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UN / ARAB IDOL
STORY: UN / ARAB IDOL
TRT: 2:21
SOURCE: UNTV/ NWRA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 25 NOVEMBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY /FILE
1. Wide shot, Assaf seated at panel
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Assaf, Arab Idol, Youth Ambassador UNWRA:
“I am able to convey to you, New York, the voice of the Palestinian youth from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the diaspora.”
4. Wide shot, Assaf shaking hands with Palestinian Ambassador Ryiad Mansour
5. Med shot, Assaf shaking hands with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
FILE – 23 JUNE 2013 RAMALLAH, WEST BANK,
6. Wide shot of crowd dancing and cheering in Ramallah's Manara Square minutes before the announcement of the winner of Arab Idol 2013
7. Close up, giant monitor shows Muhammad Assaf awaiting result. Asaf is announced winner
8. Various shots, crowd at Manara Square in Ramallah cheering
25 NOVEMBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Assaf, Arab Idol, Youth Ambassador UNWRA:
"It's a great feeling, beautiful feeling. I am a talented young chap, a Palestinian. I used to sing at school and now I've reached an international platform of global magnitude. I moved from being a singer and artist on local a level to first regional and then global levels. I reached the UN today. This is extremely amazing and fascinating. Its like a dream. I used to dream about it and now I've reached it. Today I am an artist, an ambassador and I think this is more than I have envisioned. "
FILE - 23 JUNE 2013 RAMALLAH, WEST BANK
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed Assaf, Arab Idol, Youth Ambassador UNWRA:
"Music is a bit like sport, like soccer. It's a tool to unify people. Music is a tool. It's a message for love, for peace and understanding, for creating common grounds between cultures beyond barriers. When an Arab listens to Western music and vice versa, when a Westerner listens to the Arab music they are opened to it. Music knows no barriers."
FILE - 25 JUNE 2013 RAMALLAH, WEST BANK,
Various shots, Mohammed Assaf arrives in car to UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza
Mohammed Assaf, winner of Arab Idol made a stop at the United Nations in New York as part of his nationwide tour of the United States.
SOUND UP
“I am able to convey to you New York, the voice of the Palestinian youth from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the diaspora.”
Today marks the Observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Assaf, who was named the United Nations Palestinian Relief Agency’s (UNWRA) first-ever "Regional Youth Ambassador for Palestine Refugees" earlier this year, spoke to delegates about the plight of Palestinians and the importance of the of 64-year-old agency.
The 22-year-old is a Palestine refugee, born in the impoverished Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza. His mother's family hails from the depopulated village of Beit Daras and his father's family is originally from Beersheba, both localities in present-day Israel.
Assaf was, until recently, scraping a living as a wedding singer. His dramatic journey out of Gaza to Egypt to reach the audition for Arab Idol 2013 was already famous.
Cities and towns all over the West Bank and Gaza exploded in wild celebrations when Assaf was declared the winner of Arab Idol in Beirut in June, allowing the Palestinians a rare moment of joy.
Just before his performance at headquarters, Assaf told UNifeed he was a “talented young chap” a and that his dream was much more than he envisioned. He also said that music was “a bit like sport, like soccer. It's a tool to unify people.It's a message for love, for peace and understanding, for creating common grounds between cultures beyond barriers. When an Arab listens to the western music and vice versa when a westerner listens to the Arab music they are opened to it. Music knows no barriers."
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