New music video: Our Rights as Children
Even under Occupation and war, Palestinian children dare to reclaim what was stole from them — their childhood.
Written and performed by Manar Wahhab, co-founder of House of Hope Vision School, “Our Rights as Children” carries the voices of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza. Through Manar’s voice, their dreams are sung aloud: roses instead of rubble, marbles instead of gunfire, freedom instead of fear.
This is not just a song.
It is testimony.
It is defiance.
It is Palestinian children refusing to be reduced to numbers — insisting instead on the right to play, to hope, to live.
Manar sings on behalf of Palestinian children who cannot safely sing for themselves. Children who pick figs and olives, who once filled their days with hopscotch and paper airplanes, who still raise a flag of freedom even as walls rise around them. Her voice carries their demand: that childhood is not a privilege — it is a right.
Filmed and performed in the West Bank and Gaza, this piece is both an anthem of survival and a call to the world: Listen to their voices, and stand with them.
Lyrics
Our Rights as Children
Lyrics by Manar Wahhab
Our rights as children to live in a world full of roses, in a peaceful world,
Without the sound of bullets or gunpowder.
Our rights as children to live in a world full of roses, in a peaceful world,
Without the sound of bullets or gunpowder.
Where we matter and are not just numbers on ID cards.
Blue, green, or pink—
Take all the colors,
But give us freedom, we deserve life.
Balls, hopscotch, and marbles—
That’s what our world used to be.
We pick figs and olives,
And raise our flag high.
We hear the anthem of freedom
Chanted by young and old.
We draw a picture of a homeland,
A boy holding a key.
We plant love, we reap hope.
We remember my old grandma embroidering on the banner of freedom:
On this land, what is worth living for.
Did I see you, high up,
Reaching your sky?
Reaching your sky?
My homeland,
My homeland.
In a paper airplane
Made by my neighbor’s son,
The wind blew.
It flew, and it came from behind the wall,
In a paper airplane made by my neighbor’s son.
The wind blew, and it came from behind the wall
In a paper airplane made by my neighbor’s son.
(x3)
Take Action!
Help support House of Hope's continuing work to bring the vision of Manar's song closer to reality for students in the West Bank - donate today!
Credits
Lyrics & Composition: Manar Wahhab
Music Arranger: Yacoub Alatrash
Recorded: Awtar Studio
Mix & Mastering: Yacoub Alatrash
Bass & Guitar: Charlie Rishmawi
Gaza Footage: Ain Media
Director of Photography: Fadi Dahabreh
Equipment: Image Productions
Makeup: Shifa Hannouneh
Special Thanks: Melad Vosguerichian
Special Thanks: Supporting Hope Board of Directors and Supporters
Video Director: Kuba Rishmawi
