, stone throwers, GFM
protesters, fishermen, mothers, fathers…

In addition to being a celebration of Palestinian life and resistance, the

clip is a tribute to the late Egyptian singer, Abdulhalim Hafez who was
the first to sing these songs during the progressive decades of the 1950’s
and 1960’s.
GAZAMUSIC