Selin Visne
You will never know the potential of any child unless that person is given an opportunity; and there is no bigger opportunity than the gift of education and self-development.
— EMMANUEL JAL
Emmanuel Jal is an artist and political activist campaigning against, among other things, the issue of child soldiers.
Born in 1980 in now South Sudan, soon his life was violently affected by the war around him: His father joined the SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army), his mother was killed and Emmanuel Jal himself was recruited by the SPLA as a seven-year-old, were he fought for four years.
Eventually, wanting to flee from the atrocities they were facing, Jal along with about 400 other child soldiers, ran away, resulting in only about sixteen of them surviving the escape. Being left to his own fate at only eleven years old, he was adopted by an aid-worker, who brought him to school to Kenya. She died in an accident soon after, which resulted in Jal having to live in the slums.
Then Jal discovered hip-hop. The genre turned out to be a source of incredible power and passion to him, as something that helped him in coping with all the hardships and violence he faced at such a young age. Later, in one of his songs, he wrote:
“I'm a war child
I believe I've survived for a reason
To tell my story, to touch lives."
He became more and more involved in music, eventually producing his first hit in Kenya; he created his very own and unique style of hip-hop, for which he gained international attention. In hip-hop, he could express his belief in the importance of leaving behind old conflicts rooted in ethnic and religious discrimination, while also talking about human trafficking, the necessity of peace in the Sudanese war, and campaigning against children fighting in wars. Jal says: “Children’s place should be school. Children should be taught to love. Should be taught to explore their imagination. Not to be taught to kill people.”
While being a spokesperson for many peace organisations, he founded the charity Gua Africa, which he named after one of his songs. Its website states that their mission is to provide “educational programs for those affected by war and displacement in East Africa. We primarily work in Kenya offering education to refugees who have survived war and genocide.” Jal’s most recent project is the campaign We Want Peace 2012.
So far, he received accolades such as the Gospel Music Award and the Dresden Peace Price 2014, was named Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum and Hero in the global campaign against violent extremism – UNESCO 2016.