14 November 2006

Interview

BEIRUT: "He who polluted my land with his blood is now gone. He ran away like a lost subservient, like any coward ... He was defeated, Lebanon triumphed," sang Julia Boutros Friday night at the Forum de Beyrouth, using her voice to interpret Israel's latest war against Lebanon. With these words, which set a 6,000-strong audience ablaze, the Lebanese singer best known for her patriotic songs opened a regional fundraising tour entitled "Ahibaii," or "My Beloved Ones." All proceeds from Boutros' concerts will go to the families of those killed in Lebanon during the 34-day war, which saw the deaths of more than 1,000 civilians.

"Tonight I will sing for my beloved country, which has a special place in my heart," Boutros told her audience. "Especially after the July war, I grew more proud of it, of this great country."

During the show, Boutros asked the crowd to sing along with her on such songs as "We Love You, Yes We Love You." She also asked members of the audience to dedicate the words to someone they hate.

"I myself can now think of a few people I hate and to whom I will dedicate this song, so I would like you to imagine someone you hate and sing this song with me for him," she said.

The crowd, in turn, sang along with her ad verbatim for almost every song.

After a brief interlude, Boutros revisited some of her classics, ranging from love songs such as "Tsawar" ("Imagine") and "Wayn Msafir?" ("Where Are You Traveling?") to patriotic anthems such as "Ya Thuwar al-Arid" ("Revolutionaries of the Land"), "Nihna al-Thawra" ("We Are the Revolution").

Boutros coaxed her fans out of their seats, applauding, singing, cheering, raising fists in the air and waving the flags of Hizbullah and the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party.

The highlight of Boutros' sold-out Beirut concert, however, was "Ahibaii," her latest single, an adaptation of one of Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speeches, addressed to his fighters during this past summer's war.

"I listened to your letter, and it had pride and faith, for you are as you said. God's men in the field ... a true promise you are, and our coming victory.

"I kiss the nobleness of your feet, they honor the honor, they were planted in the glory of our land, and thus they do not stumble or shake.

"With you, we will change the world, and make the destiny hear our voice. With you we will build the nice future. With you we will move on and triumph."

In an interview with The Daily Star before her concert Friday, Boutros says the latest round of violence in Lebanon moved her in ways she had never experienced before.

"When I saw so many people getting massacred, killed and displaced, I felt I needed to take a stand, to speak out," Boutros explains.

For this reason, she decided to adapt one of Nasrallah's speeches, which she said expressed her deepest feelings and thoughts, with the help of Lebanese poet Ghassan Matar and composer Ziad Boutros (her brother).

Boutros hopes to raise $1 million during her tour. She performed in Qatar on Monday, with concerts to follow in Dubai (November 14), Damascus (November 16) and Aleppo (November 18).

Boutros is also keen to perform the Nasrallah song in Europe and the United States, though no official dates have been set yet.

"Ahibaii" has garnered much attention since Boutros held a news conference to launch the single in September.

One question she has so far refused to answer, however, is whether or not she asked for permission from Hizbullah to transform the party leader's speech to song.

"Maybe yes, maybe no," she says. "Let's keep it this way."

The only Arab singer to embark on such an ambitious fundraising tour in the wake of Israeli military action was Umm Kulthoum, who did so after the war of 1967.

The Egyptian icon traveled around the world, raising not only hard currency but also people's morale, stirring the emotions and forging the solidarity of the Arab world.

Boutros says that through her tour she is trying to unite the Lebanese behind Lebanon and the resistance. She is also trying to unite the Arab world behind the resistance because, as she explains it, Hizbullah is the only power capable of defeating Israel.

"When I sing ["Ahibaii"], I feel so much in love with the resistance," she says. "I want the Lebanese people to believe in a united Lebanon that cannot be divided into sects. I am a Christian Maronite and I am singing for the South because the South is part of Lebanon."

Still, by singing Nasrallah's words, Boutros has effectively sided with one camp at a time when national unity is fragile to nonexistent in Lebanon. In doing so, she risks losing fans. However, she insists this doesn't matter as long as she is true to herself.

"The important thing is what I gained," she says. "I gained many people, I gained a position that I am proud of because there are certain things that matter more than money.

"There is a feeling ... that cannot be valued with money ... I am proud I took a stand without fear or hesitation, and I too have accomplished a victory, like that which Lebanon has accomplished."

The single "Ahibaii" costs about $14 and includes a CD and DVD with a music video that was filmed partially in Bint Jbeil, a village in South Lebanon that was heavily damaged in the war.

In the video, Boutros is dressed in black, sings amid devastated neighborhoods and walks with dozens of children through a vast field of destroyed homes.

At one point in the video, a Hizbullah fighter is seen emerging from battle with weapon in hand. It isn't particularly subtle, but it's the talk of the town.