Pharell Williams - “Happy”- the Gaza version

This video produced by new media creator Anas Hamra puts exuberant scenes of Palestinians in Gaza dancing to the Pharell song “Happy.”

Pharrell Williams is an American musician whose career started in the early 1990s. When the “Happy” single was released, the web site 24hoursofhappy.com originated the meme of various people dancing to the song. Here’s the official video.

People have repeated it in Bermuda, Paris, Dublin, Hamburg, Jamaica, Howard University in Washington, DC, and pretty much anywhere else you can name.

Another interesting version features people identified as “British Muslims.”

It’s a lot of fun.

Comments

happy

Permalink ihath replied on Fri, 04/18/2014 - 03:12

Couldn't stop watching. Fantastic video. Thank you for sharing it.

Dancing with the Palestinians

Permalink Roger Barriteau replied on Fri, 04/18/2014 - 12:42

Two Palestinian brothers – Hassan and Hussein Husseini and I were friends. I was a lecturer in the Ohio State Black Studies Department and I also served as the Faculty Advisor to the “Organization of Arab Students' 1973-78. The brothers were leaders and they took me into their activism and their lives. We partied – with my counterculture friends ( aka 'Hippies' ) and with Arabs in their homes. The brothers led this group dance.. a two sided line was formed with eveyone up clapping. Each of us was challenged to do their dance and shake and shimmy down between the lines. So you got to show your stuff! I dance – I can improvise and I am unafraid - but the Arabs! The Arabs had these belly dance moves and they really put it on – especially a couple of the men. Amazing and hilarious FUN! As we Afro-Americans put it, they were really “gettin' down and gettin' loose!”.