Youssef Saad: the pied piper of Gaza
The war in Gaza has created huge numbers of orphans, and even greater numbers of children with no schools to attend. When both his home and music academy were destroyed, 15-year-old Youssef Saad decided to nonetheless continue his passion for music by playing for the children of Gaza.
Saad was training as an oud player at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. Its destruction – and that of his home – left him with few options. “All my hopes and dreams used to be in our house”, he told a reporter for WION. He decided to continue playing nonetheless, cycling through the ruined streets to play for Gazan children. Dubbed the Pied Piper of Gaza by some, his story has a positive twist. “I try to improve their mental health even if it comes at the price of putting myself in danger. This is my duty towards the children.”
Saad crosses Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight refugee camps, daily on his bicycle. “I hope the war will end and life will return to how it used to be,” he says hopefully. “My message to the whole world is, ‘We the children of Palestine are trying to stay resilient’.”
(Michael Leahy. Source/ WION. Photo: Mohammed Al Bardawil/Unsplash)