Irish artists Elaine Mai, MayKay and Faye O’Rourke collaborate on a new charity single

Elaine Mai, MayKay and Faye O’Rourke have come together with Rand, Rwand, Reem, Sara Omar and Ahmad to create a new single entitled ‘We Are’. The money generated from this song will be donated to the Lajee Centre in Palestine.

The young people currently reside in the Aida Refugee Camp which is in the West Bank. In the track we hear the voices of these children speaking in Arabic what it means to be Palestinian.

The words loosely translate to “we mean…power, strength, obstacles, joy, love, hope, victory.” The last line of the track is spoken in English, Arabic and Irish stating “no one is free until Palestine is free.”

When talking about the single O’Rourke says “The very first feeling I had after Elaine played me the children’s voices was hope. In a world marred by division and discourse, to me this song serves as a little mantra towards the light. It’s an honour to be a small part of such a beautiful collaboration.”

The Lajee Centre is a community cultural centre that works young Palestinian people as they navigate the struggle for justice and rights for Palestine and all its people. The goal of ‘We Are’ is to uplift their voices as well as make a financial contribution to their cause.

“I’ve spent some time in the amazing Lajee Centre in Aida Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank of Palestine.” MayKay explains. “Despite the best efforts of the occupied forces to suppress, depress and beak the spirits of the young people in the camp, they are made of resilience, joy, steeliness and humour.”

Since October 7 in 2023, the oppression of Palestine has increased exponentially. MayKay continues by saying that “working with this group of young people was the honour of a lifetime.

“When Elaine sent me some tracks to listen to from her new record it felt like a great opportunity to have their voices, their language, their strength, their joy and their power on a record being released in Ireland that will hopefully echo throughout the forest and fields of festivals and clubs for years to come and remind us all what’s important in their world.”

Mai adds, “I’ve been working on a new record with MayKay and Faye and as we put the different parts of this track in place, it came together really easily and felt right. Giving a platform to these incredible voices is a privilege. I’m really happy to see this track out in the world and all proceeds will go directly to the Lejee Centre.”

The single can be found and purchased on Bandcamp here.