TUNISIA: Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife pays tribute to the children of Gaza during his performance at the Carthage International Festival

Record ID: 238236

  • Title: TUNISIA: Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife pays tribute to the children of Gaza during his performance at the Carthage International Festival
  • Date: 3rd August 2014
  • Summary: KHALIFE AND AL-KHALIL STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER ON STAGE AND SINGING STAGE DURING PERFORMANCE KHALIFE AND AL-KHALIL SINGING KHALIFE ON STAGE CONDUCTOR KHALIFE AND AL-KHALIL IN FRONT OF ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR AL-KHALIL ON STAGE MUSICIANS STAGE VIOLINISTS MUSICIANS ON STAGE MUSICIANS PLAYING DOUBLE BASS VARIOUS OF KHALIFE AND AL-KHALIL STANDING ON STAGE SURROUNDED BY ORCHESTRA DRUMS VARIOUS OF KHALIFE AND AL-KHALIL SINGING
  • Embargoed: 18th August 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Tunisia
  • Country: Tunisia
  • Topics: Conflict,Entertainment,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3KQL5JVUDKCTNAOSGBNCDLDR5
  • Story Text: Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife dedicated his performance at the Carthage International Festival to the children of Gaza on Thursday (July 31).
    Khalife, a composer, singer and oud player, walked on stage at the Carthage Amphitheatre to rapturous applause, as Tunisia's oldest and biggest music festival celebrated its 50th anniversary.
    The concert was divided into two parts: in the first he performed alongside Lebanese singer Oumaima al-Khalil and Tunisia's national orchestra, presenting songs inspired by the work of the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. In the second half of the evening Khalife performed some of his other famous numbers as the crowd sang along.
    Khalife, who was born in Lebanon in 1950, rose to fame in 1975 with songs like Ummi (My Mother) and Jawaz al-Safar (Passport), based on Mahmoud Darwish's poetry.
    After the performance, Khalife said he sang for the people of Tunisia as well as the children of Gaza.
    "Tonight's performance is a greeting to Tunisia, a greeting to the youth that shouted in the streets and asked for freedom, a greeting to the echo of their voices. It's also a greeting to the martyrs, Tunisia's martyrs, and a greeting to the children of Gaza who are dying everyday because of this vicious war led by Israel," Khalife said.
    Khalife's music is known for its focus on freedom and nationalism, and some of his songs became anthems to the revolutions in the Arab world over the past two years.
    Over his long career, Khalife has received many honours and awards, including the the Palestinian Award for music in 1999 and more recently, the UNESCO Artist for Peace awards in 2005.
    Tunisia's Minister of Culture, Mourad Sakli, said Khalife's popularity could be attributed to the way he connected with the public.
    "Gaza is going through hard times and for sure with Marcel Khalife there must be a crossover. Today there was a coming together between Marcel Khalife, the Palestinian cause and the public, not forgetting the Tunisian martyrs. This is how the festival has to be, up-to-date with its environment, that's how an artist keeps the support of his audience," Sakli said.
    Israel began its air and naval offensive against Gaza on July 8 following a surge of cross-border rocket salvoes by Hamas and other guerrillas, later escalating the operation into ground incursions.
    Fighting on Sunday (August 3) pushed the Gaza death toll given by Palestinian officials to 1,766, most of them civilians. Israel has confirmed that 64 soldiers have died in combat, while Palestinian rockets have also killed three civilians in Israel.
    Khalife's tribute to Gaza struck a chord with some of his fans.
    "His voice and songs are really nice and I like that. I was saddened when he dedicated a song to the children of Gaza," said one boy at the concert.
    Another audience member said Khalife was in tune with ongoing crises in the region.
    "He is in tune with the mood and rhythm of Arab societies and social situations, with the war, the situation in Syria, Tunisia, Libya and in Gaza," the audience member said.
    Some of the thousands of spectators at the Roman Amphitheatre of Carthage waved Palestinian and Tunisian flags throughout the concert.
    The Carthage festival, which was first held in 1964, will stage many performances throughout July and August covering many musical styles.
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