Bob Marley and African Unity
A month long celebration of the legacy of Bob Marley is well underway in Ethiopia noting what would have been Marley’s 60th birthday. The celebration dubbed "Africa Unite" after one of Marley's songs, aims to raise funds to help poor families in Ethiopia Tsunami victims in Somalia. Musical and educational events will take place throughout the month. Similar events are taking place in other African countries. Bob Marley and African UnityBOB MARLEY - Oread Daily
A month long celebration of the legacy of Bob Marley is well underway in Ethiopia noting what would have been Marley’s 60th birthday. The celebration dubbed "Africa Unite" after one of Marley's songs, aims to raise funds to help poor families in Ethiopia Tsunami victims in Somalia. Musical and educational events will take place throughout the month. Similar events are taking place in other African countries.
On Sunday thousands and thousands of Ethiopians gathered in the Addis Ababa’s main square as Ethiopia threw a birthday bash for the late reggae star. He died in 1981. This is first time the event was held outside the singer's native Jamaica and is organized by the Bob Marley Foundation, the U.N. children's agency, the African Union and others.
Organizers said they expected as many as 300,000 people to attend the free event.
"I think it is incredible that so many years after brother Bob's death, he still inspires such an amazing show," said Yohannes, a Rastafarian, who only goes by a single name. Originally from Crystal Palace, London, he now lives in Addis Ababa and married to an Ethiopian.
Marley's five sons, widow and former backup singers were expected to perform along with Benin music star Angelique Kidjo, Senegal's Youssou N'dour and Baaba Maal. Well-known Ethiopians artists were also set to perform.
Ethiopia's evangelical churches on Saturday objected to the celebrations. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the country's main church, has, however, supported the celebrations.
Sister Betty, a Rastafarian who works for the International Organization for Migration in Addis Ababa, said that she was proud the concert was happening in the city. "I just can't explain how much I love Bob, for everything, for whatever he is. I have much respect for his philosophy and message as a Rasta," said Betty. "His songs are all about 'Africa Unite' ... if there is no unity there will not be peace in Africa. Bob is a messenger, a spiritual messenger to many people."
Speaking at a press conference held last week in connection with the celebration in Addis, Rita Marley said that the family had not yet decided the time when the reburial of remains of Bob Marley would take place in Addis Ababa. However, she said that the reburial would take place in due course (Jamaicans have reacted angrily to the plans to exhume the reggae legend's remains and rebury them in Ethiopia, an African country holy to Rastafarians, saying it would rob the Caribbean island of its national heritage).
The Minster of State for Information, Netsanet Asfaw, said at the press conference, "We feel honored and privileged to host the celebration in Ethiopia because Bob was a great man who taught us that no matter how poor and deprived we are, we can be great."
The Representative of UNICEF, Bjorn Liungqvist, said that the event will create ample opportunity to young people in Africa for discussing the future of their continent.
The Africa Unite initiative is a series of commemorative events that will bring together artists, leaders, culture activists and organizations inspired by Bob Marley's music, philosophy and values. Thousands of tourists, dignitaries, academics, activists and international media are expected to attend the event.
West African singer, songwriter and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Angelique Kidjo, will be in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for Africa Unite. Kidjo describes the music of Bob Marley as powerful on many levels and credits Marley with having opened her eyes to global issues. "Being born in an African city, it was difficult for me to have a clear understanding of the entire world. Bob Marley, with lyrics that everyone can understand, gives you many tales of injustice, discrimination and slavery. Of equal importance were Bob Marley's melodies, harmonies and arrangements. His songs were masterpieces. Every song has a little something that makes it unique".
One speaker at the Africa Unite Symposium which is part of the month long celebration was Dudley Thompson, former Jamaican Ambassador to several African countries and a cabinet minister in Jamaica, lawyer and staunch Pan-Africanist. As a lawyer he defended Jomo Kenyatta during the Mau Mau trials in Kenya. Thompson explained how Europeans induce hegemony upon themselves to the detriment of Africa and other developing nations. They do so by changing history. He stated however that, "Our children need not look to western civilization as our history... We had our kings and queens… We are our own historians." He went on to say that no other continent has suffered such inhumanity as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Thompson said it was a crime against humanity that amounted to genocide and "the only trade that taught that human beings were things." The slave ships, he said, took our best people, raping our continent, leaving it poor, thus, "We are not begging for charity, we are asking for justice It [reparations] is not a request for money, but a demand for justice." Give us the chance, he said, to prove that, "We too can make our full contribution to the development of the world." In this regard he suggested a Middle Passage Plan for Africa, modeled after the Marshall Plan that western governments conceived to rebuild Europe after the European world wars. "Without economic empowerment, independence is illusory," he said. The plan would include debt forgiveness, decision-making power in the IMF and World Bank, and the return of Africa's artifacts. "There are many ways in which reparations can be paid," he added.
Dr Desta Meghoo-Peddie, Managing Director of the Bob Marley Foundation said: “We invite the world to celebrate with us in refueling the spirit that will unify Africa , her sons and daughters in the Diaspora and work towards ending violence, poverty, injustice and discrimination.” Sources: Addis Tribune (Ethiopia), Launch Music News, Majority Press, Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), This Day (Lagos), Official Bob Marley Web Site
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