ROME - Palestinian Ramzi Aburedwan grew up in a refugee camp in Ramallah surrounded by conflict.
As a young boy he made international headlines for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers after they killed his best friend on the street.
It was during the first Intifada, a mass uprising by Palestinians against Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
But Aburedwan discovered music at the age of 17 when he took up the viola. Now the internationally acclaimed musician travels the world using music to spread a message of peace.
"If you wait and you hope you get never get something," Aburedwan told Adnkronos International (AKI) in Rome.
"I don’t want to see the future – I want to make it."
On Friday he was performing in a show entitled Al Kamandjati (The Violinist) at Rome's prestigious Auditorium with a string of actors, writers and musicians to support him.
They included celebrated Palestinian actor and director, Mohammad Bakri, Italian writer Moni Ovadia and Amira Hass, the only Israeli writer who lives in the West Bank.
Bakri said he identified with Aburedwan because they had both survived refugee camps and believed that Palestinians had to have hope.
"One day he started making music and he began creating hope from nowhere," he told AKI. "I understand him because I did the same thing when I was 19."
Fifty-four year old Bakri has won several international acting awards and honored for his documentaries related to the Palestinian conflict. His controversial film, "Jenin, Jenin" was banned by Israel and the subject of continuing legal debate.
Despite the US brokered-peace summit in Annapolis in November, Abdurewan is pessimistic about the prospects for peace.
He said Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza is stopping Arabs and Israelis from resolving their differences.
"There is no justice. We go to Annapolis but at the same time we have more than 500 settlements and 650 check points," he said. "How can we have hope with this?"
Bakri said: "The Israeli government does not want peace. They still occupy the country there are more checkpoints and more controls. At this time they are talking about peace. Which peace is that?"
Aburedwan believes music is the answer, especially for the next generation. In 2005 created a school of music also called, Al Kamandjati, which holds workshops for more than 400 children in the refugee camps of Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
"I am not going to help all the children in Palestine but a big number," he said. "This could be an example for other children and give them an element of hope and help with their experience."
After two Italian performances, the show will be presented in Ramallah in early 2008 and tour Norway in the middle of the year.
(AKI)
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