His is a new face in Tunisian rap. He began rapping after the fall of Ben Ali’s regime last January. His name is Karim Kamkam and Kamkam the harqa is one of his first tracks. It may not have been around long, but it’s interesting for its lyrics. Because it leads us to what the majority of public opinion on the southern shore of the Mediterranean think. In other words, that burning the border is no longer worth the trouble. In his song, Kamkam tells of a young man, of his life of material deprivation and illegal expedients for making a living, and his dreams of a life in Europe that’s ‘too chic’. Things like meeting a Jennifer Lopez, having children with European citizenship, and returning with a Jaguar and the popularity of a star like Maradona. But the Europe he encounters is different. For the first time in his life he feels hunger, thirst and he sleeps under bridges in the cold, until one day the police arrest him without him even having the time to understand what is going on. At the police station, between one blow and another, an officer asks him what he is doing this side of the Mediterranean. And he answers: "A dream brought me here." Here, however, that dream has become a nightmare. And Kamkam does not hesitate to tell his peers not to leave, that it’s not worth it, rather that they should try to enjoy life in Tunisia. Because from Europe one is likely to return in a coffin. While in the meantime the best years of youth go by. Many young people feel the same now. And indeed it is no coincidence that in 2011, from Tunisia, with the borders out of control and the economy collapsed, ‘only’ 30,000 young men out of a population of 10 million left harraga for Lampedusa, and once they realized that there were no longer any crossings, the departures ceased. In short, the harraga culture is a minority now. It especially belongs to the youth of the working-class neighborhoods, who in the border see a possibility for redemption. But the majority of the people think differently. Everyone now knows there is economic crisis in Europe and that racism has reached unbearable levels. And at the same time, the political changes that have taken place in the entire southern shore this year, with the popular uprising leading to the end of dictatorship in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, along with major reforms in Algeria and Morocco, have instilled hope and optimism in the first generation, daughter of the economic boom in these countries. This is just another reason to open the borders in the south of Europe, as was done five years ago with Eastern Europe. Because there will be no invasion; it exists only in our fears. So enjoy listening. And as usual, enjoy reading, because below you will find the translated lyrics of the track.
| Kamkan l'7ar9a kamkam, 3alli i5ammem fil 7ar9a fi nhar min nharata. 9al: “Menejemch n3ich fi bledi, n7eb des european nhar a5ar ikounu ouledi, nense le3bed el kol, darne, 5oueti, 7atte s7abi, yezzini me 3anit, lezem ne9dhi 3ala 3dhebi”. 9al: “Muchkelti el youm hiya el 7ar9a, 5al nensa el mechekel, ou neb3ed 3assir9a.” 9al: “Lezem n3ich 3icha très chic, se no 7ayeti aura fin tragic, 8adicka fil europe taw ne3mel logic, le nisra9, le na5taf, le nohrob bi les filles.” 9al: “Lezemni 5idma, t3awinni 3la kol chey, todhmolli 3ich lux, ou 8adi n3ich bay, ou barra 3ad, ti7b far5a ta7founa, ki Jennifer Lopez, wella 7atte ki Madonna, nuelli 8adi star kima ken Maradona, 3lech le? 3andi la fortuna!” 9al: “8adi nhabbet el mécanique, Ferrari, Jaguar, el mouhem 7aje très chic. Lezimni 7aje jdida mefemmèch fil bled, bech ki nahbet fissif, i9ouli: 'haw le3bed!'” Dhou9 dhou9 le3dheb lyoum, dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9. Dhou9 dhou9 le3dheb lyoum, dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9. Dhou9 dhou9 le3dheb lyoum, dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9. Dhou9 dhou9 le3dheb lyoum, dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9. Hadheka ken klem ou lyoum wella klem. Ki wsil nsè el a7lem, 3raf elli wa7dou 5tar la misère, 3raf elli wa7dou 5tar tri9 l’en faire. L9a rou7ou mtayyech fil keyyes, le yekel, le yochrob, le yor9od kinnes, l9a rou7ou yor9od fil bard ta7t les ponts. Hadheka 3lech 5tar il risque come solution, tabbe3 tri9 il risque, tri9 la7arm, ca vait wellet kima ken elli i chouf fih fil eflem, 7atta jè nhar ou el boulisiyya da5lou 3lih, mefe9 brou7ou ken snog dog bin idih, mefhem chey, kifè chelouh ou hazzouh, kef ihiz ou kef ijib, demdmouh ki ba7thouh, 9aloulou: “Kifech jit?” 9alhom: “Jebni mon rève” Elli jebu i5af, kifech ken 3ayech lebes, ou lyoum l9a rou7ou mtayyech fil a7bes, dhekker kifech ken 3ayech bilgdè, 3andou C trois, 3andou sa libertè, 7keyet el 7ar9a wellet kima 8neya fi CD, yema mchaou el 8adi le raou7ou le fi snede9 ou le CD. Hadheke 3lech lyoum yelli t5ammem fil 7ar9a 9ollek klimtin. Dhou9 le3dheb lyoum, dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9. Dhou9 le3dheb lyoum, dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9. “Jebni mon reve.” Dhou9 dhou9, dhou9 le3dheb lyoum dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9. Dhou9 le3dheb lyoum, dhou9 dhou9, fi nhar mi l’europe rak trawwa7 fi sandou9 | Kamkam burning the border KamKam, for those who who are thinking of burning the border one of these days. He said: "I cannot live in my country any longer, I want my children to one day be European, I forget of all the people, my home, my brothers, even my friends, Enough of everything I have suffered, I must defeat my suffering. " He said: "My problem now is to burn the border, to forget problems, and stay away from crime. " He said: "I must live a chic life, otherwise my life will end tragically, there in Europe I’ll use logic, no thefts, no robberies, no escapades with the girls" He said: "I need a job, to help me with everything, to guarantee a life of luxury, there I will live like a king, and maybe even find a girl, like Jennifer Lopez or like Madonna, there I will became a star like Maradona was Why not? I am lucky! " He said: "From there I’ll come back in a car, a Ferrari or a Jaguar, The important thing is that it is something too chic. I need something new that you can’t find back home, so when I go in the summer, they will say to me: 'Now, these are men!' " Taste it, the taste today’s pain, taste it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. Taste it, the taste today’s pain, taste it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. Taste it, the taste today’s pain, taste it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. Taste it, the taste today’s pain, taste it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. These were his words but today the words are different. As soon as he arrived he forgot his dreams, He found out that on his own he had chosen poverty, and that on his own had chosen his path. And he found himself thrown on the street, without eating, without drinking, without sleeping like other people, and he found himself lying in the cold under the bridge. This is because he chose risk as a solution, he went down the road of risk, the road of sin, has became like those he watched in films, until the day the police came and they sent him behind bars, he found himself alone with handcuffs on his hands, he did not understand a thing, how they captured him and took him away, a slap here and a slap there, They grumbled while they interrogated him, they told him: "How did you get here?" and he told them: "One of my dreams brought me here " Whoever brought him here is scared, how he lived well, and today he finds himself thrown in jail, he remembers how he lived well, he had a C3, he had his freedom, this story of burning the border has become like a track on a CD, how many have gone there and not returned neither inside the coffines, nor on a CD. That is why today, to those who are thinking of burning the border, I say two words. Taste it, the taste today’s pain, taste it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. Taste it the taste today’s pain, taset it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. Taste it, the taste today’s pain, taste it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. Taste it, the taste today’s pain, taste it, the taste that one day from Europe you might come back in a coffin. |