Balti, born in 1980, is one of the most popular musicians in Tunisia. Born and raised in the Qasbah of Tunis, Balti turned up on the Tunisian hip-hop scene in 2003 with his first album. But the albums that launched him were "Our real world", 2006, and "The album before the bomb", 2009. During last January’s revolution, when El General, the young rapper from Sfax, was arrested by Ben Ali’s regime for his writings against the dictatorship, many accused Balti for his silence. To regain credibility he has just released a new album: Baltiroshima, where there is something for everyone, although the games have ended ... In any case, this song is part of that album. It's called Yammi, mother. And it’s a poignant letter to a mother. Written in one go by a young man from the working-class neighbourhoods of Tunis, the night before making the sea crossing to Lampedusa. He knows he has a good chance of dying at sea, and feels the need to tell his mother how much he loves her, and how, in the end, this trip is also for her. Because if he does not die, he will return as a man, his head held high, to make her happy. Below are the lyrics translated into English. Read them and circulate them. It would be good for these words reach every mother. Along with photographs of the Lampedusa Spoon River. And along with the fears and prayers of all the children whose "mothers kiss them on the forehead before the water takes them away".
Il blog di Gabriele Del Grande. Sei anni di viaggi nel Mediterraneo lungo i confini dell'Europa. Alla ricerca delle storie che fanno la storia. La storia che studieranno i nostri figli, quando nei testi di scuola si leggerà che negli anni duemila morirono a migliaia nei mari d'Italia e a migliaia vennero arrestati e deportati dalle nostre città. Mentre tutti fingevano di non vedere.
31 December 2011
Music and Harraga Special: Yammi
Balti, born in 1980, is one of the most popular musicians in Tunisia. Born and raised in the Qasbah of Tunis, Balti turned up on the Tunisian hip-hop scene in 2003 with his first album. But the albums that launched him were "Our real world", 2006, and "The album before the bomb", 2009. During last January’s revolution, when El General, the young rapper from Sfax, was arrested by Ben Ali’s regime for his writings against the dictatorship, many accused Balti for his silence. To regain credibility he has just released a new album: Baltiroshima, where there is something for everyone, although the games have ended ... In any case, this song is part of that album. It's called Yammi, mother. And it’s a poignant letter to a mother. Written in one go by a young man from the working-class neighbourhoods of Tunis, the night before making the sea crossing to Lampedusa. He knows he has a good chance of dying at sea, and feels the need to tell his mother how much he loves her, and how, in the end, this trip is also for her. Because if he does not die, he will return as a man, his head held high, to make her happy. Below are the lyrics translated into English. Read them and circulate them. It would be good for these words reach every mother. Along with photographs of the Lampedusa Spoon River. And along with the fears and prayers of all the children whose "mothers kiss them on the forehead before the water takes them away".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)