Roger Waters of Pink Floyd joins in support of Shymaa and other Gaza children calling for peace

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. - July 19, 2016 - PRLog -- The story behind the 2 Unite All Gaza and Middle East peace benefit album is heart wrenching. Steve Robertson, founder of ProjectPeaceOnEarth.org (PPoE), started the 2 Unite All album project immediately after watching a harrowing TV news report in the Summer 2014 about a four-year-old Palestinian girl who was hospitalized and in a coma following a bombing in Gaza.

"The doctors weren't sure if she would survive, but said if she did regain consciousness, she would learn that her mother, father and sister - her entire family - had all been killed… My tears wouldn't stop and I said to myself: That's enough. I have to do something now, to offer some sort of healing support to the people of Gaza.  I started making calls and sending emails out to our PPoE Musical Ambassadors to put together a benefit album.  I was flooded with music."

After a seven-month search process Robertson found the little girl named Shymaa through the Gaza based National Centre of Community Rehabilitation (NCCR).  The organization specializes in supporting and empowering children to have a normal childhood after being injured and/or traumatized during military invasions.  Robertson had an idea to produce a song and video with children from the NCCR and Shymaa so he immediately reached out to Richard Gannaway, a PPoE Music Ambassador.

Together, Robertson, composer Richard Gannaway and the NCCR team worked for some three months to train children with no singing experience (the NCCR Gaza Children's Choir) and then record and film them for the album.  Shymaa is featured in the Haumea music video that was beautifully edited by the esteemed musician and filmmaker, Fritz Heede.  2015 Grammy winner Ricky Kej, generously donated his time to produce the album.

Roger Waters was moved by Shymaa's story, the 2 Unite All album and wanted to help.  In donating his song "Each Small Candle" and supporting the cause Waters stated: "The story of the little girl Shymaa in Gaza who lost her entire family, sparked the idea for the 2 Unite All benefit album for Gaza, Palestine and Middle East Peace. It is a story that is far too familiar. In Gaza 1.6 million people, adults and children alike live in what is essentially an open-air prison. They have no control over their borders, airspace or coastal waters. They live under the constant threat of attack from their heavily armed and hostile neighbor Israel. There is a movement in Global Civil Society to protest their intolerable situation, a movement which I wholeheartedly support. I have given my song "Each Small Candle" in support of the important Project Peace On Earth album in the hope that, along with all the other songs donated by concerned artists, it will help to shed light on the plight of the Palestinian people, and encourage progress towards equal rights, justice and freedom for all the peoples of this Middle Eastern region regardless of ethnicity or religion."

Roger's song "Each Small Candle" is featured amongst the 30 songs of Volumes 1 & 2, which includes such music legends as Peter Gabriel, Stewart Copeland (The Police), Philip Lawrence of Bruno Mars, Thomas Bergersen (2 Billion Youtube hits), Sasha Cooke (Grammy Winner), Gary Nicholson (Grammy Winner), Beth Nielsen Chapman, Rick Allen (Def Leppard), Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman (Grammy Winners) and more.  Proceeds go to Palestinian and Middle East relief agencies supported by Project Peace on Earth (PPoE), the US based humanitarian organization run by Steve Robertson. The aim of the movement is to unite people who are separated by conflict and prejudice through the healing power of music. Beneficiaries of the album include: Palestine Children Relief Fund, Friends of UNRWA USA, National Centre for Community Rehabilitation (NCCR) in Gaza and Project Peace On Earth.

Steve Robertson, CEO of Project Peace on Earth says:

"Roger Waters is a musical genius and courageous hero in the name of human rights.  His song "Each Small Candle" speaks to the core of what children and their parents in Gaza and all war torn areas deal with everyday. With the aid of the 2 Unite All album, the NCCR and the Palestinian people of Gaza we hope to lead the way to promote the universal message of Love and Human Rights for All. Roger's song and the Gaza Children's Choir song Haumea serves as a promotional beacon for PPoE's and the NCCR's new campaign movement of Love All Love Wins and the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)."

Mr. Khaled Abuzaid, NCCR founder stated that:

"We decided to participate in the 2 Unite All album and Love All Love Wins Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) campaigns because we believe that the children of Gaza and Palestine deserve the same rights of a peaceful co-existence that most all children who live in the US, Britain and around the world presently experience.  It is our prayer, through music, that our children can share their voice with the world. We believe that Palestine will one day be a world center for peace and reconciliation."

Proceeds from sales of 2 Unite All Vols. 1 & 2 will fund the provision of medical and psychological assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and people the Middle East region.

Interviews can be arranged with Roger Waters,  Steve Robertson, CEO of Project Peace on Earth and Producer of 2 Unite All Vols. 1 & 2, Ricky Kej Producer of the album, Mr. Khaled Abuzaid, Founder of the NCCR, and select musicians, upon request.

RESS PAGE: 2uniteall.com/press-page

VIDEO: Haumea "We Are The Ones" - Gaza Children's Choir Video

VIDEO RELEASE DATE:  Tuesday 19^th July 2016

US/WORLD PRESS: press@projectpeaceonearth.org

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