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As bombs continue to rain down on Gaza and the death toll crosses 51,000, 18,000 children, artists, poets, writers, musicians and filmmakers from across Pakistan have come together to remind the world of a crucial truth: art is not merely aesthetic — it is ethical, political, and deeply human.

On Thursday, at the ‘Art for Life — Art for Gaza’ camp organised by the Silk Route Culture Centre (SRCC), the powerful role of creative voices in resisting oppression took centre stage during a panel titled ‘Discourse on Gaza’.

Moderated by Sumbul Binte Ehsan, a communications expert, the panel brought together a rich spectrum of voices — a musician, a poet, a politician, and a journalist — all uniting under a shared concern: how to speak for Palestine when the world seems to have turned a blind eye to the gravest human tragedy.

“We are not just here to mourn the atrocities — we are here to respond to them through art,” said Ms Ehsan in her opening remarks. “This is not a seminar on suffering. It is a gathering of conscience.”

The discourse opened with a powerful address by internationally acclaimed Sufi and revolutionary singer Arieb Azhar, who emphasised the spiritual and ethical dimension of artistic expression.

“Ethics and aesthetics are interlinked,” he said, adding that “Ethics is the pursuit of good, aesthetics the pursuit of beauty. When art carries both, it elevates humanity.”

Azhar made a compelling case for artists to act as moral compasses in a world increasingly dominated by false narratives and exploitative power structures. He also rejected the notion that realpolitik should justify silence in the face of genocide. “What’s happening in Gaza isn’t compromise — it’s the loss of our collective humanity. The struggle of Palestinians is waking the world, especially the global South.”

The camp, themed ‘Nakba Remain’, is not merely a local initiative but an international one.

According to poet and intellectual Harris Khalique, “Israel is the last Western imperial outpost in Asia. Through it, global capitalism manages the extraction of resources across and manages markets in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Khalique called for a renewed alliance between the working class and the artistic community, arguing that the relationship between labour and literature has weakened over time highlighting the importance of International Labourers Day observed on May 1.

Former senator Mushahid Hussain Syed echoed these sentiments, calling for artists to become “idea warriors”.

Naming veteran artist Jamal Shah as the ‘Cultural Tsar’ of Pakistan, he emphasised how films, paintings, poetry and photography can shape political consciousness.

Recalling how the film ‘Children of Rage’ changed the mind of a Zionist friend during his student days in Washington, Mushahid underscored the transformative power of artistic empathy.

Poet and columnist Ammar Masud stressed the centrality of words in any movement. “If a single word can touch a single conscience, that’s a revolution,” he said, adding that “words carry emotion. They mould perception. They are indispensable to resistance.”

At the camp, over 30 artists from across Pakistan are crafting works.

“Every stroke, every note, every word here is an act of defiance,” said Jamal Shah, the man behind SRCC and the driving force of the initiative.

The opening ceremony was deeply symbolic, from the playing of Palestinian and Pakistani national anthems to the release of pigeons as a symbol of peace.

Palestinian Ambassador Dr Zuhair Zaid, who spent 14 years in Israeli prisons, called the camp “a humanitarian expression” that transcends politics.

“We stand for life, dignity, and peace. Let art open hearts where diplomacy has failed.”

The Art for Life – Art for Gaza camp continues until May 7.

Originally published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2025