INVINCIBLE VOICES...

<<photo: Me and part of the Kita3 Beirut Hip-hop crew, left to write -- DJ Lethal Skills, RGB, 6k -- they rap about the political situation in Lebanon and say the WAR inspired them to keep rockin' the mic!>>

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     Yesterday I promised photos and more writing, but after I finished that last post I received a phone call from a photojournalist and friend (Liam Maloney) inviting me to go with him to the Borg Al Barajne Palestinian camp in Beirut.  We were there as guests of Yassin, a 17 year old beat maker/mc in a hip hop group called I-Voice (Invincible Voice).  We met Yassin in front of the Arab University; most of you will recognize it as the site of a violent clash between Sunni and Shia, some weeks ago.  Anyway, it was my first time driving by the University and it is worlds away from the American University of Beirut (AUB)!  It's in a very crowded part of town with horrible traffic, street vendors, bombed out buildings -- and DIESEL FUMES –wait, sorry, that’s everywhere in Lebanon.

      We met Yassin at the gates of the University (he's in high school, he doesn't attend Arab University), he had his longish, dark hair pulled back and was wearing a North Carolina baseball cap, black t-shirt, slightly baggy jeans and sneakers.  He referred to his style as "baggy style," saying that's how people know he's a hip-hopper. We all jumped in a servees to the camp (they're cabs that stop for more than one person and each person pays a portion of the cost to ride where they need to go, like mini "publicos" in Puerto Rico) When we arrived, Yassin insisted on paying the cab fare and wouldn't take my money, no matter how much I begged him to.  A perfect gentleman, he refused to let me carry my heavy equipment bag. The young men here need to teach American boys chivalry!

     A big green sign welcomes you to the Borg El Barajne camp, (not sure about the spelling, so it changes every time, I know) under the sign lies a dusty road that winds between cement buildings stacked one top of the other.  In order to get to the houses you have to follow paths that snake through the buildings, in most places they're only wide enough for one and a half people and no matter how sunny it is outside, its dark between those walls. There are posters of Arafat plastered all over the homes along with pictures of fighters with m-16s, their faces covered by kuffiyahs. Over our heads there were thousands of criss-crossed electricity wires, hanging low between the houses, in some places they were so thick, you could only see slices of sky between the black, rubber roping.  The buildings and the road are all dusty and the only colors are in the posters and graffiti on the walls (lots of green and red representing the Palestinian flag), and on the people themselves. A young woman squeezed by us as we were touring the camp wearing a bright teal dress over pants, her made up face perfectly framed by a black hijab.  She stood out like a bright and beautiful angel in a sad and desperate place. 

      There are little stores in the camp that sell the black and white checkered kuffiyahs, Palestinian flags and framed prints of old Palestinian money.  There are mini-marts, a tiny pharmacy and two health clinics.  We walked by a restaurant and when I commented on the yummy smell, Yassin warned me that it was the worst restaurant in the entire camp and said his mom cooks much better, and he invited us to stay for dinner. 

     Yassin took us to his "home" for the time being, his real home is being re-built because it was damaged during July's War.  The camp is write next to Dahiyeh, the Shia suburb that was bombed heavily during the war -- and Yassin said the Palestinians in the camp were trapped because of their close proximity to Dahiyeh.  We walked by his original home, which was just looked like cement blocks and stairwells.  Right now, Yassin is staying in a 3 room flat, with maybe 5 pieces of furniture in the entire place.  The floor of his room is covered with rugs and in one corner he placed his most prized possessions -- his recording equipment: a computer that he built himself, a mixer that he saved money to buy and one big speaker. He drew two murals on opposite walls of this room, one with the I-Voice logo and the other that says "kasaque wahton" -- which he said translates to "cheers to your homeland," a way of saying a sarcastic "thanks" to the Arab world for helping return Palestine and providing him with such a wonderful life, where he can't dream, he can't live, he can't, "do anything." It's also a track on the second album he's working on.  Yassin has never seen Palestine, and his mother, Fatimeh, was born in Borg El Barajne and she has never seen Palestine, but his grandfather lived there, and he showed me the proof, the kuffiyah he wore to shield himself from the sun when he worked outside in the fields.  Yassin held the kuffiyah, commented on its beauty and craftsmanship and said Palestine exists in his heart.

     Next to the “kasaque wahton” mural, Yassin drew two symbols, a cross and the crescent moon representing unity between Christians and Muslims.  Although, Yassin and his partner MC, Amir, are both Muslim, they think it's ridiculous the way the Lebanese Muslims and Christians are always fighting, and now the Sunni and the Shia in Lebanon.  They're working on a new song for their second album that addresses the sectarian wars raging outside their camp, Lebanese on Lebanese.

      Yassin told me that Tupac inspired him to rap because he had a message; he said he respects artists who have something real to say. Yassin and Amir want to be famous rappers, but right now, they told me that they're using hip-hop as a way to get out a "message" about how the Palestinians live in Lebanon, without citizenship, as refugees living on the margins of Lebanese society.  He said there are 57 jobs Palestinians are not legally able to do in Lebanon, that list, he told me, includes cleaning the streets.  But, Yassin reminded me, that he's not just rapping about politics and Palestine, he raps about love, too. He played me a track where he rhymes about the passing of his aunt who was like a second mother to him.    

     I WISH I SPOKE ARABIC, so I could understand what Yassin and Amir are rapping about!  They truly believe in their music and the power of hip-hop to help them share their dreams with other Arabs.  And this isn’t some rinky-dink hip-hop, the beats are HOT and Yassin is doing an incredible job producing, using Fruity Loops and Sound Forge, two fairly basic audio editing programs that he’s manipulated to create PROFESSIONAL sounding beats.  Yassin has a myspace page where you all should check out I-Voice and request to be their “friends.”  www.myspace.com/theivoicee (two ee’s)
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*The intense day didn’t finish in the camp…I scored an interview with Teddy, the professional, male belly dancer.  He talked candidly about the horrors of living as a gay man in Lebanon, how he has no human rights and wants desperately to leave.  His parents are in Burbank, California but he said the US isn’t issuing visas to Arab men over the age of 21 (he’s 24), so he’s stuck in Lebanon, living in the shadows, in fear for his life.  More on that story later…

Comments

[Stephen]

Funny that they have a pic of Malcolm X in the background ... how much of an influence does civil rights/60's and 70's politics have there?

[Lissette Knight]

Wow...your words are great! YOu are really starting to get some great information that you can formulate into something that will speak to alot of us...and especially the youth.
I also look forward to the interview with Teddy.
Love You!

[Federico]

Looking forward to the pictures and the Teddy interview!