LONDON: British protest singer Billy Bragg has unveiled a new track, titled “Hundred Year Hunger,” in solidarity with the people of Palestine and a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for Gaza that includes activist Greta Thunberg, it was reported on Tuesday.
Bragg said on Instagram that the song “looks at the current famine that Israel has created in Gaza through the lens of a century of enforced food insecurity and malnutrition imposed on the Palestinian people, firstly by British imperialism, then as a weapon of mass displacement by the state of Israel,” The Guardian reported.
The track, which features a chorus in Arabic, takes its title from a book by E. Mark Windle and will raise funds for the Amos Trust’s Gaza Appeal.
In it, Bragg sings: “Now my children ask me why the watching world is standing by / While Israel creates famine as a weapon in their war.”
Explaining the Arabic chorus, Bragg wrote: “‘Sumud’ translates as ‘steadfastness or perseverance.’ It is used by Palestinians to describe their nonviolent everyday resistance against Israel’s occupation. Sumud emphasises the commitment of the Palestinian people to remain on their land despite hardship and oppression, elevating their everyday existence into a form of resistance.”
He added: “‘Lan narhal’ translates as ‘we will not leave.’ Together ‘Sumud! Sumud! Lan narhal’ conveys the determination of the Palestinian people to refuse to be displaced.”
The song’s release coincided with the flotilla’s departure from Barcelona on Monday, the mission of which organizers said was to “break the illegal siege of Gaza” by delivering aid and establishing a humanitarian corridor.
It is expected to arrive in mid-September, though previous attempts to reach Gaza by sea have been blocked by Israel.
Bragg will also host a benefit concert, “Days Like These,” at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Sept. 20, featuring Jamie Webster, Billy Nomates, Reverend and the Makers, Antony Szmierek and Big Special. Proceeds will go to the Amos Trust’s Gaza Appeal.
The singer has long been outspoken on freedom of expression, backing Irish rap trio Kneecap last year after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence.
“The charging of Kneecap’s Liam Og O hAnnaidh with a terrorism offence by the Metropolitan Police is the latest development of a disturbing and broader trend over the past few years during which the state has sought to criminalise creative expression,” Bragg said in May.
