Musicians use their talents

Arab musicians record a song about the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip to help raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians caught in the hostilities.

Yassin Salman, a hip-hop artist who records under the name The Narcicyst, has recorded a song that he hopes will raise awareness of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

DUBAI // Arab musicians have recorded a song about the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip to help raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians caught in the hostilities. The song, Hamdulilah, which translates as "thanks to God", features Yassin Alsalman, a rapper who records under the name The Narcicyst, as well as Shadia Mansour, a British singer with Palestinian roots.

"While watching the news, I felt paralysed," said Alsalman, who was born in the UAE of Iraqi parents. "We feel like we can't do anything to change anything." He had intended to put the song up for sale and donate profits to the Palestinian people. But as the crisis worsened he decided to make the song freely available on the internet to raise awareness. It has already been downloaded 900 times. "This is about realising that human life, no matter what it is, is worth something. People are dying on such a mass scale, we need to stand up for people."

He said he would be interested to hear from any organisations willing to support distribution of song so it could raise some money. "I wanted to get the message out before anything. If there are any organisations that want to put it on their site for sale, I'd like them to contact me." Praising the role of young Arabs to support the Palestinians, he added: "The youth are doing the most for Palestine, more than anybody else, with the means we have. We need to tell the world to stop. If Arab leaders don't do anything, this will get bigger and bigger. It needs to be controlled."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has organised four simultaneous solidarity marches at 4pm in solidarity with the Palestinian people. They will take place at Abu Dhabi Corniche, Greek Park in Dubai, Khaled Lagoon in Sharjah and Manar Mall in Ras al Khaimah, the state new agency WAM reported last night. @Email:[e-mail]