Hundreds of members of the Palestinian and Arab communities as well as those interested in Arab cultures and in solidarity responded to the call for solidarity with the victims of the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey launched by the Palestinian Forum in Britain during the annual Arab Communities Day (ACD) that was held in London on Saturday February 11 and the participants raised an amount of £20k in addition to the forum allocating the entire proceedings of the activity for the benefit of the earthquake victims
Artists Yahya Hawa Ammar Al-Khatib and Muhammad Habbash singer of Al-Asheqin Band participated in the event in addition to the distinguished participation of Sarah Al-Owaisi owner of the “Aqsa for Kids” program. The festival which was held in Harrow west London included; Children’s activities and popular Dabkeh performances. An exhibition of products that reflect Arab cultures and customs such as food clothing literary works and other manifestations of Arab civilization was also held. The audience interacted enthusiastically with the performances of the Yasmine Al-Sham Children’s Band and the Al-Fursan Dabkeh Ensemble in addition to the performance of the artists and their famous songs about Palestine and the Arab world.
The festival this year was distinguished by a large gathering of more than a thousand and five hundred participants from the Palestinian community and various Arab communities in addition to Britons interested in Arab cultures and in solidarity with the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. The Palestinian Forum was keen to include guests of various nationalities stressing the diversity of Arab cultures the comprehensiveness of their civilization and the depth of their history.
The presenter of the festival was the originally Tunisian Shaima Dalali the former president of the General Union of Students in Britain known for her permanent support for Palestine. Dalali is the embodiment of the cohesion of the Arab peoples as she was born to a Tunisian father and a Sudanese mother and is married to an Iraqi. Love for Jerusalem and Palestine beats in her heart and because of this love for Palestine she was recently subjected to a fierce campaign from the Israeli lobby in Britain.
The Yasmine Al-Sham Band opened the artistic performances with a performance of a traditional Palestinian Dabkeh by a group of children of the Palestinian community in Britain. Through their performance the children despite their geographical distance from Palestine emphasized the slogan of the great festival “Jerusalem brings us together.” Then Sarah Al-Owaisi who came from Scotland took the stage to present a distinguished educational segment for children about Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestine. The second section began with a poem inspired by original Arabic literature recited by the young woman Jana Abu Hilal and dedicated to Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque followed by another performance by the Yasmine Al-Sham Children’s Band during which they presented a Palestinian traditional Dabkeh to the tune of popular folk songs followed by the Egyptian artist Ammar Al-Khatib who performed a group of songs and sweet chants and the audience participated with great enthusiasm. It was followed by a distinguished performance by the Palestinian singer Muhammad Habbash who has been singing for Palestine since his childhood with the Al-Asheqin band. Habbash shared with the audience a group of his popular and epic songs about the Palestinian cause. Then Al-Fursaan Dabke group which came from London amazed the audience with an authentic performance of the traditional Palestinian Dabkeh. To conclude the segment the Syrian artist Yahya Hawa entertained the audience with his sweet voice and sang a group of his famous songs and chants with which the audience interacted greatly.
The head of the Palestinian Forum Zaher Birawi stated that the forum management decided this year to “transform the activity into a greater opportunity for solidarity with our injured people and with the families of the martyrs in addition to its general goal which is to unite on the love of Al-Aqsa and Palestine in order to provide an opportunity to express the unity of the entire nation in this difficult circumstance.” He added that the idea of this year’s Communities Day gained more importance due to the difficult circumstance and the great calamity that befell our people in Syria and Turkey and called on the participants to show unity among the parts of the nation show solidarity with the bereaved in Syria and Turkey and help heal their bleeding wounds by all possible means.
Dr. Anas al-Tikriti of Iraqi origin gave a speech on behalf of the Arab communities in which he thanked the Palestinian Forum in Britain for organizing this distinguished event and for the importance of the nation’s meeting and unity under the slogan “Jerusalem brings us together.” He offered condolences and messages of solidarity with the victims and martyrs of the earthquake.
The festival aims according to the organizers to strengthen the centrality of the Palestinian cause and the issue of Jerusalem in the conscience of the Arab nation and among the communities in Britain as well as to contribute to strengthening the ties between the Arab communities in Britain and to show the close convergence between these cultures in addition to highlighting the manifestations of Arab civilization and securing a platform for all Arabs to share their pride in their cultures.
