In January of
2009, during the war in Gaza, Michael wrote and released a
song in support of the Palestinian civilian victims.
The song is called "We will not go down (song for Gaza)".
It was posted on YouTube and made available as a free mp3
download. The response to the song has been
overwhelming, to say the least. Here are a few stats:
- Over 1 million views
of the original video on YouTube
- Hundreds of additional YouTube videos
created by others using the song
- Over half a million downloads of mp3
(not counting the mp3 downloads from other websites)
- Over 10,000 emails, comments and messages of support
Contrary to the belief of
some people, the song has absolutely nothing to do with
religion. It is strictly humanitarian in nature. It has been, and continues to be,
played on radio stations and television channels in several
countries, and it was chanted in demonstrations and rallies
all over the globe, with several available online. It has
been translated into a dozen languages and subtitled on
numerous clips. More than 500 new clips have been made with
"We will not go down" by people all over the world, and
thousands of websites have uploaded the clip and posted the
lyrics. Many people have written to confirm they had donated
to UNRWA, as requested by the artist after download of the
song for free.
Most importantly, "We will not go
down" has reached people in Gaza, who took advantage of rare
moments of electricity access to send Michael emails full of
touching and inspiring messages, describing their feelings
of hope and determination when hearing the song.
Michael Heart has received numerous
media requests for interviews the world over; the ones he
has given will be posted on his website as they get
published.
For any information about the artist, please visit:
http://michaelheart.com/Michael_Heart_Bio.html or
contact him at
support@michaelheart.com or
michael@michaelheart.com |
Message from Michael
Dear friends,
I have been overwhelmed by the warmth and the friendship you
have all given me in response to my song for Gaza, "We Will Not
Go Down". I am doing my best to go through your numerous
messages, emails and comments, and ask you to kindly bear with
me until I am able to do so. Please forgive me if I am not able
to respond to each and everyone of you; but please also know
that I really appreciate your messages.
My original intention to donate proceeds from the sale of the
MP3 to charity has been complicated by technical matters;
therefore, I have decided to make the song available free of
charge (for personal, individual use only - all rights
reserved). I would like to request that after
downloading the song from this page, you kindly donate
directly to a charity or an organization dedicated to alleviate
the suffering of the Palestinian people. Worthy of note is
UNRWA
(United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East), which has been helping Palestinian refugees
since their dispossession in 1949. Please click here to donate
through them:
http://www.un.org/unrwa/
Thank you for your continued encouragement of my work as a
musician, for your purchases of my CD (available
here), and for spreading the
song, the video and the message as you have been doing. I am
grateful for every demonstration of support I have received from
you, and for every thought and prayer that has gone to the
people of Gaza.
Sincerely,
Michael Heart |
