Peter Gabriel joins Sudanese War Child’s campaign
aaamusic | On 07, Jan 2011
Peter Gabriel, George Clooney, Alicia Keys, Richard Branson and Kofi Annan support hip-hop star Emmanuel Jal in raising awareness for the Sudanese Referendum on 9th January 2011.
“I have been horrified at the reports of the potential for civil war in the Sudan after the election. Emmanuel Jal is an inspiring and charismatic young musician and, considering most of the fighting in these wars is actually carried out by young people, I believe Emmanuel’s impassioned campaign for peace will be much more likely to reach them.”
– Peter Gabriel
London-based former Sudanese child soldier, political advocate and hip-hop recording artist, Emmanuel Jal, is driving a political awareness campaign supported by Peter Gabriel, George Clooney, Alicia Keys, Kofi Annan and Richard Branson, based around his “We Want Peace” charity single, which is available for download now.
The song is available to download from all leading digital download retailers or from the official website www.we-want-peace.com. Emmanuel Jal is encouraging people around the world to visit the official website, to become ‘peace soldiers’ and sign a peace awareness petition that will call for a timely, free and fair referendum in Southern Sudan and equality, freedom, and justice for all Sudanese.
“It is a simple concept – if people worldwide do not know what is happening in Sudan, their governments will not feel the need to concern themselves either. In less than a week, a referendum will take place in my country that will almost inevitably be controversial, causing anything from tension to wide-scale war and genocide… Had the world known that 6 million Jews would die during the Second World War then they would have done something about it. We need to shine as bright a light as possible on Sudan in the coming days so that the impending evil of war simply cannot prevail.”
– Emmanuel Jal
“The main objective is for supporters from around the world to visit the official “We Want Peace” website and sign up to become ‘Peace Soldiers’,” says Jal. The politically aware, pro-peace, feel-good hip-hop anthem is timed for release during the build up to the Sudanese referenda on 9th January 2011. On this day the citizens of Southern Sudan and Abyei, as promised by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, will participate in referenda that will determine the fate of Sudan.
This is being hailed as a significant date in the 2011 calendar, as political analysts around the globe are citing the potential of the birth of a new African nation in the making.
George Clooney recently appeared on “Good Morning America” to raise awareness about the possible renewal of civil ware in Sudan because of an impending vote for independence by the southern half of the African nation. Earlier this year Clooney returned from a week-long trip to Southern Sudan, a region that Secretary of State Hilary Clinton calls “a ticking time bomb.” Click here to view Clooney’s appearance on Good Morning America.
The “We Want Peace” campaign is the brainchild of the internationally recognised Sudanese musician and former child soldier, Emmanuel Jal, whose main aim is to mobilise support for Sudan through a universal call for peace. The hip-hop anthem “We Want Peace” is central to the campaign.
The Sudanese referenda is historically and politically significant, but also potentially dangerous given the North’s evident reluctance to part with the vast resources of the South and its penchant for achieving its objectives through extreme violence. It is only through intense and sustained pressure by the international community that the people of Southern Sudan and Abyei can hope to exercise their right to vote in free, fair and peaceful referendum.
“There are two goals to the We Want Peace campaign,” says Emmanuel Jal. “The first is to raise awareness about the referendum, and the second is to provide a way for people to respond.”
The song includes string arrangements by Peter Gabriel, who recorded his part at Real World Studios in Bath, Avon. To help raise awareness, the promotional video, directed by Peter’s daughter, Anna Gabriel, includes contributions from George Clooney, Alicia Keys, Richard Branson, Kofi Annan and former president, Jimmy Carter.
The campaign will provide opportunities for organizations to engage at different levels – from posting links to the song and action steps on the organization’s website to live performances by Emmanuel at high profile events and in strategic locations.
The campaign will make its way to the Darfur refugee camps in Chad, to the streets of Juba and the towns of Abyei to help build a sense of solidarity and commitment to peace while also providing an opportunity for the residents to express to the international community their desperate hope for peace and justice.
“I want the song to be widely available to organizations to incorporate into their own campaigns that support the referendum and the marginalized people of Sudan,” says Emmanuel Jal. “In addition, the theme and song could be carried over and used by organizations that provide basic services for the people of Sudan who have been displaced by genocide and war and who hope the referenda will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.”
Jal’s main objective is for the song to outlive the referenda and be used as a catalyst for peace in countries around the world. In 1985, Michael Jackson’s “We Are the World” provided an outlet for people around the world to identify with and respond to a devastating famine that, in most cases, was thousands of miles away from their own personal experience.
“I believe that We Want Peace has a similar potential,” says Jal. “The Sudanese referenda may have little meaning for many people living outside of Africa. However, everyone longs for freedom, justice and peace during these turbulent times. Given the opportunity, ‘We Want Peace’ is a plea for peace that will tap into the hopes that we share universally while mobilising the world to respond to the immediate needs of the Sudanese people.”
“I believe I survived for a reason .. to tell my story .. to touch lives.”
– Emmanuel Jal: Musician, Actor, Author, Advocate
In the war-torn region of Southern Sudan, Emmanuel Jal was born into the life of a child solider on an unknown date in the early 1980s.
Through relentless struggles, Emmanuel managed to survive and emerge as a recording artist, achieving global acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his personal experiences. His new single, We Want Peace, is heavily influenced by his childhood experiences.
Emmanuel has released three studio albums: Gua, Ceasefire and Warchild. His music can also be heard alongside Coldplay, Gorillaz, and Radiohead on the fundraising Warchild – Help a Day in the Life album, as well as in three ER episodes, the National Geographic documentary God Grew Tired of Us and in the feature film Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He is also featured on John Lennon’s Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, amongst the likes of U2, REM and Lenny Kravitz.
Emmanuel’s live appearances have included Live 8 and Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday Concert. He has performed with acts such as Faithless, Razorlight, Supergrass and Fat Boy Slim toured the USA as part of the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, in which he performed in New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles and New Orleans. Jal also performed with Moby and Five for Fighting in the 2007 live concert film, The Concert To End Slavery and, more recently, with Alicia Keys at her Black Ball in New York.
Emmanuel is in demand as a speaker and has addressed the UN, US Congress and the highest tiers of several governments. In 2010 alone he has been involved with the British Council, Clinton Global Initiative, Adolescent Girls Initiative (World Bank in association with the Nike Foundation), Child Soldiers Initiative and the launch of Ericsson’s Refugees Reunited Software. He was one of the faces of Amnesty International’s 2010 World Refugee Day Campaign and appeared at Alicia Keys’ Keep a Child Alive Black Ball 2010 in London.
Emmanuel’s press and media coverage includes interviews with the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, BBC Newsnight, The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, and MTV. His 2009 TED Global talk has achieved tens of thousands of YouTube hits.
In 2008 a full-length documentary on his life was released. The film “Warchild” won 12 prestigious film festival awards worldwide, followed by his autobiography “Warchild” published by Little, Brown.
Emmanuel Jal appeared as the adult lead in the major motion picture Africa United, a Pathé, UK Film Council and BBC Films presentation in association with Warner Bros, released in October 2010.
Despite his accomplishments in music and film, Jal’s biggest passion is Gua Africa, the charity he has founded to work with individuals, families and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty. Besides building schools, the charity provides scholarships for Sudanese war survivors in refugee camps and sponsors education for children in the most deprived slum areas in Nairobi. Gua Africa recently reached the target amount of $220,000 needed to complete the first phase of an education centre in Leer, in Jal’s native Southern Sudan, and is now fundraising for Phase 2.
“I was enormously impressed meeting Emmanuel Jal. He is an extraordinary artist, led by the heart. A man on a mission who I am sure will eventually affect an enormous number of people in Africa at first, and then around the world. I felt I was meeting a man with the potential of a young Bob Marley. There is a generosity and compassion in his approach to the world that is an inspiration to me, and I am sure will be to many others.” Peter Gabriel
