DEMOCRACY AROUND THE WORLD | Giving citizens a voice
04 March 2009
Former Child Soldier Uses Music as a Weapon Against Violence
Emmanuel Jal channels his passion to give voice to ongoing crisis in Sudan
Washington — A former child soldier in the Sudanese civil war has turned rapper/activist, using his story, told in his music and in a documentary called War Child, to touch lives and promote peace and education in his homeland.
During a book-signing event in February at Howard University in Washington, curious students peppered Emmanuel Jal with questions about his life as a child soldier and were rewarded with an impromptu performance of his song “Emma” from his newest album.
At the age of 6, Jal was sent to Ethiopia for school but instead was trained as child soldier for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. Many children, bitter and hoping to seek revenge, took part in the training to fight their Muslim/Arab counterparts in the North, who were viewed as the enemy.
Seven years later, he and other child soldiers left the camp and journeyed to Waat, Sudan, where he met his “angel,” British aid worker Emma McCune. Rescued, he left with her to start a new life, but that opportunity was cut short when McCune died in a car accident. In the wake of that tragedy, he found a new inspiration.
“Music was therapeutic for me and to me. I was writing history,” Jal told America.gov. “I didn’t know that it was going to be received.”
A decade later, after studying in Kenya and moving to Britain, Jal is singing songs that oppose violence, reject tribalism, promote peace and endorse education.
Still a soldier at heart, Jal has a new war: fighting violence with music.
“Music is the only thing that can speak to your mind, your heart and your soul system, your cells, and influence you without any hard work,” said Jal of his newest weapon. “I put my fight into music, for two reasons: to cool down my anger, transforming that anger to positivity, and because I want to pass a message to people. At first I was doing it because it’s fun [and] it’s healthy; now it goes to the people.”
In 2005, he teamed with singer Abdel Gadir Salim for his Ceasefire album, which included a remake of his hit song “Gua.” This album was the first to team a young hip-hop Christian artist with a traditional Muslim Arab singer, two people who represented the opposing sides of the war. The album, sung in six different languages, combined old and new to urge a fresh beginning.
On the songs “Gua” and “Elengwen,” Jal pleads for togetherness, for the cessation of violence and the growth of peace. He said he does not believe individual Sudanese are the source of the violence; rather, “What we have [rich oil deposits] is what’s killing us.”
PATIENCE AND HOPE
Jal’s journey has been a test of patience and a lesson of acceptance.
“Ceasefire was a chance to practice forgiving the Northern people as well as a chance to exercise working with Muslims,” Jal said. “Now I became more open with Muslims because I realized that the war in Sudan wasn’t about Muslims and Christians. Religion is what they used as a tool to oppress people.”
The album was a huge hit, especially in Sudan. The reason for his success? “It’s because I mentioned the truth,” Jal said. “The things that I’ve seen are what I was talking about,” he said, and people could relate to what he was saying.
He also promotes education, citing ignorance as another obstacle to peace.
“Education is very important. When you are educated, you’re being taught so many things that you can use to make choices and build your life.” With this in mind, Jal plans to fund construction of a school in his hometown of Leer in honor of McCune, and he is fasting to help raise the necessary funding. “I'm not eating breakfast or lunch until I raise $300,000 to build a school in Sudan. All the meals that I skip [money saved] are used to buy bricks for the school. It costs $3 a brick.”
Ultimately, Jal wants his music to offer an alternative to violence, and to inspire hope.
“What I have is a message of hope, and I’m preaching a message of peace using my experiences and using the existing problems happening in my country. I want to offer hope to the people who are struggling, that everything is possible [and also] to at least inspire someone to at least invest in somebody’s life. It took a simple British aid worker to invest in me, and here I am today.”
Jal is currently on tour, promoting his CD, book and documentary — all entitled War Child — as well as raising funds for his school. He said he hopes this will help bring his message to mainstream America.
More information on Emmanuel Jal, including how to help with his school or sponsor a child, is available on gua-africa.org, emmanueljal.org and myspace.com/emmanueljal.
