May 2005

http://alawda.newjerseysolidarity.org

Montreal Benefit for Palestinian Refugees

My trip to Montreal to see the Palestinian folk singer and celebrity Abu Arab perform on February 6, 2005 was eye-opening. The concert was a fundraiser for Palestinian refugees facing deportation from Canada. The only thing that marred the wonderful weekend, was seeing heavy smog in the Adirondacks on the trip up. Indeed, I had arrived in Montreal in the midst of a smog alert.

Although the atmosphere may have been muddied, the plight of the more-than-one-hundred Palestinians refugees who currently face deportation from Canada is clear. Some of them could end up in the United States where they might face indefinite imprisonment.

It would be a supreme injustice for these international innocents whose only crime was to have been born to families who were expelled from Palestine to end up incarcerated by Israel's number one enabler, the U.S.A . It should be added that under President Bush America has gained the dubious distinction of being known as a habitual violator of the civil rights of Arabs and Muslims.

One major success of the strong campaign in support of these Palestinians facing deportation from Canada has been the struggle of three elderly Palestinians, the Ayoub family - Khalil Ayoub, his brother Nabih, and sister-in-law, Therese. Incredibly, in order to avoid arrest, they spent over a year in sanctuary in the church basement of Notre Dame de Grace. The three are Khalil Ayoub, his brother, Nabih, and sister-in-law, Therese. Immigration authorities stated the Ayoubs were persecuted in their refugee camp in Lebanon, but said they should have gone to another camp rather than to have come to Canada. With the backing of a strong movement, their application for refugee status was finally accepted by the Canadian government. Nonetheless, they have continued to live in the church while piecing together their lives in Montreal.

U.S. jails are said to be among the most brutal existing in the world. An example many will never forget is the plight of another stateless Palestinian, the late Farouk Abdel Muhti. He removed his shirt collar for me six weeks after his release from prison to reveal a large bruising and contusion pattern that was administered courtesy of a sheriff at the Bergen County Jail Annex in Hackensack, NJ.

Concordia University's Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, on the Loyola Campus in Montreal, was built in 1990. It is both acoustically and visually appealing. It's a handsome auditorium with stadium style seating and decorative horizontal birch woodwork forming the backdrop, as well as overhanging the proscenium.

The concert was the final leg of a whirlwind tour that saw Abu Arab, along with the Naji Al Ali Group, performing in Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor to raise awareness and funds for Palestinian refugees facing deportation from Canada. The Montreal performance was the final one of the tour.

It is not necessary to understand a language in order to comprehend the emotion and excitement conveyed by song and music. It is this phenomenon that explains the popularity of opera among international audiences most of whom do not speak Italian.

Still, during the legendary singer's performance, I found myself wishing that I could understand Arabic. It was amazing to be in the presence of this famous Palestinian singer. I wanted to know exactly what the 73 year old singer was saying that so animated and struck a responsive chord with an audience mostly comprised of young adults, many of whom were a quarter of his age. The concert was participatory too, as Abu Arab led the engaged audience in several sing-alongs.

As the singer connected with the audience, the overall impression was that the unassuming singer definitely conveyed an air of humility. His modesty made him appear eminently approachable, and I wish I had had the chance to speak with him one on one. What surely contributes to his powerful and emotional singing style is his refugee experience of being expelled from Palestine in 1948.

Indeed, Rabie Masri of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees explains why Abu Arab is perhaps the most popular Palestinian folk singer. Masri says, "His words reflect the reality of all Palestinians, especially those living in refugee camps. Abu Arab, born to a peasant family of poets, fled Palestine in 1948 and has lived as a refugee in Syria since.

Right before I sat down to evening to write this account, I had the misfortune of seeing Natan Sharansky, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Housing and Construction, appear on CSPAN. He said that he wouldn't be averse to giving rights to Palestinians if they met a set of various criteria for democracy contained in his book, "The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror" which he was now hawking on air. Sharansky should look no further than his adopted country, Israel, to realize that holding over three million Palestinians disenfranchised, imprisoned, encircled, bulldozed and hostage is apartheid rather democracy.

I'd remind Sharansky and all supporters of apartheid regimes that basic civil rights are universal rights, God-given if you will, and they are not yours to dole out or withhold. In a just world, Sharansky would be faced with a war crimes trial under article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention which states, "The Occupying Power shall not transfer parts of its own civilian population into territories it occupies."

In conclusion, I saw a concert in a city, Montreal, that had also seen strife, but where there is now multi-ethnic harmony. Indeed, "No justice no peace!" is not just a slogan shouted at demonstrations, but rather a truism.

For additional information on Palestinians facing deportation from Canada see:
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) http://www.sphr.org
The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees
http://refugees.resist.ca