5 May 2015
The Palestine Center
Washington, DC
“Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land”
with
Sandy Tolan
Author & Associate Professor of Communication
Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism, USC
From Sandy Tolan, author of the now classic The Lemon Tree, comes a moving story of music as a means of empowerment and healing. Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land is the incredible story of Ramzi Hussein Aburedwan, a child of Palestinian refugee camps who was caught by a photographer hurling a rock at an Israeli tank in 1988. The snapshot, which appeared around the world, showed a fragile eight year-old with fear and anger in his eyes. The image came to symbolize the rage and frustration of the intifada. Ten years later, Aburedwan laid down the stones when he discovered the viola – he was awed by the power of music to lift himself and others out of despair.
Through dedication, natural talent and unbridled passion, Aburedwan became a violist, ultimately receiving a scholarship to study at a conservatory in France. His life was utterly transformed by music, and he vowed to return home to help other Palestinian children. He is now the founder of several music schools in Palestinian towns and refugee camps, and has realized his dream to give back the gift of music.
Tolan, who first met Aburedwan in 1998, documents his miraculous journey: from a child confronting an occupying army, to a burgeoning musician, to a music teacher and school founder sharing music with so many Palestinian children. Children of the Stone is a hopeful story of the power of music to teach peace to a generation of children across the Israeli-Palestinian divide.
