Video: “We have hope” - New music from Gaza’s Revolution Makers

Ali Abunimah Arts and Culture 22 December 2014

Ever since I first heard them perform live in Gaza City in May 2013, I have enthusiastically followed the work of the Palestinian hip-hop duo Revolution Makers, brothers Osama and Mohammed Elsusi.

Despite Israel’s summer massacre of more than 2,200 people and destruction of large parts of Gaza, they are still making music.

This is their latest track and video, aptly named, “We have hope.”

The video is beautifully but simply shot against a background of Gaza’s landscape.

In Arabic, subtitled in English, the first melodic lines of the lyrics are:

We have hope - for liberation of which we dream
We have consciousness we must fight for
We have Jerusalem – that needs to be in light
We have a homeland which hopes to be freed.

(You may have to click the “CC” button to enable English subtitles in the YouTube video above.)

The refrain returns to familiar themes for Revolution Makers – righteous anger at political stagnation, corruption and favoritism that frustrates not just national aspirations but personal dreams and the simple ability to make a living.

These are consistently talented and committed artists whose work is all the more remarkable for their being able to make it under the deteriorating conditions in still tightly besieged Gaza.

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Joop Jansen replied on

We must start using a more accurate description of the zionist entity, even though there are many racist and discriminatory laws which operates in their system, but fact is: "israel" is and has always been since its inception a TERRORIST, GENOCIDAL, LAND-GRABBING, ARMY of WAR-CRIMINALS entity who acquired its position with WARS of CONQUEST and AGGRESSION..

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Comité de solidaridad con el Pueblo Palestino replied on

Al heroico pueblo palestino, que no se doblega frente al invasor sionista.
¡¡PALESTINA RESISTE!!
¡¡PALESTINA VENCERÁ!!
¡¡VIVA PALESTINA LIBRE!!
Desde Perú

Ali Abunimah

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine, now out from Haymarket Books.

Also wrote One Country: A Bold-Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Opinions are mine alone.