If music be the food of love etc.
Here's
a nice idea:
Wouldn't it be powerful if we can show the world not just the horror and devastation facing these countries, but their enduring musical and cultural heritage as well? So here's my idea: let's call upon the world music community - record labels, websites, mp3 bloggers, radio stations, non-profits - to devote their websites and airtime to the traditional music of these nations.
Let's do it in as unified a way as we can. For example, let's feature the music of northern Sumatra in our blogs and on radio. Let's have the record labels that promote world music do special promotion of performers from Sri Lanka or south India. Beyond that, let's provide ready means for those who visit the sites or listen to the music to donate to the organizations on the frontline of the fight against this disaster.
My
googling for music*Aceh only produced
one track on a compilation, the hypnotic acappella dance
Bungung Jeumpa.
I have bought dozens of locally produced cassettes on my travels, but never having ventured further north than Medan on my travels, my knowledge of Acehnese culture is rather limited. For ethno-musically inclined readers, you may be interested in
this page.
Man-made Tsunami
The former Python
Terry Jones asks,
"Are deaths caused by bombs and gunfire less worthy of our pity than deaths caused by a giant wave? Or are Iraqi lives less worth counting than Indonesian, Thai, Indian and Swedish?"
Well, Tel, the same question could be asked about the victims of the just-ended civil war in the Sudan and other wars, about the Bhopal victims, the millions of children doomed to shortened life spans because of inadequate water supplies, lack of health care or trafficking, those killed in floods caused by deforestation and urban sprawl, those who die in road accidents or at the hands of others. The list of casualties is endless, but the answer remains the same - these are man-made disasters and, with compassion and foresight, preventable.
The tsunami was foreseeable after the earthquake, but neither could have been prevented. It is our feeling of inadequacy in the face of natural disasters which touches our basic instincts and our feelings of compassion.
We are helpless so we try to compensate. We are not helpless in a democracy, merely useless at using our votes wisely.
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