Concert Celebrates the Contributions of Refugees

We are far too familiar with the story of refugees fleeing from violence and genocide.  We are somewhat familiar with the story of refugees settling in safe countries which don’t always end up being safe.  We are sharing the story recently of Syrian refugees coming to Canada and the communities that have welcomed them.  But this is only part of the story.

June 21^st is International Refugee Day so this past weekend, the story of the resilience, extraordinary contributions, talents and hearts of refugees was celebrated in Toronto at the We Want Peace Celebrating Refugees concert.

The concert was spearheaded by South Sudanese refugee who now live in Canada, rapper Emmanuel Jal who was joined by Nelly Furtado, Faarow, the Love Peace Harmony Ensemble and Vibe with the Tribe.  The music shared was hip-hop, jazz, R&B, afrobeats and spiritual sounds.  Once again musicians came together showing the unity and collaboration that we need in the world.  They honoured and showed respect for the struggle of refugees all over the world with their music.

In addition, the concert raised funds for Jal’s charity Gua Africa which builds schools in East Africa and gives scholarships to young Sudanese refugees.  Funds also went to Matthew House which is a Toronto organization that provides shelter for people seeking asylum.

Emmanuel Jal

Emmanuel Jal knows all too well what it is like to need asylum.  As a young child in war-torn Sudan, he lost his whole family and became one of the 20,000 lost children of Sudan.  Many of these children walked all the way to Ethiopia looking for help.  Most died but Jal was one of the ones who made it.  However the UN refugee camp that he found was run by rebels at night and he was taken to be a child soldier at the age of 8.  He was a child soldier for 4 years before being rescued by a British aid worker who smuggled him to Kenya.  He ended up living in a slum of Nairobi after the worker died in a car accident.  It was in Kenya that he combined hip-hop music and political activism and he recorded a hit song while there.

In 2005, Jal made it to Britain where he released the album War Child in 2008 as well as a documentary about his life and an autobiography.  In 2012 Jal came to Canada and co-starred in The Good Lie with Reese Witherspoon about Sudan’s Lost Boys.  He continued recording, including a duet with Nelly Furtado.

Emmanuel Jal at Jal Gua cafe

Emmanuel Jal came to Canada with nothing and now has three businesses which employ Canadians. He has his own recording label and he also opened a café in Toronto called Jal Gua to help support his charity and launched a dietary supplement made with sorghum for vegans with the same name.  Jal Gua means walk in peace in the Naath language.

Jal has founded We Want Peace which is dedicated to raising awareness of justice, equality and freedom for all through the power of music worldwide.  He launched this campaign in 2010 and released the song We Want Peace (view it here.)  which includes Alicia Keyes, Peter Gabriel, George Clooney, Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter and Richard Branson.

In a Huffington Post article,  Jal is quoted as saying "[People think] that they (refugees) are coming to take our jobs, they are desperate people, needy people, violent people, dirty people, sick, traumatized. But people forget the resilience; they are human beings that have survived. And the journeys they have overcome, we can learn a lot from it; we can learn courage, we can learn faith, we can learn resistance, we can learn endurance, we can learn loyalty. We can learn so much from each and every refugee."

In the same article he concludes by saying,  "[Refugees] can inspire Canadians to be grateful for what they have. People don't know to be grateful. You wake up and there's no bomb here. You wake up and nobody's coming to arrest you in your house. You get sick and you have a free hospital." "Gratitude is the key for enjoying peace."

So on International Refugee Day we can be grateful that all the refugees Canada has welcomed over the years have a safe place to live.  We can be grateful for all that they have contributed to our communities and we can be grateful that for the most part we all find a way to live together peacefully.  And we can enjoy and celebrate all the people that work together to create that peace because this is an important part of our story.