Musician David Amram tells a story in the beginning of his book Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat, and that story holds a big clue about why I want to include music in conflict resolution. I first heard a quick reference to his adventure several years ago, found the book to read more details, and since then have told Amram's story many times.
In the spring of 1978, he was stuck in the New Delhi Airport in India. He was supposed to be performing in Tehran, but instead was held up in this airport, in a room called No Man's Land,
the nickname given to the isolated room ... where travelers whose connecting flights were canceled or delayed for more than 24 hours were housed and not allowed to leave the airport since they had no visa for India ... .
In addition to delayed travelers, he was housed with "suspected drug dealers, ... and criminals arrested in the airport who were waiting to be extradited." The carpet upon which he sat was "ratty," and he was hungry and thirsty.
The situation gets even worse.
A young man in a navy blue uniform ... strode into the
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