Since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 Palestinians have lost their limbs, about a quarter of them children. It’s the highest number of child amputees in recent history, according to a United Nations agency. Many are now trying to recover by getting fitted with prosthetics through relief groups.
On Saturday, a benefit concert in Detroit will be held to help raise money for prosthetics and awareness of their plight. The “Watani77: Prosthetics for Palestine” event, featuring several bands, vendors, art, food and refreshments, is from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Cairo Coffee, inside Spot Lite Detroit at 2905 Beaufait St., Detroit. (“Watani” means “nation” and “77” refers to the 77 years since Palestinians were displaced.)
The event was originally planned to be outdoors at another location, but will now be indoors due to Detroit’s hazardous air quality in recent days. Tickets are $25, and proceeds will benefit Prosthetics for Palestine, a project of Physicians for Palestine, a 501c3 non-profit, organizers said. They hope to raise about $10,000 from the Detroit concert. Founded in 2023, Prosthetics for Palestine focuses on “amputee care, supporting limb production, rehabilitation partnerships, and infrastructure development,” working in Gaza, the West Bank and the U.S., the group said.
“Every prosthetic is not only a medical intervention, but a step toward mobility, independence, and continuity of life,” Jamie Elmasu, co-founder of Prosthetics for Palestine and board member of Physicians for Palestine, said in a statement. “This work is about restoring dignity and building long-term systems of care, not just responding to immediate need.”
Organizers said the funds raised through the Detroit concert will help fund: two ambulances for emergency medical response in Palestine; building a prosthetics clinic in Ramallah, West Bank; a prosthetics training program in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); expanding amputee rehabilitation and prosthetic care in Gaza, the West Bank, and the Palestinian diaspora.
The concert and event will be headlined by Tarik “Excentrik” Kazaleh & The Shadow Band, who will perform selections from his new album “Watani77,” a 77-minute instrumental album recorded in 77 hours to commemorate the 77th year since the displacement of Palestinians, often known as the Nakba. All proceeds from album sales go toward Prosthetics for Palestine, event organizers said.
“For me, this album is not just music,” Kazaleh said. “It is a way of carrying our memory forward together. As Palestinians in the diaspora, we inherit stories of loss, survival, and love for our land, and those stories live in everything we create.”
For information on the concert and to buy tickets or contribute to Prosthetics for Palestine, click here.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, X @nwarikoo or Facebook @nwarikoo
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit concert to benefit Palestinian amputees who need prosthetics
Reporting by Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
