- Dec 6, 2009
- 77,665
- 4,167
- 1,815
Sarah, Abdelaziz and Anda have found a welcome distraction from Palestines troubles: music. They and 120 other girls and boys are enrolled in the Gaza Music School, a program of the A.M. Qattan Foundation launched in 2008.
Standing in front of a choir of dozens of children, 11-year-old Sarah sang an English-language song called I have a dream. Her guitar teacher, Ahmad Abu Amsha, and the schools academic coordinator, veteran musician Ibrahim al-Najjar, watched with pride.
Tucked inside an area of just 320 squared meters, the school is located in the building of the Palestine Red Crescent Society in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City. The school has since relaunched after it was destroyed during Israels three-week attack on the Gaza Strip in winter 2008-09, just days after its inaugural public performance.
Abdelaziz Abu Sharekh, an 11-year-old boy from the same neighborhood, played a traditional stringed instrument called a qanoun. One of the songs that he played was The air breezed upon us, made famous by the Lebanese living legend Fairouz.
Rebuilt Gaza Music School hopes to reach more children | The Electronic Intifada