It is in a short a fulfillment of a childhood dream. I vividly remember when my late father – a Palestinian composer — would take me to music stores in the old quarters of Jerusalem, Beirut, Amman or Cairo in search of a quality instrument, musical sheet or spare parts for himself or members of his musical troop. What fascinated me most at the time was when I would attend rehearsals and learn first hand about various instruments and their role in the orchestra.

However, my father didn’t want me to emulate him. He had a very rough time as a musician in a conservative society like ours! However, he failed with my two brothers – a twin — who are now noted musicians and they have both joined me at the Music Chamber.

But my passion for music survived, perhaps hibernating for few years. I managed to keep it alive through going to concerts and building what my friends say is an impressive library of CDs and videos until I finally managed to have time to learn how to play an instrument. That was in Cairo in the late 1990s, when I headed Reuters’ editorial operations in North Africa.

It was only then that I started seriously thinking about creating something unique for musicians. At first, the idea was to set a Jazz Club in Cairo and later, a Music Academy when I moved to Morocco. The plan started to take new visions of its own.

It mainly evolved around fulfilling to musicians their needs of quality instruments, accessories and literature at affordable prices. Now we can claim that the Music Chamber has on display the biggest variety of instruments, accessories and music books in the Middle East. Certainly, we are still far away from what can be done and must be done for musicians in the region. But considering the paucity in this field, we feel that we are on the right track.

The bigger scheme is to get musicians of diverse cultural backgrounds together to learn more about each other through jamming sessions, workshops, or simply hearing that other mood, accent. Call it whatever you like, but one thing for sure: music is the only universal language. It is a language of genuine peace and love – not of diplomacy and deception.

For someone who has worked as a journalist in three languages – as Editor of the Arabic Service for Reuters News Agency, a correspondent for the U.S. news agency United Press International (UPI) and the French News Agency (AFP) – I have seen how languages are used and abused. I don’t see that in music because every tone is beautiful – perhaps one is more beautiful than the other, but anything musical is pleasing to the ear.

Twenty-five years was enough for me as a journalist. In January 2003, I resigned from my last assignment as Gulf Bureau Chief for Reuters because I didn’t want to cover yet another war.  I took early retirement to do with the rest of my life what I have always longed to do.

I have covered so many wars, starting with the Lebanese Civil War, the Palestinian struggle for independence to end Israel’s humiliating occupation, the two Gulf Wars and others. I have seen enough bloodshed and sufferings.

My family and I feel that I have left journalism at the most appropriate time. The person who succeeded me in Dubai was badly injured when the U.S.-led coalition forces entered Baghdad on April 15, 2003. She was lucky, but for me, it was a mixture of guilt and relief. I am glad I had left because one thing I know for sure about myself is that I would have been at the balcony of the 15th floor of the Palestine Hotel on that particular day. I would have been there watching the first American tanks rumble into the heart of Baghdad along with Reuter’s cameraman whose life had been ended by a tank shell that exploded inside Reuter’s office in the Iraqi capital.

The timing is also perfect on another more important front. Dubai is rapidly becoming the main hub in the Middle East. It is not only a major regional tourism and trade centre, but also a cultural centre. It is attracting so many talents. My brothers and I are impressed by how many good musicians are living here — not only professionals, but just normal people who play music as a hobby and with great passion.

It is not all too bad about Reuters and journalism. I have traveled around the world, met kings and queens, including Queen Elizabeth, presidents, important people – good and bad. I also enjoyed breaking important stories like Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Algeria’s flawed presidential elections in 1999, OPEC’s famous pricing strategies and others. The biggest joy was coaching so many young talents in the world of journalism.

Perhaps the last straw was when I had to be awakened so frequently around dawn in the days that preceded the last Gulf War.

Do I regret the switch? Not a chance!  I have a new life now and every day brings joy and satisfaction. I know for a fact that I am doing something to my society and to myself in the context of a universal theme.

I have so many plans for the future. I want the Music Chamber to become the reference for musicians. I want to set up a prestigious academy that teaches all types of music. I want to organize quality concerts on regular bases and establish a community of musicians from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

I know that the seeds have been planted in a fertile soil. We now have 500 students from more than 50 nationalities. We have our own orchestras and new young talents are joining every day!

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 8:53 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.