On October 16, 2014 global troubadour Stephan Said, conducted a "Love, Make The World Go Round," "#lighttheworld" concert in Karachi, Pakistan. Special guests at this concert included Pakistan's famous Qawwals, Farid Ayaz, Abu Mohammad Qawwal and brothers. Said met them for the first time at the September TCI Spiritual Alchemy of Music event at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City. In the Q&A, Said responds to questions we posed to him about the Pakistan concert.
Excerpts from the Interview
TCI: Can you tell me why you think your concert was such a success and how you got this organized so quickly?
Stephan Said: Meeting the Qawwals at the TCI concert was just one of those things that was destined to happen and the energy around us was so strong - everybody's response to it was so strong - even on that evening that we were kind of compelled by it. With my already planned trip to Karachi just 3 weeks later, and the possibility of a concert there, everything kind of just kept rolling down hill and is still going.
We had just gotten our tickets to do some filming in Pakistan. Then we did the September show with the Qawwals that was a great hit and then the final piece would be my mother in law's connection to this hugely innovative outdoor space Port Grand, the most beautiful outdoor public place in Karachi, and they offered for us to do a concert there. The enthusiasm was evidenced in numerous foundations, NGO's, major media partners in TV, print and radio all getting involved in short time, culminating in a highly produced concert for peace with more than 2000 in attendance organized in one week. Hundreds of youth made signs for global equality, peace and tolerance. The timeliness was just there. People are hungry to show a positive image rising from the region to counteract what we see in the news everyday.
TCI: Why Pakistan?
SS: It was always one of our target countries for our work, featuring people at the epicenter of globalization, of conflict and poverty. We need to hear their voices if we really want peace. And, my wife being from Pakistan, we wanted it to be one of the first places we went. Now we've been in Baghdad and Karachi, perhaps the two most precarious cities in the world, and in both places amazing things happened. Lifting a message of hope from these places inherently can transform the international dialogue.
The silent majority of us across the world, whether we're Muslims, Christians, or Jews, or others, know that we need systemic change, and we could achieve this age-old dream if people give them a chance to voice their opinion. Repeatedly they said to me: People always come here to film but nobody ever comes here to listen to us. Pakistan is a place that has been filled with hundreds of people at the front lines of social change giving their lives silently.
For example, since 1920 the Ida Rieu Foundation has operated to provide social care services for deaf and blind children. Their students joined me in sign language and singing like angels the chorus to the anthem for global unity.
Also, the Aman Foundation polytechnic institute arranged for hundreds of their students with their hands in the air holding up signs for world peace and equality to be part of this event.
Pakistan is unique because it has been a democracy and possibly has the second largest number of civil society groups next to the United States. Because of the corruption, citizens have taken upon themselves for years to work to the betterment of the society and also because of the Muslim tradition of having to give Zakat. There are numerous organizations including The Citizens Foundation, Teach For Pakistan, the Inner Wheel Club of Karachi, and government schools; the National Academy for Performing Arts and the Arts Council of Pakistan, doing fantastic work there. Though, similar to the United States and elsewhere, many of such groups work in isolation from each other and are often looking for ways to connect.
You can see images and videos on the show's facebook page, #lighttheworld - Pakistan: dunia roshan karo. It's pretty incredible.
TCI: Do you see anything similar about the mission of your work and TCI and if so, what is that?
SS:Yes I do. I've been grateful to be associated with Cordoba because I know their vision is about transcending differences and bridging cultures and creating a positive kind of leadership and direction for us all to focus on and go forward in the world to create peace and in all of those ways TCI's mission and mine are closely aligned. That kind of natural resonance I think becomes a seedbed for change, for effective programming, relationships, collaborations, and here's an instance where it happened. And hopefully this is just the beginning. We've already created a great example of something that could be replicated now in cities all over the world.
