ALBAWABA - Iraqi singer Kadim Al Sahir is set to collaborate with the UN on a song calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking at the Sharjah International Book Fair on Friday that he will be heading to New York to record a track called Hold Your Fire, which he wrote the original lyrics for in Arabic.
"As soon as I finish my engagement here in the book fair I am heading to the airport for a flight to New York. We already booked a studio and once I get there we will be working with the choral group who are also featuring on the song" Al Sahir said.
Later on, Al Sahir posted pictures of him in the studio, preparing for the anticipated song, quoted: "As part of our continued quest to support our people with all the tools, abilities and friendships we have in the East and West, I am collaborating with the United Nations Classical Music Association to produce Hold Your Fire".
According to Al Sahir, the song aims to shed light on the fact that there have been over 9,000 civilians killed in the Palestinian enclave during the conflict, the majority of them being children.
Al Sahir and Lenny Kravitz cooperated on the anti-war song We Want Peace in 2004 during the US invasion of Iraq, and the following year they worked with Sarah Brightman on The War is Over song. Al Sahir said that sometimes the only ways to heal from the scars of conflict are via language and music.
"And this is why the idea for Hold Your Fire began as soon as the war began. From that day there were phone calls and messages with fellow artists, where we asked ourselves what we should do?" said Al Sahir.
"From the beginning, I wasn’t really interested in doing a nationalistic song, I wanted a song dedicated to a global audience" he added.
