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Friday,
February 20, 2016 was a memorable occasion as many
people from Ramallah and Jerusalem gathered at the Naseeb Shaheen
Auditorium at Birzeit University to attend a concert. We were sorry
that Naseeb had passed away
before seeing this great achievement completed. In fact the auditorium
is the fourth building
on the campus contributed by the Shaheen family.
The young musicians of the Edward Said National Conservatory
of Music were privileged to join the Palestine National Orchestra and a
few guests from the Geneva Conservatory
of Music in the last of three performances under the baton of the Swiss and
Australian conductor Elena Schwarz. They
had already been in Bethlehem,
and in Nablus at Al-Najah
University. The program included a composition by
Salvador Arnita, a Palestinian who had taught at Birzeit when it was a high
school before 1948 (Images of Palestine,
from Suite no. 4 “Oriental Sketches.” It
also included “Wedding,” composed by the renowned Syrian composer Kinan Azmeh,
who was the first Arab to win the top prize at the Nocolay Rubinstein
International Competition in Moscow
in 1997.
Dima Bawwab a young Jordanian Soprano excelled in Puccini’s
Quando m’en vo, from “La Boheme,” and O mio babbino cara from “Gianni Schicchi.” She also sang
Agustin Lara’s Grenada
which was beautiful and lively,
especially with the accompanying percussions. Attached is a photo.
As
I was listening and watching the bright faces of those
young musicians, while enjoying the
comfortable seat in this beautiful and newly inaugurated auditorium, I
tried to
forget for a moment all about the occupation outside this small haven.
Yet I could not help but wonder. Will this nightmare ever come to an
end? Despite what we have gone through, we have
been able to establish universities and institutions and hold on with
our
“Sumud” trying to provide our youth with a glimpse of hope for a better
future. Will that day ever come? Don’t we deserve a better life?
Don’t all those young people languishing in
Israeli jails have a right to freedom. I
kept hoping this concert will be a celebration for the freedom of
Mohamed
Al-Qiq, a graduate of Birzeit
University who has been
wrestling for his life after a long hunger strike in protest of his
administrative
detention without charge or trial.
On the way to the car I was sharing my thoughts with
Leen, the ten-year old granddaughter of
my sister. She held on my hand and
said: I think we should do something
about it! With the wisdom of children, I rest my case. Samia
