Toronto-hailing poet and artist Mustafa has released a new song, “Gaza Is Calling”, with net proceeds going to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
Of Sudanese heritage himself, he wrote the song in 2020, inspired by the life of a Palestinian friend he grew up with in Toronto. A tragic tale, he decided to release the song as a benefit single in light of the worsening conflict in Gaza. Earlier this year, he was also one of the co-organiser of a benefit show to send aid to Gaza and Sudan.
For the video, Mustafa called on filmmaker and Succession actor Hiam Abbas to direct. It includes footage shot in Jenin last month and Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid and Gazan MC Abdul both feature in the video.
Speaking about the song’s inception, Mustafa shares: “‘Gaza Is Calling’ is about my first experience with heartbreak in friendship. I was 11 when I met this boy from Gaza. With him, I shared one of the deepest loves I’ve ever known—he grew up alongside me in a housing project in Toronto. Not even this love was a match for the violence we were up against; the one in our new home, the one that followed him from Gaza like a cold wind. In the end, it was all the bloodshed between us that didn’t allow us to see each other without tears appearing.”
On the video, he adds: “I reached out to Bella in 2022 about the ‘Gaza Is Calling’ short film. I wrote a story about a grief that meets you on whatever land you escape to... The hope is that this serves as a stark reminder that every path is ours, every child is ours, and every war is ours to answer for and speak against.”
Watch the short film at the top.