Yemeni star Maria Qahtan unveiled a new music video titled "Childhood and Peace," set to be filmed and released soon on her YouTube channel, which has nearly a million subscribers. In an exclusive interview with "Al Arabiya.net," Maria mentioned she is currently recording a patriotic song featuring stars of Yemen’s music scene. Maria, who rose to fame as a child on the show "The Voice Kids" aired on MBC, has quickly grown up and is now 12 years old, having been born in a time of destruction. She cautiously senses her uncertain future, much like millions of Yemeni children trapped behind walls of darkness and deprivation. She is determined to be their mirror in both good times and bad.
She recalls her first dream of becoming a pediatrician, as if wanting to convey that she wishes to be a mother to all orphans lacking the price of bread, sweets, and medicine. Originating from the district of Ba’dan in the Ibb governorate, Maria currently lives with her family in the impoverished neighborhood of Midhab in the capital, Sana'a. Instinctively realizing that her presence represents the childhood of all Yemen, she dedicates her sadness to express their pains and hopes, opening distant windows with her voice toward a bright and white tomorrow. She continues, with God's protection, to risk her own safety when she goes to meet them from concert to concert, seeking a safe escape for them from the dark fates.
A few days ago, the granddaughter of Queen Arwa held a concert in Taiz, where the streets filled as her procession passed, akin to Bilqis of her era. Maria addressed those who had been terrified by tanks and have now become displaced without shelter, soothing those displaced by armored vehicles who have now become orphans without a loving hug. The pain of funerals and the cries of grieving mothers permeate her performances.
Everyone has their weapon, and for Maria, it is her juvenile voice that rises above the sounds of cannons. In a world obsessed with confrontations, the daughter of happy Yemen sings melodies that resonate globally, pleading for a bit of peace. She laments through her oud about the exhaustion of an entire people, articulating the pain of funerals and the cries of mourning mothers over the victims of the fronts. She conveys their groans through songs to every party in a land exhausted by wars, appealing to the conscience of humanity so that the descendants of Queen Bilqis might live in harmony and peace.
Maria lifts her hands from under the ruins of war, singing to the heavens, "We will not surrender to pain," exposing wounds completely. Despite borders, separations, and sieges, Maria's voice remains free and liberated, singing in Iraqi dialect, "Come, I’ll fill you with love," to tell her Arab brothers: "We are still here, loving, feeling, and suffering."
She understands that her voice alone cannot heal all wounds, so she visits children suffering from cancer in Aden, Sana'a, and elsewhere during occasions and holidays, celebrating with them and singing the words of Kazem El Saher, "We live in a homeland full of afflictions... all pain, all sedition," adding, "To you peace and respect, but it is a disgrace for a land of peace to become debris or to be taken away, and by God, that is shameful."
Not stopping there, she surprises a child with disabilities by singing to her on her birthday. Maria and many others hope for an end to the war, believing that regardless of its duration, it will eventually conclude, but she fervently wishes it to stop with as little pain as possible.
**Charisma that Captivated Millions**
Maria's talent was discovered by her sister Shaima, as she was influenced by the theme songs of animated series and began imitating them through song since she was two years old, stepping onto the threshold of stardom. She was then given a chance to participate in "The Voice Kids," capturing the hearts of millions with her smile before her voice, embodying the determination of the confident and the aspirations of the youth. She appeared on the show with a charisma that the judges described as enchanting; however, it wasn't merely charm or stardom, rather it was the brilliance of a gem emerging from one of humanity’s oldest civilizations.
When she first appeared on "The Voice Kids," no one knew anything about the talents of Yemeni children and their passionate love for life. Maria became their ambassador with her proud presence, as sturdy as farmers' homes atop mountains, spreading her voice as a feast for the toil-worn, just like the green terraces of "Ibb" on the slopes. Singing before the emperor Kazem El Saher, who chose her for his team and bet on her as he would on the voices of 30 million Yemenis living below the poverty line.
**A Message of Peace for a Safe and Happy Yemen**
The little girl, youthful in age yet mature in awareness, sings to plant a rose and a promise of a safe and happy Yemen amid the rubble of destruction. Trees weep along with her, and stones listen before people do, as everyone chants her name, Maria. She is the voice of Yemen, emerging from under the ruins of war, carrying a message of peace from one province to another. In her laughter, the mornings of coffee bloom, and in the features of her face, the geography of greater Yemen is drawn. Recently, she lit up holiday festivities in a land where people have forgotten its taste, color, and timing, making the holiday feel “ordinary” for them, as they settle for celebrating her like a hymn of their lost holiday.
**Songs that Cross Borders Despite the Siege**
Maria performs Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi's hit "Despacito," achieving 3 million views, and she sings another with sadness, "We will not surrender to pain," ultimately exposing the wound entirely. Confronting terror with love, Maria traverses geography between provinces to perform concerts here and there, triumphing with her voice for life. Amid large crowds wearing the dignity of queens, the masses wave as they welcome her, their eyes wide open, once dulled by the mills of poverty and worries, adorning her procession with applause and cheers. Her smile raises a white flag to bring joy to both young and old amid a suffocating siege that has stolen happiness from the faces of the people of Tubba and Hamyar, depriving a simple people born free and destined to die free, a people that rejects all subjugation under any threat or constraint.
Amid chants of death that have stifled what remains of life, and inside walls of imposed oppression with no escape, Maria challenges the language of fire and flutters like a butterfly from darkness to light. Traveling from region to region as an ambassador of hearts, she is a childlike voice that composes the pain of an entire people, narrating the tales of destruction and healing the wounded nation stabbed in the back, spreading a message of reconciliation and peace to all humanity, singing: "Here is Yemen, the mother of civilizations, which continues to resist and will not die."