Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Refugee All-Stars

Picture credit: banker white


This morning, I ran errands while listening to a CD by Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars, a reggae band formed in refugee camps outside Sierra Leone while the country suffered a long, bloody civil war.

I was thinking about how moving the music feels to me, although I haven't set foot on the continent of Africa or lived as a refugee or even really worried about being able to eat. It doesn't take much to connect with another human being. One shared idea or the resonance of a tune or a line in a drawing can unite people in a powerful way.

Some film producers found this band and made a low-budget documentary, and it was enough to give these refugees a voice to reach me, a white guy driving a new car with a working CD player (see yesterday's post).

I pay close attention to stories like this, I delight in the connections, and I pray that, by God's grace, I will help make this unifying joy possible for others.

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