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To Beirut With Peace… When Music Builds Nations

To Beirut With Peace… When Music Builds Nations
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To Beirut With Peace… When Music Builds Nations

To Beirut With Peace… When Music Builds Nations

When the August 4 explosion rocked Beirut, the Lebanese tenor Bechara Moufarrej was busy releasing his album “Road Trip.” He was excited to see his fans’ reactions, especially since it blends Oriental and Western music. In the aftermath of the disaster, the Lebanese tenor could not stand by and ignore its ramifications on the areas it obliterated and the people it harmed. So, he decided to launch a musical initiative to help those hurt by the explosion, and the song “Salam Li Bierut” (To Beirut with Peace) was born.

Written by Father Youhana Geha and composed by Fadi Kassis, the piece is the fruit of collaboration between Munich and Beirut.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Bechara Moufarrej explains: “This cooperation materialized through musician friends of mine who have close ties with the National Theater in Munich. From there, we came into contact with the German Ministry of Culture, which welcomed the idea of sponsoring a song that pays tribute to Beirut in the aftermath of the August 4 explosion.

Commenting on the song and its lyrics, he says: “At the beginning, my friend Fadi Kassis sent me the melody and told me I could use it for a song whose lyrics I could personally choose. After the disaster struck Beirut, I immediately thought of the melody and decided to turn it into a song that pays tribute to the afflicted capital. After contacting several poets in Lebanon, I chose Father Youhanna Geha. He understood the concept that I wanted to put into words with a song to my city, and it became akin to a prayer. Thus, the piece entitled One Thousand and One Nights, which I filmed in Lebanon’s Grand Theater, was born.

It was done in collaboration with the Bavarian State Opera orchestra and the German soprano Felicitas Fuchs-Wittekindt. From Lebanon, the Antonine University Choir and the maestro Tawfiq Maatouk took part.

Bachara thoroughly enjoyed working with the German musicians and institutions, telling us that “the German soprano Felicitas was very excited about singing in Arabic as part of a work dedicated to a capital she knew well. She has visited the city and has friends there. She learned Arabic and sang it in her wonderful style, putting her mark on the song with her elegant voice."

He adds: “Working in Munich, with one of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, was an honor unlike any other I had ever been granted. A work of this kind costs more than half a million euros. Nevertheless, the German Ministry of Culture generously undertook this initiative for Lebanon."

The song, which aims to draw online donations to help those hurt by the explosion, was produced in Munich and Beirut, in cooperation with the German “Schulterschluss Initiative.” Which the tenor explains: “is a well-known organization that helps the displaced in Lebanon.”

He adds that the organization suggested filming the piece in the Grand Theater, as those who run it are aware of its prominence during Beirut’s glory days.

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Baby Freezes to Death Overnight in Gaza as Israel, Hamas Trade Accusations of Ceasefire Delays

Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)
Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)
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Baby Freezes to Death Overnight in Gaza as Israel, Hamas Trade Accusations of Ceasefire Delays

Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)
Hundreds of displaced people are experiencing a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires and tents have grown increasingly threadbare over months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. (AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh; Production by Wafaa Shurafa)

A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war.

The 3-week old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza's tent camps in recent days, doctors said, deaths that underscore the squalid conditions, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli offensives.

Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps along the coast as the cold, wet winter sets in. Aid groups have struggled to deliver food and supplies and say there are shortages of blankets, warm clothing and firewood, The AP reported.

Israel has increased the amount of aid it allows into the territory, reaching an average of 130 trucks a day so far this month, up from around 70 a day in October and November. Still, the amount remains well below than previous months and the United Nations says it is unable to distribute more than half the aid because Israeli forces deny permission to move within Gaza or because of rampant lawlessness and theft from trucks.

The father of 3-week-old Sila, Mahmoud al-Faseeh, wrapped her in a blanket to try and keep her warm in their tent in the Muwasi area outside the town of Khan Younis, but it wasn't enough, he told The Associated Press.

He said the tent was not sealed from the wind and the ground was cold, as temperatures on Tuesday night dropped to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit.) Muwasi is a desolate area of dunes and farmland on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.

“It was very cold overnight and as adults we couldn’t even take it. We couldn’t stay warm,” he said. Sila woke up crying three times overnight and in the morning they found her unresponsive, her body stiff.

“She was like wood,” said al-Faseeh. They rushed her to a field hospital where doctors tried to revive her, but her lungs had already deteriorated. Images of Sila taken by the AP showed the little girl with purple lips, her pale skin blotchy.

Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, confirmed that the baby died of hypothermia. He said two other babies — one 3 days old, the other a month old — had been brought to the hospital over the past 48 hours after dying of hypothermia.

Meanwhile, hopes for a ceasefire looked complicated Wednesday, with Israel and the militant Hamas group that runs Gaza trading accusations of delaying an agreement. In recent weeks, the two sides appeared to be inching toward a deal that would bring home dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza, but differences have emerged.

Although Israel and Hamas have expressed optimism that progress was being made toward a deal, sticking points remain over the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, people involved in the talks say.

On Wednesday, Hamas accused Israel of introducing new conditions related to the withdrawal from Gaza, the prisoners and the return of displaced people, which it said was delaying the deal.

Israel's government accused Hamas of reneging on understandings that have already been reached.” Still, both sides said discussions are ongoing.

Israel’s negotiating team, which includes members from its intelligence agencies and the military, returned from Qatar on Tuesday evening for internal consultations, following a week of what it called “significant negotiations."

During its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Hamas and other groups took about 250 people hostages and brought them to Gaza. A previous truce in November 2023 freed more than 100 hostages, while others have been rescued or their remains have been recovered over the past year.

Israel says about 100 hostages remain in Gaza — at least a third whom it believes were killed during the Oct. 7 attack or died in captivity.

Sporadic talks have taken place for a year, but in recent weeks there's been a renewed push to reach a deal.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month for his second term, has demanded the immediate release of Israeli hostages, saying on social media that if they're not freed before he is sworn in, there will be “HELL TO PAY.”

Families of the hostages are becoming increasingly angry, calling on the Israeli government for a ceasefire before Trump is sworn in.

After Israel’s high-level negotiation team returned from Doha this week, hostage families called an emergency press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, pleading for a ceasefire and a complete end to the war.

Shir Siegel, the daughter of Israeli-American Keith Siegel, whose mother was released after more than 50 days in captivity, said every delay could endanger their lives. “There are moments when every second is fateful, and this is one of those moments,” she said.

Families of the hostages marked the first night of Hannukah with a candle lighting ceremony in Tel Aviv as well as by the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

The agreement would take effect in phases and include a halt in fighting, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and a surge in aid to the besieged Gaza, according to Egyptian, Hamas and American officials. The last phase would include the release of any remaining hostages, an end to the war and talks on reconstruction.