The Palestinian tapes, part 2

Lives Less Ordinary

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.6 • 814 Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

In 2020, Mo’min Swaitat unearthed a treasure trove of lost Palestinian music in an abandoned building. Out of thousands of dusty cassettes there was one that caught his eye: a bright yellow tape, completely unmarked except for a handwritten label that said ‘Intifada.’ Mo’min loved the music and a series of clues led him to Hanan Awwad, an elderly Palestinian woman living in occupied East Jerusalem. In this episode, Hanan tells the story of how her brother Riad made the Intifada tape. There was disco, protest and poetry, but the consequences would be dangerous. Through an underground network of music lovers, Riad’s songs would survive and eventually end up with Mo’min.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Maryam Maruf Editor: Munazza Khan Sound design: Joel Cox Mix: Giles Aspen With thanks to Diana Alghoul for translation support

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.1	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.
0:32.3	And maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:39.3	Hello, this is Mubinazar with Lives Less Ordinary, an original podcast from the BBC World
0:46.0	Service and the second episode of this story. It's about a wedding band, a bright yellow
0:52.0	cassette tape and a forgotten archive of Palestinian music.
0:56.4	We're going to jump right in, so if you haven't heard part one, I reckon you head back there now.
1:04.0	For the rest of us, this is Side Beat, the Lost Intifada songs.
1:22.2	After trying to find out who made the music on the mysterious yellow cassette,
1:27.2	Mormon reached out to Hanan Awad, one of the people named in the credits.
1:34.7	She's an academic and also the sister of singer and composer Riyadh Awad, also name-checked on that tape.
1:37.1	Of course, I will speak from the heart.
1:42.0	And when I talk about my brother, my heart moves forward.
1:43.4	Were you close?
1:46.6	Yes, we were very close since he was a child.
1:49.7	And we used to talk together, laugh together.
1:52.8	You know, he has a very nice spirit.
	...

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