WAR
CHILD: A BOY SOLDIER'S STORY
BY EMMANUEL JAL
Emmanuel
Jal escaped a violent life to become Africa's #1 hip-hop artist, and an international
ambassador for children in war-torn countries 'Frank, unsparing...[A] searing
portrait of a war-torn youth turned community advocate and role model' - Kirkus
Reviews
'There's no glamour here, no pitched battles, only
unimaginable misery... Utterly grounded, specific and real... You'll come away
from this book loving Emmanuel Jal' - Washington Post
'Fast-paced...stark...a
provocative challenge' - The New York Times
In the mid-1980s,
Emmanuel Jal was a seven year old Sudanese boy, living in a small village with
his parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. But as Sudan's civil war moved closer
- with the Islamic government seizing tribal lands for water, oil, and other resources
- Jal's family moved again and again, seeking peace. Then, on one terrible day,
Jal was separated from his mother, and later learned she had been killed; his
father Simon rose to become a powerful commander in the Christian Sudanese Liberation
Army, fighting for the freedom of Sudan. Soon, Jal was conscripted into that army,
one of 10,000 child soldiers, and fought through two separate civil wars over
nearly a decade.
But, remarkably, Jal survived, and his life
began to change when he was rescued by a British aid worker (Emma McCune) who
smuggled him into Nairobi to raise him as her own. To help ease the pain of what
he had experienced, Emmanuel started singing, beginning a journey that would lead
him to change his name and record and release his own album. In 2005, he released
his first album, 'Gua' ("peace" in his native Nuer tongue), with the
title track broadcast across Africa over the BBC and becoming a number one hit
in Kenya. 'Gua' also earned him a spot on Bob Geldof's "Live 8_ concert in
the UK. Jal performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebrations in Hyde Park,
London, June 08, he shared a stage with Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox, Damien Marley
and Stephen Marley at the Black Ball in London in July 08 and also addressed delegates
at the UN in New York in the same month. Jal has also performed with Razorlight,
Supergrass, and Faithless in Europe Shocking, inspiring, and finally hopeful,
War Child is a memoir by a unique young man, who is determined to tell his story
and in so doing bring peace to his homeland.
EMMANUEL
JAL
EMMANUEL JAL lives in London. His music has been featured
in the movie 'Blood Diamond', the documentary 'God Grew Tired of Us', and in three
episodes of 'ER'. He is a spokesman for Amnesty International and Oxfam, and has
done work for Save the Children, UNICEF, World Food Programme, Christian Aid,
and other charities, and has established his own charitable foundation, Gua Africa,
to help former Sudanese child soldiers. He has been featured in Time Magazine,
USA Today, the Washington Post, Newsweek.com, and on NPR, CNN, Fox, MTV, and the
BBC. A documentary about Jal's life, also called 'War Child', premiered to acclaim
at the February 2008 Berlin Film Festival and the April 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
His first international music album 'War Child' was released in May 2008 on the
Sonic360 label (distribution by ADA Global) with additional production and mix
by Neal Pogue (Outkast, Talib Kweli, Pharohae Monch).
Listen
to the music and watch the trailer at www.emmaueljal.org
Emmanuel
Jal will also be a guest of the Sydney Writers Festival 18-24 May. Dates are:
Sonya
Renee and Emmanuel Jal
Thu, 21 May 2009
7:00pm-8:00pm
Venue: Riverside
Theatres, Raffertys Theatre, Cnr Church and Market Streets, Parramatta
Presenters:
Sonya Renee & Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Morganics
Cost: Free, bookings
recommended on (02) 8839 3399
Emmanuel Jal and Sonya Renee
speak about combining creativity and activism with award-winning Australian hip
hop artist and spoken-word performer Morganics. Emmanuel Jal was only seven years
old when he was taken from his family home to become a child soldier with the
rebel army in Sudan's bloody civil war for nearly five years. Now, he is an internationally
acclaimed hip-hop artist who spreads a message of peace and reconciliation born
out of his experiences. Sonya Renee is possibly the most distinguished, accomplished
and recognisable woman in the world of slam poetry. A social activist and women's
rights advocate, she uses her blunt, raw and poignant poetry to challenge society
to face its deepest and most long-lived ills with strength and courage. Supported
by Parramatta City Council.
Will the Real Writer Please
Stand Up?
Sat, 23 May 2009
10:30am-11:30am
Venue: Bangarra Theatre,
Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Presenters: Miles Merrill, Sarah Blasko,
Chris Bray, Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Benito Di Fonzo
Cost: Free
Who
gets to call themselves a writer and why? Singer/songwriter Sarah Blasko, spokenword
artist Miles Merrill, Sudanese hip hop artist Emmanuel Jal and adventurer and
journalist Chris Bray dissect their various approaches to being a 'writer', with
SMH arts journalist Benito di Fonzo. Presented in association with Word Travels.
The
Message
Sat, 23 May 2009
1:00pm-2:00pm
Venue: Heritage Pier, Main
Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Presenters: James Maskalyk, Benjamin
Gilmour, Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Meredith Griffiths
Cost: $15/$10 Bookings
(02) 9250 1988
Is it possible that wars can be fought, even
won, via non-violent mediums like film and blogs? Experiences in the tribal provinces
of Pakistan led Benjamin Gilmour to make his film Son of a Lion in an attempt
to combat negative stereotypes about the Pashtun people. MSF doctor James Maskalyk's
experience in Sudan inspired him to write a blog that ultimately became a book,
in order to limit the distance which separates action from inaction. Emmanuel
Jal has won worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message
of peace and reconciliation born out of his experiences as a child soldier in
Sudan. Benjamin Gilmour, James Maskalyk and Emmanuel Jal discuss with Meredith
Griffiths.
Emmanuel Jal in Conversation
Sun, 24
May 2009
1:00pm-2:00pm
Venue: Heritage Pier, Main Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson
Road, Walsh Bay
Presenters: Emmanuel Jal
Facilitator: Annette Shun Wah
Cost:
$15/$10 Bookings (02) 9250 1988
Emmanuel Jal was only seven
years old when he was taken from his family home to become a child soldier with
the rebel army in Sudan's bloody civil war for nearly five years. Beaten, starved
and brutalised, Emmanuel was put into battle in Ethiopia and southern Sudan carrying
an AK-47 taller than himself. He attempted to leave the SPLA but was hunted down
and thrown into a desert prison. Now an internationally acclaimed hip hop artist
spreading messages of peace and reconciliation, he talks about his memoir 'War
Child: A Boy Soldier's Story' with Annette Shun Wah.
ANNETTE
SHUN WAH is a writer, actor and broadcaster. Co-author of Banquet: Ten Courses
to Harmony, she has also contributed short stories to several anthologies including
Come Away With Me, Growing up Asian in Australia and Grandma Magic. She has published
essays, articles and reviews, and has been a regular contributor to The Sydney
Morning Herald. Annette currently serves on committees for Performance 4a and
Asialink.
For more information on other talks at the Sydney
Writers Festival visit www.swf.org.au
'War
Child: A Boy Soldier's Story' is available now.
