Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, and in the Presence of HE Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minster of Economy and Planning, and H.E Donna El Turk, Consul General of Lebanon, Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Lebanese singer Julia Boutros swept the audience of their feet on Tuesday, the 14th of November, in a concert laden with emotions. This concert, which took place in the main auditorium of the American University in Dubai, is an integral part of Julia's fund raising tour to help the families of the martyrs of the July 2006 War on Lebanon.
The concert comes as a follow up to the launch of Julia's new single entitled "Ahibaii" (My Loved Ones), done in collaboration with her brother, composer Ziad Boutros, music arranger Michel Fadel and renowned poet Ghassan Matar. The single aims at helping the families of all Lebanese martyrs who perished during the latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Julia was accompanied by an orchestra of 50 musicians under the leadership of Maestro Haroud Vazelian. The audience of more than 1000 people waved Lebanese flags and sang along with Julia as she delivered her message of victory, patriotism, courage, resistance, hope and of course love and romance.
When she began her singing career at the age of 12, Julia could already sense the need to use her talent on behalf of others. Her first song, a French tune titled 'A Maman", was dedicated to all mothers on mother's day. It proved to be the first step in a lifelong journey of dedication: her gift to others.
By the age of 14, she had released her first album, titled 'C'est La Vie' (This is Life), written and composed by Elias Rahbani.
It was also around this time that the civil war in Lebanon broke out, playing a central role in Julia's life and bringing into sharp focus her desire to commit herself and her singing to humanity and civilization in the Lebanese community in particular and the world in general.
Early on, unlike other artists her age, Julia dedicated her career to a cause. This burning desire to be a voice for others led directly in 1985 to her recording "Ghabet Shams Al Haq". Composed by Julia's brother Ziad Boutros, who composes most of her work today, the song expresses their anger at the continued killing of the innocents: children, women, men and the elderly civilians.
"The only thing we were able to do at the time was to raise our voices and send a message to the world, and that was achieved by my first song," says Julia.
She wanted to send a message and she did so, forcefully. One week after this song was released; Julia's voice entered every house in the Arab world. Her voice had become their voice, with millions of people singing her songs. Even schools began teaching the children the real meanings of Julia's words.
After "Ghabet Shams Al Haq", Julia would say, "I felt that I had a responsibility and that it is to speak on behalf of my people whose voice goes unheard".
Today, Julia's fans range from children to elderly, as she became a national symbol for Nationalism, Patriotism, Resistance and even Romance.
Julia received several national and international awards, including The Lebanese President's Award which was presented to Julia for her contribution, through her voice, to the Lebanese Resistance against the Israeli occupation of Lebanon , shortly after the liberation of the South in May 2000.
Recently, and during the latest Lebanese - Israeli conflict, Julia Boutros was featured on Al Jazeera TV Station in a special program; she talked about the Politics in the Arab world, daring to say the least. She has today developed a fundraising project for the families of all Lebanese Martyrs who perished during the 33 day war.
