By: Opal Tometi, Posted: Aug 13 09

Regions: Africa, Sudan

Issues: Armed conflict, Child soldiers, Children's rights

Tags: culture, documentary, Emmanuel Jal, Music, war

"I believe I have survived for a reason: to tell my story to touch lives"

Ever since I watched the documentary War Child, a film about former Sudanese child soldier and now rapper Emmanuel Jal, I have been inspired and intrigued by how a young child who was conscripted to fight in a war could grow to become someone who so passionately articulates a message of peace.  During the course of shooting the film, the filmmakers luckily were able to find footage from the UN archive of Jal as a young child.  Even then, it's striking how much Jal stood out - as a child soldier, he was often the one providing tours to visitors who thought they were in a refugee camp.  He also became fluent in several tribal languages during those years, making him popular among the children and adults who were fighting in the war. These gifts have accompanied him into adulthood, and have created the perfect recipe for this up and coming emcee and spokesman for peace.

I won't rehash his life story as his film, music and website are more suited for the task; however, I must take note of his witty and often catchy rap lyrics which analyse, dissect, and criticize the injustices that he and others have faced.  How does one make poetry out of war?

"...My dreams are like torment,
My every moment.
Voices in my brain
Of friends that were slain,
Friends who died by my side of starvation
In the burning jungle and the desert plain.
But Jesus heard my cry
As I was tempted to eat the rotten flesh of my comrade..."

Not only does Jal's music document injustice, it also serves as an opportunity to educate.  Here's the trailer for War Child (and check out this short interview with the director of the film, Karim Chrobog):

Jal's latest album's title and hit single "War Child" begins with him chanting: "I believe I have survived for a reason: to tell my story to touch lives."  And true to these lyrics, Jal has stayed committed to doing just that.  In a recent conversation I had with him, he expressed his enthusiasm for speaking at the 2009 TED Global Conference, which was held this past July in Oxford, England.  This platform gave Jal another opportunity to share his experience as a child soldier and reach out to people who could help alleviate hardships of youth in Southern Sudan.

Music is a great way to raise awarenees about an issue, but there are often pragmatic needs to be met.  With this and his own personal experience in mind, Jal established GUA-Africa, a nonprofit that works to address the needs of children affected by war in Sudan as well as those living as refugees in Kenya.  GUA-Africa's main goal is to use education to empower children and young adults and tend to their other basic needs. The organization provides scholarships for children who were forced to fight in wars and for survivors of war and genocide.  GUA-Africa is also raising funds to build a school that will be called Emma Academy in Leer, Southern Sudan.

Emmanuel Jal believes so strongly in the necessity of education that he has committed to eating only one meal a day until GUA-Africa has the $300,000 needed to begin construction of the school. He has done this for the past 252 days and the money saved has been donated to the fund. Here's how Jal explained his commitment to me:

"...where I come from it's normal. People eat one meal a day, for them it's not a big deal.  I'm in a place where there's a lot of food but I choose not to... it's a symbol to try and show the world that [many] people eat one meal a day... I'm willing to die for education because I see how important it is... I come from a country where people have been fed on aid for so many years, families have grown in refugee camps all their lives... [But] our countries are fertile and I'm trying to pass a message to the world that [all] we need are tools...the way of giving aid has to change..."

He continues our conversation with some astute observations about aid and why he founded GUA-Africa:

"I think the form of aid has to change now because just digging wells for people to drink, just dropping food from the sky won't solve the problem... If you want to help Africa you've got to build more schools. Educate. Show people how to do the things so that they can fend for themselves... when you give them aid you're crippling them... Africa is not poor, it's fertile. Invest in the people.  Things that really can actually strengthen [Africa] are not being focused on.  I feel so sorry for a lot of people who actually give money out of their heart and their money is doing ...almost nothing.  The way aid is being structured has to change: pick certain universities and strengthen them... If you educate a thousand people who go there, they will create a change... It's not the bigger things that make change, it's the smaller things that add up to make the bigger things." 

Simply put, Emmanuel Jal's life is a testament of resilience and hope, as well as of the resounding good one can contribute despite tremendous adversity.  

---
See more:
* Emmanuel perfoming at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday party, where he was introduced by WITNESS Founder Peter Gabriel
* War Child, a documentary by Karim Chrobog
* More videos about child soldiers in other parts of the world, including WITNESS work on the issue in the DRC

Take action:
* Support GUA-Africa, the organization founded by Jal