Emmanuel Jal: War Child" Amidst Applause and Tears, the Film Steals Peoples´ Hearts
Santo Domingo, November 22, 2008.

Emmanuel Jal

The Manuel del Cabral Auditorium of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo was completely full last night. There was emotion on the faces of the viewers and satisfaction on the faces of the organizers during the screening of the extraordinary documentary film "Emmanuel Jal: War Child.

It was 7:30 p.m. and everything was ready to begin the screening when, to everyone´s surprise, Emmanuel Jal himself, introduced the film and welcomed the large number of viewers in the auditorium. “Music can help us form part of the change as it forms part of our daily lives. When we are happy we manifest it in music and when we are sad we do the same,” said the hip-hop singer.  

Every scene in the film seemed to awaken emotion in the viewers demonstrated by applause, shouts, and even tears. The film is the story of tens of thousands of children lost in the war in Sudan and how this talented young man was able to be “rescued” from the destiny that awaited him, all of which produced strong emotions in the audience.

After the 90-minute documentary, a long panel discussion got underway in which people asked Emmanuel about how he saw the situation in his native Sudan. He calmly answered every question.

Several minutes before the panel discussion ended, Jal said that when he dies he wants his head to be buried in Kenya. It was here, he explained, that he got his first artistic inspiration. He wants his legs to be buried in Sudan because this is the land of his birth. But he wants his heart, he said, to be buried in the Dominican Republic because it is here that the people treated him like a king.  

The last moment of the encounter was the most moving: Jal sang one of his songs then invited the viewers to collaborate in the building of a school in Sudan because, he told the audience, he understands that education is the only thing that can improve the current situation.