Orchestra Brings Hope

Voice 1

Hello. I'm Elizabeth Lickiss.

Voice 2

And I'm Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

Come with me to the Middle East, to Ramallah, on the West Bank. It is a hot day in August 2005. A small, intense man directs a group of about forty [40] young people. He is about sixty [60] years of age. The young people are playing music. They play different instruments: violins, cellos, flutes, oboes, trumpets, and many more. A large crowd of people watch and listen. In many places, music concerts like this are common. But for the people who live in Ramallah, such concerts are rare. The music was written by Mozart and Beethoven. They wrote it two hundred and fifty [250] years ago in Europe, but it is popular everywhere. The people of Ramallah like it. There is not enough room in the building for all the people who want to listen. When the music ends, the people clap their hands for five minutes because they have enjoyed it so much.

Voice 2

So why did this concert take place in Ramallah? What was so special about this orchestra?

Voice 1

Some of the young music players came from Israel. Others came from Arab countries. For many years Israel has been in conflict with the Arab countries in the Middle East. There are many reasons for this. But the main reason is that Israel has occupied land on the West Bank of the River Jordan. The Arab Palestinians who once lived there want the land back. There has been much fighting between the two sides. Many people have been killed. But there have also been great attempts to make peace. People from the governments of both Israel and the Arab countries have talked to each other again and again. Some treaties have been signed. But still there is no real peace.

Voice 2

Bethlehem is the town where Jesus Christ was born, two thousand [2000] years ago. Today, it is in the disputed West Bank area. In 1988, a man named Salim had an idea. He worked at a Bible College in Bethlehem. He had worked among Israeli and Arab people. Many Israeli people are Jewish. Many Arab people are Moslem. But some Israeli and some Arab people are Christians - they follow Jesus Christ. Salim is a Christian. His idea was to encourage young Christians from Israel and Palestine to talk to each other. He said:

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‘Many of the people I work with have never spent time with even one person on the other side. I would like to try taking groups of people from both sides out into the desert for three days. I believe that when they are away from their homes, in a situation where they must work together, we can begin to break down the barriers and help the young people to trust each other.’

Voice 1

That was many years ago and now Salim’s project, called Musalaha, still brings young people together to make friends.

Voice 2

The music concert in Ramallah is not part of Salim’s project. It is something separate. But the same idea is there. Young people are getting together - in this case to make music. The short, intense man who leads them is Daniel Barenboim. He was born in Buenos Aires, in Argentina. But he was raised in Israel. He is Jewish. When he was a young man he became a wonderful pianist. He gave many concerts. Then he began to lead orchestras - to conduct them. He has travelled all over the world.

Voice 1

In 1991, he met a Palestinian thinker named Edward Said. Said believed that Israelis and Palestinians must learn to live together in peace. Said was also a good pianist. He and Barenboim decided to bring young Israeli and Arab musicians together to make music. The Arab musicians would include Palestinians. Said and Barenboim did not think that many people would want to join their orchestra. But they were surprised, because many young trained musicians did ask to join. They had their first meeting in 1999, in Weimar in Germany. They gave their orchestra a name - the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. The name ‘West-Eastern Divan’ came from the poems of the great German writer Goethe. Goethe wrote about East and West being ‘in the hand’ of the same God.

Voice 2

Every summer, about forty [40] young people meet to make music. They are not permitted to talk about politics. They do not accept financial support from any political group. Barenboim says:

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‘This conflict in Israel is not only a political conflict: it is a conflict of history and a conflict of social justice. And my faith in music has never been shaken. This is why Edward Said and I created this orchestra. We do not want to make a political statement. We want to create conditions for people to come together and make music.’

Voice 1

In 2005 the young people met in Seville, in Spain. This is a city where, for centuries, Jews and Moslems lived next door to each other in peace. Now it is the place where these young musicians can become friends with each other. After they have prepared the music for a few weeks, they go on tour. In 2005, they performed in Edinburgh in Scotland, in London, England, and in Ramallah. After the concert in Ramallah, Barenboim said:

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‘It is our belief that the future paths of these two peoples, Israel and Palestine, are linked...either we all kill each other or we share what is there to share. This is the message that we have come here to bring.’

Voice 2

Think of a conflict in your part of the world, or one you know about. Could young people from opposing sides to get together, to learn about each other, to listen to each other, to learn to forgive and understand each other? Could they do things together that bring joy to themselves and to other people? In their own ways, both Salim’s project Musalaha, Daniel Barenboim’s and Edward Said’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, are trying to do just this.

Voice 1

The writer of today's programme was Shelagh Godwin. The voices you heard were from United States and the United Kingdom. Computer users can hear our programmes, read our scripts and see our wordbook on our website at www.radio.english.net. This programme is called ‘Orchestra Brings Hope’.

Voice 2

We love to hear comments and questions from our listeners. You can reach us by e-mail. Our address is radio @ English . net. Thank you for joining us in today's Spotlight programme. Goodbye.