5/8/2022–|Last update: 5/8/202204:40 PM (Mecca)
Palestinian singer and flute player Nai Barghouti dedicated the Egyptian national anthem to her fans in Egypt, following the cancellation and indefinite postponement of her concerts.
Nay announced, two days ago, that she was prevented from entering Egypt, despite receiving an official invitation to perform concerts in the Opera Houses in the cities of Cairo and Alexandria, which are bodies affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
Nay wrote on Instagram, “My loved ones, I present to you the introduction to (My Country, My Country, My Country). With this anthem, I was planning to open the Cairo and Alexandria Opera House, inspired by the original melody of Sayed Darwish and the later version of Abdel Wahab.”
Nai sadly expressed her hope that the Egyptian public would sing the national anthem with her, stressing that this anthem “still stirs in every Palestinian feelings of nostalgia, pride and love for the older sister Egypt.”
In another comment, Nai was keen to thank the Egyptian public for the support given to her following the decision to postpone her concerts and prevent her from entering the country following waiting 8 hours at Cairo Airport, without knowing the reasons for the decision.
Nai had announced on Facebook that she was prevented from entering Egypt, saying, “My loved ones in Egypt are the mother of the world, and as you read, the Opera House in Egypt decided to postpone my concerts in Cairo and Alexandria to an unspecified date yet.”
She pointed out that this decision came following her entry from Cairo airport was denied without giving any reasons, despite numerous attempts to find out the details of this decision.
And she added in her post that she had prepared a distinctive artistic program worthy of the people of Egypt and the Arab nation, and that she was “burning” with longing to meet the Egyptian public.
In this context, Nai confirmed that she is waiting for a future opportunity to hold this concert, hoping that this opportunity will be “close”.
Until Friday morning, no official Egyptian authority revealed the circumstances of the ban or its source.
Sadness among her fans
And the audience expressed their sadness following the cancellation of Nai Barghouti’s concert. Comments varied between sympathy and the desire to attend one of her concerts soon in Egypt.
Wassim wrote, “On the occasion of the surprise of our beloved Egyptians, Nai Barghouti was prevented from entering Egypt. O Palestinian group, it is absolutely forbidden to enter Egypt without prior arrangements since the days of Sadat.”
On the occasion of the surprise of our beloved Egyptians, at the prevention of Nai al-Barghouti from entering Egypt. O Palestinian group, it is absolutely forbidden to enter Egypt without prior arrangements. This is from the days of the gentlemen. A Palestinian among them is the Gazan, and the sweetest one is from a Palestinian woman inside 48 because he carries the Israeli passport.
— Wassim Sadika (@wasimsadika) August 4, 2022
On Facebook, Ola praised Nai Barghouti’s response to the decision to ban her from entering Egypt, describing it as “elegant.”
“The elegant reaction, Nai Barghouti, following being denied entry to Egypt by airport security, sings my country on her page at the same time as her concert on the opera stage,” she said.
The journalist writer Muhammad Saleh asked a number of questions in an attempt to find out the reasons that led to the ban on Nai Al-Barghouti’s entry to Egypt, and compared this ban to the Egyptian authorities’ earlier approval of the entry of an Israeli singing group.
In turn, the (Egyptian Position) Facebook page denounced the decision to ban Nai Barghouti, describing it as a “shameful and sad act.”
The page commented on the decision, saying, “The truth of a very sad thing is that this situation is happening with a Palestinian artist who has been coming to Egypt for several days and at the invitation of the Egyptian Opera House, which is an official body affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, and without giving clear or specific reasons that have any relevance in front of people.”
It is noteworthy that Nai Al-Barghouti was not the only Palestinian singer who was prevented from crossing Cairo Airport during the past years, as a similar decision included the late Palestinian poet Rashid Hussein.
Nai Al-Barghouti is very famous for its solo lyrical line that combines jazz and folklore music from the Arab world.
Source : Aljazeera live + Social Media
