Haiti: The Song

So, now that I'm doing Movement Musician of the Month I'll be doing little features on other non-MMoM artists, in between, because a month is a long time to wait if I find a cool song. So here's the first little mini-feature; "Haiti". This is a song by a Canadian Band called the Arcade Fire. This song was written by one of their vocalists, Régine Chassagne, as a tribute to her home-country Haiti. The song is upbeat, while Régines voice is haunting and beautiful in French. She sings about the regime of Duvalier who was responsible for the deaths of many in her home country and speaks of her lost relatives. Throughout the song little shreds of hope are offered, specifically when she sings about rebirth. But enough of my feeble interpretation, enjoy it for yourself, take your own meaning from it.


I feel like its worth it to post the lyrics hear.

Haïti, mon pays,
wounded mother I'll never see.
Ma famille set me free.
Throw my ashes into the sea.

Mes cousins jamais nés
hantent les nuits de Duvalier.
Rien n'arrete nos esprits.
Guns can't kill what soldiers can't see.

In the forest we lie hiding,
unmarked graves where flowers grow.
Hear the soldiers angry yelling,
in the river we will go.

Tous les morts-nés forment une armée,
soon we will reclaim the earth.
All the tears and all the bodies
bring about our second birth.

Haïti, never free,
n'aie pas peur de sonner l'alarme.
Tes enfants sont partis,
In those days their blood was still warm

Power and Peace.

The hit single "Gua" by Emmanuel Jal, is a song that expresses his people's will be be independent, at peace and happy in their land. The word "gua" means peace in his native Nuer and power in Arabic. This song is not your average hip hop tune. It has strong African and tribal roots like much of his music. In this song, Emmanuel Jal speaks out for the freedom of his people, "my people will plant seed in the land."

Emmanuel Jal's song "Gua" has parallels to Haiti's situation. Haiti is an economically depressed nation much like Sudan. The people of both Sudan and Haiti suffer homelessness, poverty, and violence. They are forced out of work, unable to farm their land and displaced from their homes in times of disaster. The thing that is truly profound about the situation in Haiti is that when we open our eyes we realize how close we are to abject poverty, that the conditions that make Africa so impoverished exist on our own backstep. It seems the government blinds us to Haiti. Why? Because what would happen if we realized the extent of the poverty in Haiti, and did something about it? Would we then we would have the moral obligation to do something about the poverty in Africa as well?

With no further adieu, Gua.

Old News in Haiti

As some of you may have heard, there was a devastating magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti. Its old news for more than one reason, A) I'm a couple days late so my news source is basically irrelevant and B) Every other week disaster strikes there and the masses averts their eyes from the squalid world of Haiti. As earlier predicted, relief agencies have stated that the death-toll in Haiti could be up to 100,000 and growing. So far the world has pledged 330 million in aid and the UN is making an emergency appeal for 550 million. The United States has moved 10 000 troops into and around Haiti to help deliver emergency aid. With some 300,000 left homeless and hungry things aren't looking good.

So what can you do? Spread the word, pledge donations to online or local charities that are supporting the cause in Haiti. You can even text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate 10$ which will be put on your phone bill. The convenience of the electronic age. Don't just look at the horrific pictures coming out of Haiti and say, "Oh that's awful, someone should do something about it!" They are there to guilt you, and maybe we should feel guilty. I'm thinking of going in depth, on my other blog "the Curious Chronicler," about the issues in Haiti that have made this disaster so serious.

Update: I completed my meager analysis on why Haiti is the way it is. Here it is:
Haiti: A History

US sending 10,000 troops to earthquake-hit Haiti
Red Cross Canada

Later, I'll be posting another song by Emmanuel Jal, hopefully that will fit the situation in Haiti. Any ideas? To all those, approximately zero people who read this blog, not to mention who also listen to Emmanuel Jal, I challenge you to donate to the Haiti cause.

Movement Musician of the Month!

Born in Sudan and forced into the military at a young age, Emmanuel Jal was forced to fight for the Sudanese People's Liberation Army. He was eventually rescued and brought to school in Ethiopia. He has taken a long journey from fighting as a Warchild to being an internationally renowned musician and activist. Emmanuel Jal is probably one of the most well-rounded Movement Musicians advocating peace and happiness as a means to an end rather than violence and vengeance as some other artists seem to suggest. Emmanuel Jal combines happiness, realism and truth in his music when necessary to convey his message. His music is written in a variety of languages from English and Sudanese Arabic to the Southern Sudanese language of Nuer. Emmanuel Jal is a representative of many international groups for abolition of child soldiers and he has maintained a "One Meal Per Day" fast to raise money for schools in Sudan.

Organizations Emmanuel Jal represents:
Make Poverty History
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Control Arms
Emmanuel Jal

We Fall - Emmanuel Jal
A single off of Emmanuel Jal's upcoming album.

Thought

It was a day, a long one. From dawn... er... noon, until now. I put the finishing touches on my new blog "The Curious Chronicler," I made some minor headway on my data management project, and I killed the white on my painting. Quite an accomplished day, right? Well I don't feel accomplished. I've failed a friend. Not been there for them, and now they're in trouble. I just hope they'll listen to me now. I hope its not too late. Thought, its a powerful, and dangerous tool. Using thought, you can justify just about anything. Rational or irrational. What's most dangerous is not when someone is completely rational, or when someone is completely irrational, its when someone can pick and choose. When you can use both logic, and intuition to come to a conclusion, that's when you most thoroughly believe your outcome. Look at me, breaking down human thought and emotion. Into simple categories, as though I know something and can change the way people think, well I can't and pretending to know something won't help. Let's just hope my irrationality wins out this time

Also I'm thinking of changing to Movement Musician of the Month, so I don't run out and so I can profile more songs from each artist, and if I find anything neat outside of the MMotM I'll just do a little profile on it one day.

Tomorrow I'll introduce Emmanuel Jal. Januarys MMotM.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

Ponder that phrase for a second. One Mississippi. For a set of instructions off of your average shampoo bottle, it has a lot of meaning. If you consider for a second the phrasing Step 1: Lather, Step 2: Rinse and Step 3: Repeat, it doesn't specify to simply repeat steps 1 & 2, so in theory, you should continue in an endless cycle. It kind of defines or consumer society, not solely because shampoo CEOs added the repeat in order to sell more shampoo, but also, because we all live this robotic life. Our day is a step by step guide, and when its done we repeat. Every once in a while there's something different thrown in, but still week by week, month by month, year by year, we lather, rinse and repeat.

Movement Musician of the Week: Rise Against "Re-Education (Through Labour)"

Happy New Years I Hope

Its a New Year, and a New Decade, time for reception, reflection and resolution. And in some places in the world its time for rioting for reform. In Canadian government its time for a temporary recess. Okay, I'll stop with the R-litteration. It's simply my way of making fun of more serious situations, I mean, its the new year right, I shouldn't be fuming about world issues and governments and shit, I should be making statements of hope at least. But when the Stephen Harper prorogues government to avoid scandal surrounding torture in Afghanistan and backlash over the Copenhagen talks its ridiculous, especially when you consider he did so just before New Years when no one would pay attention, and parliament resumes after the Olympics when we'll all be too proud of our athletes to care. So his little act of dishonesty will strategically put Afghan detainees and climate off the table for the months ahead and prolong his inevitable fall from grace. Aside from that, we have rioting in Iran again. Some people claim the reformers are going to take power. I just think that the reformers are going to get their lights knocked out. Sorry, that's my New Years soapbox. Amongst all the holiday celebration we can easily lose sight of reality. While we should be happy and hopeful we have to remember what the reason to be hopeful for is. We can't just hope things will get better without knowing what is wrong in the first place. The holidays aren't a time to ignore our problems they are a time to remedy them. Let us hope for the new year, and the new decade, that the Copenhagen Accord, is followed up with an actual legally binding treaty come next December in Mexico City. Let us hope that violence in Iran and other countries stricken by authoritarian government is relieved and freedoms encouraged. And let us hope that governments world-wide will be held accountable for their corruption and dishonesty towards the public. Let us just hope to live in a happier, but not falsely so, world come 2020.

Movement Musician of the Week:
I'm going to continue with Rise Against, as I only got one, mediocre post in about them last week, unfortunately I was busy, and lazy, and ignoring the important things in life. I couldn't do them justice in just one shit-tastic post. So here it is, possibly their most well known songs. A soft one, but it packs a punch. Those who don't know the story, pay attention to the flag. "Hero of War"