I can’t claim to have ever seen a full episode of Arab Idol… Yet, I have in the past days gained a new interested due to one of the three finalists: Mohammed Assaf.
This week as I travelled Palestine, visiting my friend Marah’s family in Nablus and a nearby village, Jen Safout, I kept hearing about Mohammed Assaf. He has an amazing story. Assaf, a young 23 year old Palestinian refugee from Khan Younis Camp in Gaza, has risen to stardom and is now the favorite to win Arab Idol.
Gaza has been under blockade by Israel since 2007. The land and naval blockade means that 1.7 million people are locked into the 62 square km Gaza Strip — one of the most densely populated areas on earth. In contravention of international law, Israel restricts Gazan’s imports and exports, access to the water, and freedom of movement. The blockade has crippled Gaza’s economy, resulting in an over 30% unemployment rate and 70% of the population is dependent on aid to survive. The blockade collectively punishes the Palestinians of Gaza, degrading their living conditions and depriving them of a chance to live normal lives.
To leave Gaza, there are only two land crossings – Erez Crossing with Israel and Rafah Crossing with Egypt. Until 2011, Rafah was closed and movement through Erez was limited to people granted permits through an arduous process that meets the Israeli criteria for an exceptional case. Now, Rafah is open to Palestinian passport holders – one access point for 1.7 million people to the outside world.
However, there are still stipulations. Most notably, the majority of men between the ages of 18 and 40 need to go through a time-consuming bureacracy and get a permit to leave. Often, this results in men being turned away from the crossing.
This is what makes Mohammed Assaf’s story so remarkable. He actually managed to leave Gaza — with the purpose of attending Arab Idol auditions in Egypt.
However, the border crossing took a long time and delayed him so much that all the audition numbers had been given out by the time he arrived. Yet he started singing in the hall, where a fellow Palestinian overheard…and gave Assaf his number. The rest is history – he auditioned, was accepted, and the judges/audience have fallen in love with him throughout the season.
Last night, we were sitting outside when our hosts heard his voice from the tv inside singing a famous Palestinian song… and we all dashed in to watch the performance. It was the first time I actually saw Assaf and heard his voice. He deserves all the hype.
All over Palestine, people were talking about him. The pride of the people – a different face for Palestinians – a symbol of hope.
If anything, I think the most important thing about his story is that Mohammed Assaf is just an ordinary guy —> 23 years old, handsome, charming, great talent.
Yet he is also from a place that is not well understood, nor recognized for its suffering. When it comes to Gaza, it seems like media forgets that the people… are people… seeking to live a normal life — not a group of terrorists nor statistics in a news report.
I doubt there is a better way to send my generation of Americans that reminder, “they are people, just like me and you” than the below video:
Needless to say, I will be tuning in with the rest of the Arab world tonight, hoping Mohammed Assaf brings one home for the Palestinians.
Julie in Jordan! 