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COURAGEOUS IRAQI PEACE BLOGGER BASED IN BAGHDAD INSPIRES MUSIC VIDEO
Salam Pax (Peace) music video premiered at the New York International Film and Video Festival On March 1, 2008 (Click here to watch/listen to the complete video). Coming up: Screening at the Berkeley Film and Video Festival, Fall 2008.
"No one inside Iraq is for war," said Iraqi blogger Salam Pax, in a blog heard 'round the world. The date was March 16, 2003, and the invasion of Iraq began two days later. |
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Facing inevitable war in his hometown, the young Iraqi architect began posting news and stories from Baghdad, under the pseudonym, "Salam Pax"—the words for "peace" in Arabic and Latin. The insight, courage and humor of Salam Pax' entries soon gained a worldwide following among those who sought an authentic alternative to the mainstream media's version of the war. After the bombs began to fall, Salam's blog went silent for weeks, while his web community worried about his fate. One of those online supporters, half a world away, was Don Arbor.
"I tried to put myself in his place. How would I feel if my hometown was about to be invaded? How would any of us feel, and what can I do?" Arbor said.
During the Invasion of Iraq in 2003, Don Arbor was one of the many readers who followed Salam Pax' online journal, felt the connection to his world, and hoped for his survival. Inspired by the Iraqi blogger, Salam Pax (Peace) is the song that grew from that connection. The video, co-directed by Pam McCann and Arbor, was completed in late December 2007 and garnered immediate raves. "Last year when I heard Don's amazing song, what struck me about Salam Pax' story was the connection he made with hundreds of thousands of people around the world who didn't know if he'd lived through the first days of the bombings," said co-director Pam McCann, "I was thrilled to be involved in the project. I think that art is most powerful when people's hearts are moved, and mine surely was."
A "Peace Anthem for our time", Salam Pax (Peace), is performed by Arbor and a group of stellar, California-based musicians. They include Stef Burns, lead guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News; Curtis Ohlson, bass player formerly with Ray Charles, and now playing with the Booker T. Band; Kevin Hayes, drummer for the Robert Cray Band; and Dave Mathews, keyboard player with Etta James. The video cast features Don Arbor and the band, as well as Kamran Kamjou in the lead role as Salam Pax.
Salam Pax (Peace) has been chosen as an Official Selection of the 2008 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival and the 2008 Berkeley Film and Video Festival. Linktv, a popular web-based network featured in the January 13, 2008 New York Times, has also selected Salam Pax (Peace) to air in the coming months. |
(Download invidual songs or the
whole album at DigStation)
Click here for Info and photos from
"Salam Pax (Peace)" screening at
Zaentz Media Center!
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Best news of all--Salam Pax survived the invasion and continues to live and write from Baghdad. He and his publisher, Grove/Atlantic, Inc., have kindly granted permission to use the excerpts of his blog that appear in the video. The blog was published in October 2003 by Grove Atlantic under the title, "Salam Pax: Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi."
"Salam is an extraordinary individual—a talented author, and a courageous symbol of the possibility of peace—after all, "peace" is his first name, and his last name," said Arbor.
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Not stopping with a music video, Arbor is giving half the proceeds from the Salam Pax (Peace) project to help "un-do the invasion"-- to try to fix what's broken, heal the wounds, and encourage a brighter and more harmonious future. Toward that end, half of all profits from the CD/DVD will go to help those who have suffered from the invasion of Iraq-- both Iraqi citizens and American service men and women and their families.
If you want to help in other ways, you can DONATE directly to CIVIC, the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (www.civicworldwide.org) or the American Friends Service Committee (www.afsc.org), two organizations that are working to relieve suffering caused by the war. |
Salam Pax (Peace) made its Festival premiere in New York City on March 1, 2008, headlining the Festival's music video segment.
"Congresswoman Woolsey Gives "Salam Pax (Peace)" Two Thumbs Up!
"Lynn Woolsey, Congresswoman from the 6th Congressional District of California, has been one of the strongest advocates for peace, and a staunch opponent of the invasion of Iraq. This March, Congresswoman Woolsey had a chance to see the "Salam Pax (Peace)" video, and she sent this message:
"I am certain that your lyrics and music will mobilize people for change. I am impressed and inspired by your commitment to ending the senseless wars that plague our world."
Thanks, Congresswoman Woolsey, for your courage in Washington, and for your words of support!
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