#StayStrongQatar: Malaysian songwriter Maizurah praises Doha's defiance in new anti-blockade song

More than four weeks since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Doha, patriotism is undoubtedly high in Qatar - even among foreign expats who describe the emirate as their second country.

For Malaysian singer Maizurah, the political crisis is just too personal to dismiss.

This week, she released a song, co-written by British songwriter Ben Haynes, dubbed ‘Stay Strong Qatar’.

As one can imagine, the Kelly Clarkson-esque track - which is accompanied by what seems to be a professionally filmed video - stands as a motivational speech to Doha, who is seeing some serious “changes”.

“How do you feel when everything is changing, when all your friends turn against you for something,” Maizurah sings, referring to the sudden Saudi-led decision to isolate Qatar in June.

“Keep your head high and never lose yourself, you’ll be fine you don’t have to prove yourself,” she adds, before breaking into a defiant chorus chanting “They can block you, they put you down, but they can’t break you.” 

This is just the latest effort to address a deepening crisis which has affected thousands of ordinary people living in Qatar and the anti-Doha bloc.

Less than a week ago, US based Jim Terr showed his solidarity in a way that not many would have expected to see. The video producer wrote a song in solidarity with Qatar, criticising US President Donald Trump for supporting Saudi Arabia.

The song, which is mainly being circulated on WhatsApp, has been described as “funny” and “cute”. It is also being shared because it quite literally gives the perfect summary as to why the international community is supporting Qatar.

In the song, he starts off criticising his own government for “picking on tiny little nations”. He then went on to mock the Arab nations besieging Qatar.

“When Egypt is looking for a fight, you must be doing something right,” he sung, taking a jab at the oppressive Cairo-based military dictatorship.

He repeated the line for Saudi Arabia and even pointed out the hypocrisy of the US government for supporting Saudi Arabia, yet supporting the Qatar blockade under the guise of counter-terrorism.