Irish artists Elaine Mai, MayKay, and Faye O’Rourke have collaborated on a new fundraising single ‘We Are‘ alongside Rand, Rwand, Reem, Sara, Omar, and Ahmad who live in Aida Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank of Palestine.
Throughout the record, which goes on release today, the children speak about what it means to be Palestinian, the Arabic loosely translating to “we mean… power, strength, obstacles, joy, love, hope, victory.” As the song closes, they declare, “no one is free until Palestine is free” in English, Arabic and Irish.
The song seeks to uplift their voices, with all proceeds going to benefit the Lajee Center in Aida Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank of Palestine.
MayKay explains: “I’ve spent some time in the amazing Lajee Center in Aida Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank of Palestine. Despite the best efforts of the occupation forces to suppress, depress and break the spirits of the young people in the camp, they are made of resilience, joy, steeliness and humour.”
This is despite the fact that recent months have seen the decades-long oppression of Palestine ramp up to an unprecedented, horrifying level, yet there is hope in the resilient spirit of the Palestinian people.
“Working with this group of young people was the honour of a lifetime”, Maykay continues. “When Elaine sent me some tracks to listen to from her new record it felt like a great opportunity to have their voices, their language, their strength, their joy and their power on a record being released in Ireland, that will hopefully echo throughout the forests and fields of festivals and clubs for years to come and remind us all what’s important in this world. I recorded them in the centre itself and honestly, they were unbelievably easy to work with, considering it was their first time writing lyrics and recording. There’s nothing they can’t do. I can’t wait to see them all again.”
Singer Elaine Mai adds that from her perspective, “Giving a platform to these incredible voices is a privilege. I’m really happy to see this track out in the world and all proceeds will go directly to the Lajee Center.”
For musician Faye O’Rourke, the project is all about hope. “The very first feeling I had after Elaine played me the children’s voices was hope. In a world marred by division and discourse, to me this song serves as a little mantra towards the light. It’s an honour to be a small part of such a beautiful collaboration.”
Featuring artwork by Aoife Farrell, We Are goes on release today, with all proceeds going to benefit the Lajee Center in Aida Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank of Palestine. The Lajee Center is a community-based grassroots creative cultural center that works with new generations of Palestinians as they continue their ongoing struggle for justice and rights for Palestine and all Palestinians.
You can purchase the single on Bandcamp here
You can donate to the Lajee Centre here.
Please support if you can.
