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United as One: A Song of Hope and Determination

31 December 2020

Over the past two years, 23 talented Palestine refugee youth teamed up with a group of professional musicians from around the world to release a message of hope and unity for the world through a song.  Under the leadership of Italian cultural manager Paolo Petrocelli (Founder and President of EMMA for Peace, an international NGO for the promotion of music diplomacy), “United as One” – a song that embodies the resilience and hope of refugee youth - is released on 31 December 2020 to mark the end of an extraordinarily difficult year for Palestine refugees and to usher in a more hopeful 2021. Watch the inspiring video here.

All 23 students who participated in this project are members of the 2018/2019 UNRWA Agency-wide Student Parliament representing the voices of over half a million Palestine refugee girls and boys studying in more than 700 schools operated by the Agency in Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The idea was born during a November 2018 workshop when the student parliamentarians, frustrated at their limited opportunities for self-expression, articulated an interested in using music to make their voices heard around the world. The student parliamentarians tried repeatedly to meet in-person with their musician-mentors, but unfortunately, security restrictions, and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic, made this impossible. Undeterred, students and artists continued to compose the song over video conferences, recording their performances using mobile phones and any other equipment they could access. Hanan Abu Asabeh from the West Bank: “The work that went into producing this song was not easy! But at the same time, it was very interesting and rewarding. We united our voices as Palestine refugee students so that we could tell the world of our struggles and strive to obtain our most basic human rights of education, safety, and peace. This is what we want as children living in these tragic conditions. I want joy, love and peace to fill the hearts of the children of Palestine when they listen to this song. Our hearts are like doves of peace, chasing and flying after our freedom. “ © 2020 UNRWA Photo by Ahmad WaheidiThrough this first initiative of its kind, the students hoped to send the world a message of determination, unity, and peace – even in the face of conflict, joblessness and now, a devastating global pandemic. Nour al-Homsi from Syria says that she felt immense joy and happiness while working on the song: “It felt as though we were all working together, hand-in-hand-, not separated due to our various circumstances.” She added, “This song is very powerful because it highlights a variety of cultures and customs through the different international artists we worked with, as well as my fellow students. It also expresses our feelings towards what we care about, what our basic human rights are and conveys the voices of thousands of Palestine refugee children like us.” © 2020 Photo courtesy of Nour al-HomsUnder the artistic leadership of Italian cultural manager Paolo Petrocelli, who is the founder and president of EMMA for PEACE, the project brought together music professionals from Italy, Jordan and the United States: “We all – students, musicians and cultural operators – worked together as one team. Through music, we were able to break down all language barriers and cultural differences. The song we have created is the new anthem of young Palestine refugees: a message of peace and love for all of humanity. For the first time, living through the COVID-19 pandemic, we, too, experienced everywhere in the world, for a limited period of time, difficulties in freedom of movement and living under a state of emergency. Although this does not compare to the reality that the people in Gaza are living, we are able to gain a glimpse of their suffering. With this song, we turned their grief and sense of helplessness into strength and hope.” © Photo courtesy of Paolo PetrocelliThe songwriter Jordan De Maio from the USA/Italy said, “Our job wasn't to create but to listen to the young Palestinian refugees, to understand how they saw the song and to try to carve out their vision.” © 2020 UNRWA PhotoThe songwriter Jordan De Maio from the USA/Italy said, “Our job wasn't to create but to listen to the young Palestinian refugees, to understand how they saw the song and to try to carve out their vision.” © 2020 UNRWA PhotoFor Amir Issaa, a rap artist from Italy, it was amazing to work on a song aimed a communicating students’ voices: “For the first time I got to know my Arabic roots by working closely with these wonderful children.” © 2020 Photo courtesy of Amir IssaaAmerican singer song-writer Lydia Lyon from the United States said that, "Hearing the stories of refugees and seeing their passion for music and life has inspired us – we want to make every effort to make their voices heard around the world through art and music.” © 2020 UNRWA PhotoFor singer Zeina Barhoum from Jordan, the project has reinforced the importance of heritage and family as she recalls, "My grandfather has always been telling us his stories in Palestine and every work I do with Palestine refugees still touches me greatly and wonderfully." © 2020 UNRWA PhotoFor these young Palestine refugees, music has provided a much-needed escape from an often difficult reality. The beauty of the music and passion of the students shines through, with powerful lyrics: “Despite the challenges despite the worries, our hope lasts. We want to write with the ink of freedom and love, new unforgotten pages and color them with you for a new future and a new day.” © 2020 UNRWA Photo

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