Watch Brian Eno, Fontaines D.C.’s Carlos O’Connell, Michael Stipe and Bastille’s Dan Smith read ‘Voices For Gaza’ letters of Palestinian’s war experience

nme.com:

Brian Eno, as well as members of Fontaines D.C., R.E.M, Bastille and more have read out letters from Palestinians suffering in Gaza as part of a ‘Voices For Gaza’ initiative.The clips have been shared on the Instagram page for Voices For Gaza, and sees famous faces from across the entertainment industry read letters from those in Palestine aloud, recalling the graphic details of the war.It aims to help raise funds for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians and bring awareness to the ongoing crisis happening in the country.At time of writing, the conflict has led to the deaths of over 34,600 Palestinians.

The attacks by Hamas on October 7 last year killed over 1,200 people.Among those who have taken part in the charity initiative is Brian Eno, who reads out a letter from a civilian in Gaza, written in February 2024.

It recalls the firsthand perspective of the person finding their childhood home bombed, seeing his father forced to queue for hours to access clean water, and how many of those in Gaza are being subjected to seeing the bodies of their relatives decomposing in the street.Fontaines D.C.’s Carlos O’Connell also read a moving letter out loud for Voices For Gaza.

Written by a civilian called Walaa Barbakh in January, the letter recalled how the grave of their late daughter had been desecrated, “bodies [were] thrown everywhere”, and they had to ask to retrieve her body.A post shared by Voices for Gaza (@voicesforgza)A post shared by Voices for Gaza (@voicesforgza)R.E.M’s Michael Stipe also took part, reading a letter from a civilian who documented how he lost multiple siblings in the bombings, and is seeing more and more children being killed due to the conflict.Others who have joined the initiative include Rage.