The Power of our Voices Date :

WAR CHILD
(lyrics by Emmanuel Jal and Clinton Outten)

I believe Ive survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives

I believe Ive survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives

All the people struggling down there

Storms only come for a while
Then after a while theyll be gone
Blessed, blessed

Im a war child
Im a war child
I believe Ive survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives (touch lives, touch lives,
touch
lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives)

My father was working for the government as a policeman

Few years later I heard he joined a rebel movement that was formed to fight for freedom
I didnt understand the politics behind all this cause I was only a child
After a while I saw the tension rising high between the Christian and the Muslim regime
We lost our possession
My mother, my mothers mother suffered depression and because of this
I was forced to be a war child

Im a war child (ane ge kore, kore*)

Im a war child (ane ge kore, kore*)
I believe Ive survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives (touch lives, touch lives,
touch
lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives)

I lost my father in this battle

My brothers too perished in this struggle
All my life Ive been hiding in the jungle
The pain Im cutting is too much to handle
Whos there please to light up my candle
Is there anyone to hear my cry.

* South Sudanese dialect, translation: and Im crying, crying

Your Reading TASK With your team , you are going to explore the song by
Emmanuel Jal entitled : War Child .

Study the lyrics. Answer the questions to check your understanding of the song.

a- What is the song topic ? Justify your answer by quoting the text . (repetitions)

b- What human right (s) is the song about ?

c- Identify the chorus.

a- Who speaks ? Identify the narrator . Justify by quoting some lyrics .

b- What does it tell you about the type of narrative.

Tick the correct box and justify your choice in your own words.

a first-person narrative a third -person narrative

c- List all the persons mentioned .

a- Who wrote this song ?

b- What do you learn about the narrator ? (name/ origin / occupation / childhood )

c- What do you learn about his family and social background ?

 d- What was going wrong in the narrators country ?

a- Pick out all the past forms . Classify them in the chart below.

Preterite tense Past participle

b- Pick out all the passive forms .

Briefly describe the story as told in the song . ( 40/ 50 words)

a- List some of the Human Rights that the narrator was denied as a child .

b- Identify the repetitions in the song .

What is the effect produced ?

What is the overall tone of the song ? Justify your choice .

c- Read these 2 lines . What does the imagery convey?

The pain Im cutting is too much to handle. Whos there to light up my candle.

d- Come up with 2 adjectives to describe Emmanuel Jal . Explain why you chose these.

What do you think is the purpose of his song ? What does he hope to achieve ?

Emmanuel Jal calls himself a warchild .

Explain why he may be called so and whether you agree.

GO FURTHER !
a- What lines in the song do you find the most powerful ? Quote them and explain why in your
own words.

b- Is this an effective song ? What makes it memorable ?

c- Is this song can be described as a protest song ? Justify your answer.

Get ready for a talk :

Imagine you have been asked to present the song War Child to a young
audience in order to raise awareness about child soldiers in Africa . All of the
information collected above should be used in your oral account as well as the

background information ( See / Child Soldier Statistics)