2000 years ago, the Ancient Greeks governed their lives according to explanations that are taught nowadays as Greek Mythology. 2000 years later, we know that Greek mythology is as true as the first four letters of the word mythology. But mythology, as science is today, is an answer to the questions people have always asked. For example, thunder wasn’t defined in ancient Greece as a difference of charges between clouds and the earth that causes an electrical current, they were the cause of Zeus the God of Lightning; the guy who lived in the clouds and fired lightning. To anyone today this is pure fiction. We have been able to reach over the clouds and confirm no such man exists.

Some wonder why we still learn mythology when its application is absolutely pointless, but it is the foundations for modern thinking. These myths are the first recorded explanations of our world. Regardless of whether they are applicable or not, these stories have inspired people to shape the world into what it is today.

“Out of the ashes the phoenix rose” is a statement embodying the story of the Phoenix of Ancient Greek Mythology. This story talks about a bird that dies in a fire and rises from the ashes to regain its glory, much like Palestine will one day. But to look closer, one finds that every Palestinian is a phoenix in his own right. When Palestinians are born, they aren’t born just pure and innocent, they are also born hostages to a situation far beyond their control.

An example of a Palestinian phoenix is Ammar Hassan from Salfit, a village outside of Nablus. Ammar is now a finalist in the Arab World’s most successful show ‘SuperStar’ despite all the difficulties that he must endure simply because he is a Palestinian. Forget the fact that Salfit has been ravaged in the last 4 years; forget the fact that a young boy in occupation was able to go to university to study music in search of a better future; forget the fact that Ammar is lucky to have survived thus far; forget all these points. Not that the previous points are not important, it is the fact that I am writing an article, and if I chose to describe the struggle and minute probability that Ammar had to reach ‘SuperStar’ I don’t believe there is enough paper in the world or words in the dictionary to properly articulate the experiences of Ammar. Instead I chose to focus on his struggles on the show itself to point to how when it couldn’t be easier, the Palestinian always has it difficult.

If you have been following the show, it is hard not to see the prejudice the judging panel displays against Ammar especially the two Lebanese judges Elias El-Rahbani and Fadia Al-Haj, who are obviously still blaming the Palestinians for an inevitable civil war. While other singers get acclaimed for average performances, Ammar’s outstanding performances are overlooked and instead he is lectured on armed struggle versus academic struggle. Why? Isn’t it a sign of academic resistance that the man standing before that panel defied all the odds and went on to a higher academic institution in order to develop his academic and cultural dreams?

Further, Palestinians do not need to learn that the pen is mightier than the sword. Out of all the Arab countries, Palestine has the largest number of educated people per capita, and even has a better literacy rate than the “great” USA. This is not the accomplishment of a normal nation that wakes up and goes about its business; this is an accomplishment of a nation that is stripped of its right to go about its daily business, yet the Palestinians succeed better than most that have every opportunity and all the money in the world. So I tell you Mr. El-Rahbani, while it is true that the pen is mightier than the sword, I would like to see the pen you’ll be holding when a bulldozer is demolishing everything you once knew into nothingness. When a tank is parked outside your house and your only chance of defense is a rock, what book will work then? But the Palestinians continue to defy the odds by succeeding academically in the face of some of the world’s most difficult conditions.

Ammar was told at one point that although in normal circumstances a singer embodies his struggle and makes it appeal to people more, in his case the Palestinian case is making him appeal to people and not his talent and devotion. Why can’t Ammar be told he sang well like all the other contestants are told even when they perform badly? In the American version of the show, there is Simon who is ruthless and honest in his comments. In the Arabic show, all the judges do is praise performances regardless of whether they are good or bad, because criticism does not bode well in the Arab World. But as soon as Ammar is on stage singing, the criticisms and lectures pour out.

“You always sing with a sad tone”, said Judge Fadia Al-Haj to Ammar to emphasize the point that Ammar is exploiting the Palestinian case to appeal to the crowd. But I say, how can Ammar have a sad tone? To any Palestinian that watches the show, or even has heard of Ammar, they hear hope. It isn’t the ‘sound of sadness’ that echoes out of this young man. It is the proud mountainess voice he has that represents his heritage, people and their struggle. It is the voice that rose above the walls, the bullets, and the structured dehumanization. It is a voice that, even if for a split second, makes every Palestinian feel like there is a chance for a normal life. It is the ‘Sound of Hope’.

Although, and I admit, that ‘Superstar’ is not a good example to highlight the Palestinian struggle, it is a glimpse at how even the simple things become hardships when one is a Palestinian.