#Kifaya Le Mashakil – Jamming for peace
The song starts with a recurrent jamming & dancing over and over as it builds up to the chorus which says, “However long the journey will be, we will walk till the end, #Kifaya, Kifaya Le Mashakil (Enough to war) so we are Jamming, Jamming for Peace. We are dancing, dancing for peace”. It also alludes to going back home, going back to the village where everyone lives in peace and harmony. The song has a nostalgic vibe that you will find with every south Sudanese national who doesn’t live in South Sudan. The resilience and hope of the South Sudanese nationals is very well reflected in the song.
#Kifaya literally translates to #Enough. The song is a peacebuilding jam initiated by Talent211 entertainment in collaboration with Platform Africa and #defyhatenow to magnify the voices of the South Sudanese musicians as peace builders in the diaspora, calling for an end to the conflicts in South Sudan. It passes a message that aims to strengthen and embrace unity in diversity.
Just as conflicts are created by a critical mass of angry, frustrated, vengeful people so can peace be created by a critical mass of people focused on peaceful thoughts through art and especially music, as it is a universal language. The song is in English, Arabic, Nuer, Kakwa and Lingala languages but as you jam along and get lost in the tunes, it quickly escapes you that there are several languages that you don’t understand as you just jam along to the music.
The video features South Sudanese nationals of all ages and genders as they are dancing along to the very catchy music, they wave a flag and just be merry. It outlines that when a community is focused on peace for all, young and old, the desire to live in harmony with each other will encourage them to put in efforts that will guide them towards achieving peace.
The lyrics encourage peace and reconciliation among the divided and grieving South Sudanese communities. It advocates for healing amongst all those who lost their families, relatives and property during the conflicts, to unite and work together to develop a peaceful and prosperous South Sudan. The song alludes to creating a peace village where all South Sudanese can live in without discrimination, tribalism, inter-ethnic violence and conflicts which in turn cause conflicts and in turn loss of life, property and displacement.
The video was shot a few days leading to the #PeaceJam18 concert at Luruja (Rhino camp Arua District, Uganda where the #Kifaya/ Jamming for Peace concert for the #PeaceJam18 took place. Luruja is a clustered settlement inside Ofua zone which is the biggest settlement within the Rhino camp with a population that amounts to 30,000 people as of November 2016. During the concert, the attendees of #PeaceJam18 danced to the audio of the song.
Listen to it here: [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTUmvr_vDYw[/embedyt]