عن مشروع كورال

بقلم – شادي لويس

في نهاية الأسبوع الماضي نظمت مجموعة "المصريون المتحدون" أمسية مصرية في لندن باسم" أصوات التحرير" والتي قصد أن يذهب دخلها لصالح جرحي الثورة والذين تباطأت الدولة في علاجهم علي نفقتها حتي يومنا هذا، بدأت الأمسية بندوة سياسية اشترك فيها كل من الأستاذ جورج إسحاق و الدكتور عمرو الشوبكي والتي للأسف الشديد لم أتمكن من حضور الجزء الأكبر منها، لكن الأستاذ جورج المنسق العام السابق لحركة كفاية والعضو الحالي في مجلس حقوق الإنسان المصري أعطاني انطباعا بأنه لم يفتني الكثير بعد أن نصح المقيمين في المملكة المتحدة بالتركيز علي مطلب واحد فقط في هذه المرحلة وهو حق المصريين في الخارج في المشاركة في رسم مستقبل وطنهم وفي العملية السياسية سواء بالترشح أو الانتخاب، أما عن بقية المسائل السياسية المعلقة فتأتي لاحقة لهذا المطلب، فلا معني لمناقشة المصريين المقيمين في الخارج لمضمون الدستور القادم في مصر إذ كان لا يد لهم في انتخاب مجلس الشعب الذي سيضعه.

أما عن الجزء الثاني من الأمسية فكان عرضا غنائيا لمشروع" كورال"، وهو مشروع فني مستقل يتألف من مجموعة من الموسيقيين والمسرحيين المتطوعين الذين ينظمون ورش عمل فنية تستمر لحوالي عشرة أيام في كل مرة، ويدعون فيها كل من يرغب في الانضمام للمشاركة في صياغة أفكارهم ومشاعرهم تجاه موضوع معين في صورة أغان يتم كتابه كلماتها وتلحينها بشكل جماعي ومن ثم تأديتها في عرض فني أمام الجمهور في نهاية الورشة.

وقد بدأ مشروع كورال أول ورشة في مايو من العام الماضي في القاهرة باسم "كورال شكاوي" ثم تبعها بعد ذلك مجموعة من الورش في القاهرة وعمان وأخيرا في لندن. أما عن المجموعة التي انضمت للورشة الفنية الأخيرة في لندن والتي كان شاغلها الشاغل الثورة المصرية الوليدة فكانت تضم جنسيات مختلفة أوروبية وعربية وأن كانت في معظمها من المصريين: شباب في أوائل العشرينيات حتي أواخر الثلاثينيات منهم أطباء ومهنيون وباحثون أكاديميون ومدرسون جامعيون وطلبة و مهاجرون غير شرعيين , مجموعة ما كانت لتجتمع في مكان واحد بدون هذه المناسبة. وبعد عشرة أيام انتهت الورشة بإنتاج ثلاث أغان جديدة تضاف إلي رصيد المشروع، اثنتان من هذه الأغاني"ثورة" و"هنا وهناك" كانتا عن خبرة المشاركين وانطباعاتهم تجاه ثورة شاركوا فيها بشكل شخصي أو شاهدوها علي شاشات التليفزيون، وبكلمات بسيطة وألحان أبسط عبر المشاركون عن حبهم لوطن يعرفونه جيدا أو يعرفون عنه أقل القليل وعن أمل وفخر و قلق ومخاوف وشعور بالذنب تجاه ما يحدث فيه وتجاه مستقبله.

أظن أن القيمة الحقيقية للورشة لم تكن في المستوي الفني للأغاني المنتجة بل في التقاء هذه المجموعة من الشباب ليتبادلوا خبراتهم و أفكارهم وليتشاركوا في التعبير عن حبهم لأوطانهم ولقيم الحرية والعدل وليحتفوا بثراء اختلافاتهم وفضيلة تنوعهم وليعملوا وليبدعوا بشكل جماعي، القيمة الحقيقية كانت أيضا في البهجة التي أعاد المشاركون اكتشافها في أنفسهم و واقتسموها مع جمهورهم.

غادر مشروع كورال في اليوم التالي إلي القاهرة وسيبدأ ورشة جديدة في الإسكندرية في بداية الشهر المقبل ومن هناك ربما سيلبي الدعوات الكثيرة القادمة من مدن أخري بدءا من بيروت ووصولا لتورنتو، لكن يبدو أن مشرع كورال واحد لا يكفي بل ربما هناك حاجة لألف مشروع كورال فني وثقافي ليجوبوا مدننا وقرانا ليكشفوا عن آفاق رحبة لشباب ضاقت بهم الدنيا وتلخصت في اللهاث وراء لقمة العيش أو في الاستعداد للآخرة و ليفتحوا أبوابا للإبداع والمبادرة الفردية والعمل والجماعي وليأصلوا قيم الاختلاف والتنوع وليعيدوا اكتشاف المتعة في مجتمع أثقلته همومه وآلامه طويلا.

The Choir Project in London

A concert in London I was privileged to participate in in support of the Egyptian Revolution.

A Walk Down Memory Lane in New York

I can't hold my craving to write any longer, especially after watching this movie. I just finished watching The Visitor, a heart-warming movie about a past life of mine. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Tarek, I was able to relive the New York I adored so much. Simply put, the plot is about the daily lives of immigrants in New York City and their dilemma of being stranded between their new home and their past ones... Now I can't say I can relate on this exact level as I will always know where my home is, but this story dealt with the idiosyncrasies of post 9/11 America. NYC, the portal of immigration, the portal to the land of opportunity, the portal to liberty has become a paranoid city after 9/11. Now I can definitely relate in terms of living in New York, pre and post 9/11. The plot of this tale takes a particular twist particularly when shedding light on the lives of Arabs subsequent to 9/11.

With all its ironies, New York will always have a place in my heart. The movie's particular amazing cinematography displayed the diametric contradictions that are inherent in New York. While the Statue of Liberty stands as the beacon of American ideals of freedom, justice, and democracy, the movie shows the very inhumane and unjust facets of American society. I can attest that living in the States for over 7 years as a foreigner, I never felt a sense of belonging except when I was in New York. There is no better way to describe New York than to describe it as the nucleus of the world, where cultures from the four corners of the world are brought together, meshed, and tossed together like the different colorful ingredients of a salad. I could have never imagined living in a more exuberant city than New York... before 9/11... when antagonizing banners where lifted everywhere with the words "We Will Never Forget." It was almost as if we lived in 1984 with Big Brother always watching you. But I would have to say that this paranoia of America has begun to fade away as time passes, so I am optimistic!

But back to the movie...The scenes of the movie were truly like a walk down memory lane for me. In a word, the story is about a college professor fed-up the monotonous life of one of America's college towns, which I can definitely relate to in terms of the stillness of UVa at times...but for the time being, I have come to accept that it is my fate to be here, at least for the time being, so he finds liberation from this dull life by breaking lose in Manhattan... So just when I realized that "I" was the sole determinant of my happiness, I was proven wrong by seeing scenes of Manhattan in the movie, and like flashbacks from distant memories, they made me so content! Scenes of Washington Square of NYU's campus brought back such nostalgia when I used to aspire to attend NYU someday... Oh well, who ever though life would bring me here to UVa...You never know what life has in stock for you...it works in mysterious ways.

The movie chronicles the adventures of this college professor when trying to liberate himself in the city. It is natural to do so because big cities like New York are such a crossroads for different cultures and walks of life that it is so natural that you will run into some spontaneously strange combination of events that will define a new chapter of your life. At least that's what I've learned from my own soul-searching liberation trips to DC. The movie epitomizes this notion so succinctly by bringing together so many different people from different backgrounds. The characters are a combination of a middle-aged white American, a Syrian and Senegalese couple, and a Syrian woman. The crisis of the unfair deportation of the Syrian Tarek is what sets the stage for the remaining unfolding events of the story.

I don't think that there had every been a movie that I could relate to more than this one, especially since what sparks the whole row about Tarek's deportation is his arrest in a NYC Subway station for supposedly jumping a turnstile, which is so coincidental since the only time I had been arrested in my life was during the New Year's eve of the 2003 during which I, Lusuki, and Mike (two of my friends from UNIS) were also arrested for jumping a subway turnstile (fortunately, I did not end up getting deported).

About the whole issue of deportation, I did not like how the Syrians made it seem like it was hell going back the Arab World. I take pride in my home land and wouldn't mind going back, but to make it seem like the worst place on earth was a bit pathetic. I take America for what it is, but I know where my roots belong. But I know the case in Syria might not be sufficient to compare to Egypt. I know that Syria is unfortunately a more oppressive state to live in, but what amazes me is that the Syrian immigrants that I have met here in the United States are some of the most respectable and intellectual people I have come across. Both my Arabic professors here at UVa were Syrians and I owe it to them for making me love my mother language. Imagine the potential that a country like Syria might have if it were not for their draconian government. Its sad to see that Syrians have to settle for less by coming here. Similar to the Syrian characters in the movie, my current Syrian Arabic professor had to seek asylum here in the U.S. for political reasons.

Aside from the lessons I drew from this terrific movie, I learned that one must always explore different channels of learning. I haven't watched a movie since watching The Reader quite sometime ago, simply because I thought movies were a waste of time and that it was through books that I would be able to expose myself to the world and life. I was wrong. Movies open your eyes as you see the lives of characters unfold before you and it is like you are there in New York City living among them. The colors, sounds, voices, music all put you on a stream of consciousness that leads on a unique journey to New York. These two hours of the movie allowed me to relive the four years I had lived in New York, but now seem like such a distant memory. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to come across this movie, which taught me more about myself than I knew a movie could do!

Egypt in a Microcosm: Wust El Balad

My previous post inspired me to include one last post for the day. This is about the underground band that I previously mention. They give a new meaning to music in Egypt, one that truly reflects Egypt's clamorous and chaotic environment that I so dearly love. They are truly revolutionary when it comes to giving Egypt a new beat that it can dance to. They are artsy, original, and sophisticated. What I love most about their music video is that it takes place in the heart of Cairo, Wust El Balad. Scenes of Midan Tahrir and Masr El-Gedida remind of when I would stroll around aimlessly with Amr and Mark in the heat of Egypt's sun. Oh how I miss it all!

This music video is such a relief from the all-the-same-sounding arabic pop music that is so detached from reality and filmed abroad with foreign girls that doesn't represent Egypt at all. This music video talks of everyone in Egypt, from the garbage collector to the intellectual. This is the true Egypt and reminds me of Naguib Mahfouz's Midaq Alley, which is truly representative of Egypt in a nutshell.

Enjoy the true heart beat of Egypt through Wust El Balad's music!

Guevara Graces Egypt With Her Presence

Never would I have imagined that the legacy of Che Guevara would survive with such flare to this day, and especially in my homeland. Approximately one week ago, Alieda Guevara, the oldest of Che Guevara's daughters and revolutionary internationalist was received with much rave in Egypt. This wide media coverage is unprecedented for a Latin American.

What was the hype all about? Well, as trivial as this might seem, it was a mere expression of gratitude from the Egyptian masses to the legacy that Che had left to all those struggling in the Third World. Alieda follows in the footsteps of her father, who would frequently convene with Egypt's foremost revolutionary, Nasser, to conspire against imperialism. The fraternal relationship between these two revolutionaries still defines Egypt's unique reverence for Cuba's revolutionary struggle against imperialism that Che's legacy spearheads to this day. Egypt had been a revolutionary hub at the time, and its importance is marked by Che's visit to Cairo the same year as the triumph of the Cuban revolution.Alieda's visit to Egypt ends today, but her visit means something special to me. It was her words that I first laid my eyes upon when first discovering who this Che Guevara was. Curious, I purchased a copy of The Motorcycle Diaries on my way to China, knowing that my father was is also an admirer of Che. The first words I read about Che Guevara came from her pen. During my read of the preface of The Motorcycle Diaries, I was mesmerized by how she had shed light on the exemplary model Che had set for revolutionaries out there.

Although I may be a lone star in my reverence of Che, at least I know that back home I can share this revolutionary frevor with others of my generation. Che is still widely celebrated today in Egypt. The above video is one of my favorite Egyptian bands called Wust El-Balad, which means downtown or middle of the country because they are in touch with the social conditions of Egypt's masses. They are especially talented because they improvise all of their music. They usually perform in Sa2yet El Sawi, which is this really neat concert venue under a bridge in the heart of Cairo. I have been to this venue twice before, but have never had the opportunity to enjoy Wust El-Balad live. Above is honestly one of my favorite tunes; its a upbeat elegy to Che Guevara and how his legendary spirit continues to inspire.

Its always pleasures me to have an event occur that shows me that the solidarity of between the struggling people of the Middle East and Latin America and how Che Guevara's mere image is what could keep that fire burning.

Poking, the new blogging tradition.

So I've just got the latest piece of advice from my blogging guru. C* just taught me a blogging tradition, i.e. poking. So I'm testing this out, so hopefully I'm doing the tradition correctly. The tradition is that someone pokes you and you write about a specific issue. So the issue of the day is to write about what I have in my fridge and mp3 player. Well, let's have a look.

My fridge seems to contain soy milk, rice milk, California dates, grapes, Morrocan hummus, garlic hummus, vanilla yogurt, Swiss cheese, pepper jack cheese, walnuts, and thats pretty much it, but that's because I haven't gone shopping in a while because of the cold...

As for what's in my mp3, hmm... A lot! But let me give you a sample: Hed Kandi, Mozart, Justice, Gotan Project, Seal, Paul Van Dyk, Coldplay, Gipsy Kings, Paco Pena, Manu Chao, Bach, Juanes, Aventura, Niyaz, Wax Poetic, Henri Mancini, Candan Ercetin, Kaskade, Cafe Del Mar, Fujiya & Miyaga...

But by far the most played song on the mp3 is Lilac Wine by Jeff Buckley;)

Rest In Peace Mama Afrika

Miriam Makeba sings Dahla Ayounik in Arabic. Although she passes away just this week, her revolutionary spirit against racism, colonialism, and for egalitarianism are eternal...