Sing it with feeling

Emmanuel Jal put on a super-charged show at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. (Danny Abriel Photo)

R E V I E W

While most events held at Dalhousie's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium require a good sit down, this wasn't the case on September 23. The theatre transformed into a mini dance hall that evening for a benefit concert for child soldiers, featuring Emmanuel Jal, reggae performer Saa Andrew and Halifax-based spoken word artist El Jones.

SEE PHOTOS: "Telling it torments me" (Danny Abriel Photos)

El Jones delivered an emotionally charged monologue about the struggles of black women that stunned the crowd into silence. But the somber mood was turned upside down with an electric hip-hop performance from Sierra Leone native Saa Andrew. However, it was headliner Emmanuel Jal who stole the applause, arriving with his wild and frenzied on-stage dance moves.

"I branded myself as a war child. I do it for the kids who died beside me. I represent those voices that cannot be heard," he declares fiercely to his audience.

A former child solider born in Sudan, Emmanuel Jal was recruited when he was seven years old by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) after his mother's passing. After his escape and rescue from the war, Mr. Jal is now an internationally recognized rap artist touring the globe and speaking up against the exploitation of child soldiers. He is the founder of GUA, a charity focusing on providing education and child sponsorship to those disadvantaged by war and poverty.

"Sharing my story through music is easy. Telling it torments me every time. But I keep doing it," he says.

The ticketed event was hosted by Dalhousie's Centre for Foreign Policy Studies in conjunction with Child Soldiers Initiative, a project led by retired Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire, and Network of Young People Affected by War (NYPAW). Proceeds from the event went to Child Soldiers Initiative, GUA Africa, and Cuey Machar Secondary School Foundation.

And while the visit carried a weighty message, the artists performed with energy and enthusiasm, allowing them to intimately connect with the audience and put on a lively show.