Should Lebanese stars perform in Syria?
In this post you will find two strong viewpoints: One by an artist who sang in Syria himself, and the other by a guest writer who wishes to remain anonymous.
1- Nothing wrong with It:
Lebanese star Assi Hillani, a man who sang the hit song “Beirut Is Crying” after Mr. Hariri was killed explains to his interviewer in this video why he sang in Syria:
Please let me take this opportunity to thank my sponsor Lebanese-videos.com for this video.
2- How Dare they??
A reader emailed me this angry letter in response to the post where I criticized the politicians asking Fairouz not to sing in Syria:
It is not the politicians who are asking Fayrouz not to go to Damascus, it is the people of Lebanon who are making this request.
If Fayrouz goes to Damascus, this would be akin a French performer singing in Nazi Germany during World War II. Here are some basic facts about Syria and its behavior with Lebanon:
It does not believe in the independence of Lebanon, let alone its very existence. As a matter of fact, if you ask them to open an embassy in Lebanon, they will turn blue and have a heart attack.
It occupied Lebanon and abused it politically, economically, psychologically in the worse possible way and for a long time. By the way, psychological abuse (i.e., repressing freedom) is far worse than physical violence. That is why psychological torture has far more ramifications than physical torture. By the way, here is the kill: Upon their departure, many Lebanese went to the street to thank them for all the good time that they have given us (only in Lebanon do we thank our oppressors – a world upside down indeed)
It has departed Lebanon against its own will and under intense international pressure. It has not digested this humiliation. You do not need to be psychologist to know that they are driven by an ardent desire for revenge. As a matter of fact, it is well-documented that most political killings are crimes of passion and not crimes of reason. It is therefore a mistake to ask the question “who benefits from the crime the most?”. The most appropriate question is “who do we hate so much that we want to shut-up and kill”. I think Bemmertz got it perfectly right.
It is a country that has a history of violence and a history of repressing dissenting voices by violence. In an effort to assess a likely suspect of the crime, the best detectives look at past behaviors. Indeed, past trends are a really good indicator of the future. If an adolescent commits a crime at 18, he/she will also likely commit the crime at 25. Take for example France and the U.S.. If there is a disagreement within politicians within these two countries, I do not believe it will be a personal issue. For example, I will not believe that Bush would ever assassinate Gore or Kerry or vice versa. They know how to disagree with an idea and not with the person. The same is true across these two aforementioned countries. I do not think France will kill politicians in the U.S. or vice versa because of a political disagreement. On the other hand, let us zero on the aforementioned country that does not like freedom of expression. They will silence the dissenting voices and camouflage their crimes by either protecting the perpetrators or killing key witnesses by making it appear as being suicides.
It is a country that still holds our prisoners and the Red Cross could still not visit them. My heart goes to the family of these victims. For a mother, there is nothing worse in the world than not to know the whereabouts of her child, let alone not being able to recuperate the body of the victim.
It is a country that has unilaterally insulted our prime minister with the implicit consent of some of our ministers (again only in Lebanon). As a side note, our top officials -and I stress officials and not political parties- have never indulged in such personal attacks. But for Hassan Nasrallah-God forgives- if we ever slightly imply they may be suspects of any crime. They are Saints with exemplary behavior. How dare we attack these beautiful Angels who uphold human rights to the highest standards….How dare do we provoke them!! We are horrible, horrible people. Shame on us!! By the way, and as a side note, only in Lebanon would someone (Nasrallah) love the neighbor with all the passion in the world and, at the same time, hate his compatriots with the same intensity.
If Fayrouz performs in Damascus, then she would love the heart and soul of decent Lebanese minds forever. It is her choice and it is a crucial one.
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I have been blogging about Lebanese society and politics since February 2005. You can also find me on 
OK,
This is my sentiments exactly……
I agree with Mustapha’s position. Regardless of the feelings, I strongly feel that feelings are a bad guide for policy.
I would not go as far as calling Damascus a “cultural” anything under this regime, nor would I go as far as Assi Hillani to call one another a “single country”; we’re no more a “single” country than Europe is a single nation. However I do not like Fairouz’ singing, I feel we should think past this phase, and hope for the future.
Lest we forget, tomorrow, the regime may be gone, but tomorrow, Syria (and the Syrians) will still be there.
as a lebanese first and foremost, i am insulted that our lebanese performers would have any relations with syria, especially at the present time we are in.
I dont care what anyone says, Syria is just as bad as Israel in our unfortunate confrontation with our neighbors. While Israel bombs us phyiscally, Syria denies our very existence politically. The more I write this post the more heartfelt I get.
Just please, if you are a true Lebanese patriot, do NOT perform in Syria.
“If Fayrouz goes to Damascus, this would be akin a French performer singing in Nazi Germany during World War II.”
Well Coco Chanel was sleeping with a Nazi comandant,and Edith Piaf had a Nazi boyfriend…that didn’t stop them from being a french icon…while Jack Chirac will go down the history drain ;)
Feyrouz may sing wherever she pleases ,she’ll stay the voice of Lebanon,the essence of real lebanism…not the new immage some bunch of businessmen are trying to give…
WE’ve been through this on other posts….Let her f off
Both have very good arguments. They are both right. but eventually we should not mistaken the oppressed scared people living in the prison called syria by the Syrian government.
Fairuz will perform for the people not the government.
Out of respect for Lebanese prisoners in Syria, the Lebanese singers should cancel their shows.
But then their fate will be similar to the fate of Samir Kassir and Gibran Tueni.
Young Frangieh: “I always hated the nuns. To hell with religion. I am now a proud atheist. Any parliamentary seats reserved for atheists?”
You all are so lame! You cite Lebanese prisoners in Syria as your reasoning for not singing in Syria, when this is the least destructive thing that Syria has done to us. Assassinations of our leaders and 30 years of oppressive Syrian rule in Lebanon dwarfs the prisoners issue. That is the real reason why a true Lebanese patriot would never go to Syria!
But logic is lost on the Lebanese.
art is a universal language and it transcends borders. as a staunch supporter of march 14, i don’t believe that this gives them credibility to bring art into politics. the regime is different than the people. i sympathize with all those that have suffered during the years of the syrian occupation, however, the people of syria are oppressed just as the lebanese were for almost 30 years. please people, use reason and focus on the more important issues. i agree with assi on every single word that he said.
peace
“Fairuz will perform for the people not the government.”
This is true. Who thinks she would be allowed to sing if the government was not going to benefit? It’s all a political ploy, and for that reason she should decline only if she is a Lebanese Patriot.
Imad, of course Syria has harmed Lebanon in every possible way the mind can imagine, and more.
And we mention these things days and nights, in every media possible.
But if you don’t focus, you lose momentum. This concert is being seized as an opportunity to put full weight on the issue of the prisoners in Syria, a very humanitarian and pressing issue. Simply mention the prisoners and make it the current campaign slogan.
One issue at a time. For the concerts thing, focus on the prisoners. Whether the singer will change his or her mind is not the real thing here. The real thing is to make the world hear that Syria is jailing innocent and torturing Lebanese since decades.
Extraordinary rendition and irregular rendition are terms used to describe the kidnapping and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one state to another,[2] and the term torture by proxy is used by some critics to describe situations in which the U.S. has purportedly transferred suspected terrorists to countries known to employ harsh interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture. It has been alleged that torture has been employed with the knowledge or acquiescence of the United States, although United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated in an April 2006 radio interview that the United States does not transfer people to places where it is known they will be tortured.
I agree with Mustapha’s position. Hence, Fairuz status is far above any constraint or moral judgment from anyone. I respect as well her love to Syrian people, despite my fierce opposition to Assad’s regime.
However, what I find hypocrite is the trashy Assi Hallani and his opportunistic and unauthentic words about arabism etc. He sounded as mediocre as always defending Iranian project in the name of arabism. He was better to keep himself busy with plastic surgeries than politics.
I think we are all too hot headed!
How many of you guys have been to Syria and talked to the people there? The common people are not the rulers.
As a Lebanese I totally support Fairuz. I believe her visit will be a statement of strength of the lebanese people, and a message of Peace, hope and freedom to the Syrian people against all the arab repressive regimes. Have any of you heard Sah el noum…this is exactly the message it brings.
I hope her visit will have the same effect as the Pope’s visit to Poland during the communist regime.
A change to peace and freedom needs a vision and Fairuz gives us this vision.