Music for Change

LESSON B READING Music for Change track 2-08 From ending child slavery1 to teaching people about AIDS and A world peace, musicians around the world are spreading a message of hope. Jason Mraz: Singing for Freedom “If my music can contribute to happiness, then that’s my main responsibility,” says American singer and songwriter Jason Mraz. But B Mraz does more than make people happy. He wants to use his music to make a positive change and improve people’s lives. Mraz is working with an organization called Free the Slaves. Their goal is to stop child slavery, a serious issue in many parts of C the world. In Ghana, for example, parents who are very poor sometimes sell their own children into slavery. What inspired you to visit Ghana? Mraz: It started with “Freedom Song,” written by musician Luc Reynaud. I loved it, performed it, DI and passed it on to my friends at Free the Slaves. Later they sent me photos of kids in Ghana dancing and singing the song. Tell us about your trip. Mraz: I went to work with James Kofi Anan, a former child slave who has spent his adult life liberating2 slaves. He works to rescue children, [and] get them back to health. [He also] works with their parents to EJ make sure they can make a living so the children aren’t vulnerable3 to traffickers.4 I wrote several songs during my time in Ghana. I went back to my room every night [to compose] new songs about what I was seeing. 1 A slave is someone who is owned by other people and works for them without being paid. 2 Liberating people means freeing them from the control of other people. 3 Someone who is vulnerable is weak and without protection. 4 A trafficker is someone who illegally buys or sells something. “Music helps us to express our feelings,” says Chorn-Pond. “[It is a] basic human right, to express yourself.” 152 | UNIT 8 42139_ch08_ptg01_hr_141-160.indd 154 7/26/12 7:05 PM Zinhle Thabethe: Bringing Hope The Zulu word Sinikithemba means “we bring hope.” Zinhle “Zinny” Thabethe is a lead singer of a South African group called the Sinikithemba Choir. The members of this choir have a strong bond: They are all HIV positive. Thabethe first learned she had HIV F in 2002. A doctor told her he could not treat her condition because medicine was not widely available. Without treatment, she would probably die in less than a year, he said. But Thabethe did not give up, and she finally found a clinic5 that was able to help HIV/AIDS patients. Today, Thabethe and other members of the Sinikithemba Choir send a message of hope to people with HIV/AIDS. She feels that she understands their situation. “I know what they are going through, and can G help support and guide them,” she says. “Only by being open and asking for help will we know that we are not alone. If you have someone who will walk the journey with you, it is always easier.” 5 A clinic is a place where people receive care or advice from doctors and nurses. Arn Chorn-Pond: Healing with Music As a child, Arn Chorn-Pond worked in a prison camp in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge period.6 Life in the camp was terrifying. Guards regularly killed camp workers, including children. Chorn-Pond stayed alive mainly H because of his skills as a musician. The camp guards liked listening to him as he played his flute. Chorn-Pond closed his eyes when he played. He said, “I escaped with the music. I played it, and my mind would be somewhere else.” Chorn-Pond finally escaped into the jungle, where he lived alone for many months. Later, an American aid worker7 met him and took him to the United States. When Chorn-Pond grew up, he went back to Cambodia. He I learned that many traditional musicians and dancers died during the Khmer Rouge period. So Chorn-Pond is working with older musicians to teach young Cambodians to play traditional music. In this way, he is helping a new generation keep their musical traditions alive. 6 During the Khmer Rouge period (1975–1979), a political organization called the Khmer Rouge governed Cambodia. Almost two million Cambodians died during this period. 7 An aid worker goes to dangerous parts of the world and gives people things they need, such as education, food, and medical treatment. MUSICIANS WITH A MESSAGE | 153 42139_ch08_ptg01_hr_141-160.indd 155 7/26/12 7:06 PM.

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