Palestinian singer releases song in support with those facing coronavirus, oppression

Award-winning Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti has released her latest song, Think of Others, in support of all those around the world who are resisting the Covid-19 pandemic and experiencing oppression.

The song, which is based on a poem with the same title by iconic Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, is captured in a video that meshes music with Darwish’s own voice reciting his poem and with images of communities fighting the pandemic, poverty, military occupation, racism and structural violence.

Projected on a rough Jerusalem-stone wall, the striking images include children in Yemen, Kashmir and Pakistan; a family in a Brazilian favela facing armed officers; a devastated Iraqi father holding his child; a hopeful scene from Wuhan; Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon; a healthcare worker in Italy; a parking lot used for the homeless in Las Vegas, among others.

The video was filmed with a single smartphone camera and produced by Nai Barghouti and Palestinian qanun player Khalil Khoury under lockdown conditions in Palestine. English translation of the poem is included in subtitles.

Commenting on the release of her song, Nai Barghouti said: “When I composed Mahmoud Darwish’s inspiring poem, Think of Others, I was indeed thinking of so many others. Of Palestinians under a 13-year ‘lockdown’ in Gaza, or in crowded refugee camps. Of communities fighting repression, poverty, racism and structural oppression. Of courageous medics and humanitarian workers worldwide resisting the pandemic.

“When humanity as a whole is facing this unique threat, I feel it is our moral duty to lift up the voices of particularly those who must cling on to hope for a more just and peaceful future while relentlessly resisting systems of injustice. This video is my attempt to fulfil this duty.”