Established in 1993, the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music is Palestine’s first music conservatory. Since then, it has sought to spread a lively and creative musical culture in every Palestinian home by teaching, producing and promoting music in various ways despite the hardships of operating under occupation.
Although the most recent ongoing military assault on the Gaza Strip was not the first, it has been the most devastating. The Gaza Strip was indiscriminately targeted to the extent of making it unlivable, especially the north of the Strip, rendering more than 59,000 buildings rubble alongside 165,300 partially destroyed. People have fled their homes and several homes where they sought refuge, while some were killed in refuge, and almost everyone has lost their homes, family, relatives, friends and neighbors to critical injuries or death. Our own teachers and students have further lost their musical instruments and home studios; and have suffered alongside the 1,700,000 displaced Gazans dire daily conditions due to the lack of electricity, and the shortage of water and food, amongst many other inhumane circumstances.
The conservatory staff was somewhat thankful that, until the announcement of ceasefire, we hadn’t lost any of our own. Unfortunately, we received late news that our violin student Lubna Olayan, 14 years old, was killed alongside her parents, three siblings, and more than 30 of her close relatives as they were seeking refuge in her relatives’ house – South of Gaza in Nuseirat Refugee Camp – on the 21st of November.
The events of October 7th have unleashed the rage of the Israeli Occupation against all that is Palestinian. The situation is tragic enough and has resulted in the killing of more than 20,000 people in the Gaza Strip and more than 235 people in the West bank. The numbers are bound to rise, especially in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and across all historical Palestine as the Israeli Occupation is exacting its revenge.
The repercussions of this unjust war have taken its toll on the conservatory’s work across all its branches. The Gaza Music School has been closed since the start of the assault, the Jerusalem branch is suffering due to the silent and threatening atmosphere enforced by the occupation forces who are spread everywhere. The West Bank branches are operating with limited access to movement because of the increased “security” measures, and the conservatory thus resolved to online teaching to minimize movement between the cities and keep the teaching staff away from possible harm that could be enforced by the Israeli military, or the armed Israeli settlers.
Despite the hope that the brief ceasefire and its extension is offering to the people of Gaza and Palestine, the coming days, weeks, and months will be very hard to deal with. The conservatory is yet unable to assess the extent of damage that the Gaza Music School has endured, and prospects are extremely low of it being intact. The responsibilities that the conservatory has to endure towards its music community and its cultural role will be very high; The rehabilitation of the center or the possible need to find a new place, the support to its staff and students, the restoration of its musical instruments or the purchase of new instruments to make available for those who have lost them along with their houses and livelihoods, and the numerous interventions that await us, including the possible need to offer new programs that could be of better need during this situation.
Since the start of the assault on Gaza, the conservatory has succeeded in establishing a small fund for the Gaza music community. The goal is to help the music community secure basic essentials, like food and water, and urgent needs like transferring mobile credit and internet fees, buying warm clothing, or providing money for the parents of students who have lost their providing jobs, or for freelancing musicians to secure their needs while in refuge, and so on.
Building on this fund will come as a huge help in order to further assist the conservatory, with all its branches, in securing better and more honest funding. Believing in the people and knowing that honest individuals support our rights and cause is more important than any huge sum of money, especially from governments who support (or stay silent) and fund the occupation and its military artillery that rained hell on our people this year and in all previous assaults on Gaza.
Today we say ‘not anymore’ and we extend our hands to the people who rallied the streets in numerous cities around the world to have our back and support our musical journey. This is a call for everyone to help us make a difference to the lives of Palestinian children and support our music community in Gaza.
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