The lyrics of a ballad by Syrian singer, songwriter and poet Samih Shoucair have taken Syrian protesters by storm. The ballad – titled “What a shame!” (“Ya Hayf” in Arabic) and uploaded on You Tube two days ago -- is dedicated to the “Children of Deraa.”
Shoucair, who lives abroad, embarked on his music career in 1982 after graduating from an institute for musicians in Kiev. In his new ode, he intones in one of the Arabic couplets:
“What a shame! Ouch, what a shame! Hails of bullets rain on civilians, what a shame… Children as little as roses are detained, what a shame! You, my compatriot, are killing my children. Your back is to the enemy while you face me with a sword. What a shame, what a shame! What’s happening in Deraa is a shame. Mother, it’s a shame. Mother, I heard that freedom is knocking at the door. They took to the streets to say, ‘No’. They saw rifles, mother, and uttered, ‘They won’t shoot us.’ Mother, they shot us with live bullets… Our brothers killed us in the name of our homeland’s security. But who are we after all? Check our past…”
