Respecting Human Rights

Article 26 – Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free,

at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.

- Fighting With Songs -

Emmanuel Jal comes from Sudan and used to be a warchild. He calls himself a warchild because he saw his family be hurt and he saw his land, his country, be destroyed. This war happened because the Muslims and Arabs wanted the oil, diamond and gold of his home country.

He wants to tell his story due to people who don’t have a chance to tell their own story, the means necessary to express themselves. Besides this, he wants to honour people who died in this war. Until a certain age, he was taught to hate Muslims and Arabs, and consequently wanted to kill them.

The person who saved him from this situation was called Emma McCune. However, what made him change his mind was discovering the truth. The truth was that neither the Muslims nor the Arabs were the ones killing them. According to Emmanuel, it was somebody sitting somewhere, manipulating the system and using religion to get what they wanted to get out of them. He chose to forgive. What helped him forget his pain was mainly music; that’s where he gets his strength from and it’s a form of therapy, it’s like a heaven on Earth. Music has the power to enter your cell system, your mind, heart and it can influence your soul and spirit. So, he decided to release an album about his life and experience as a child soldier.

Emmanuel’s main goal is to change Africa by giving education to the children. He wants to build a school in Sudan, because “It enlightens your brain and it gives you so many chances”. His opinion is that African people need more than just aid. If you don’t educate, a whole generation is being killed. When these children grow up, a

JANEIRO 2010

strong institution will be necessary to make a revolution and change the current situation.

All in all, Emmanuel Jal has been sharing his tragic life story with all the world, hoping that more and more people will listen and actually act.

Sara Amaro, nº18, 12ºD / Carla Barreiros, nº2, 12ºE / Francisco Inácio, nº8, 12ºE / Paulo Marques, nº16, 12ºE