I’ve watched the events in Haiti before and now after the earthquake to a soundtrack of Nneka and Asa songs. Since this is Nneka Week on Afrolicious, I’d like to share one of the songs that, for me, captured my feelings regarding Haiti.
The song is titled “Death” and I’ve only highlighted a portion of the lyrics:
“Sometimes you say we need to turn our backs and go away
Shot doors, close eyes, take a ride, walk and go asteax
But I’m pushed to speak about aloud this crowd and make this cry
We gotta face this, you and I…
In front of us, we see the bus of tragedy of mystery but love the divine,
Love divine we ignore thee
The fight for life, the struggle for success, it deprives us from seeing
It’s our own blood that we oppress
Man slaughter, brain manipulation, children crying, people dying,
Souls are flying, pastors are lying in the name of love you say
This is love? It’s not!…
I am one of them and so are you, we feel real love if we want to
Love has chosen you, yes it’s you
I know you need true love, too”
If you aren’t already, pray for Haiti. As individuals there’s not much we can do, but when we realize we are part of each other, no matter how spread apart we are, it’s easy to see what Nneka is talking about. Seek the truths about Haiti by educating yourself. If you are reading this, chances are you have access to other non-mainstream news sites.
And once you are educated and you know what you know, you have no choice but to act. @aja_monet and others put together a concert in Chicago to raise money for water. Children raised their own money. If it’s writing you show love, then write. If it’s in singing, then sing. If it’s in keeping your twitter timeline aware of Haiti long after the reporters have left the ground, then tweet. We can’t let ourselves forget. Love has chosen us.