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saturday night was incredible, so so awesome. LAL from toronto, along with kader B. & 23, and sam shalabi. with beautiful projections behind them. all in the church basement, same church where kader has been in sanctuary, defying deportation, for over 28 months (857 days as of today). here's an article from a friend leading up to the event...
oh, and you can listen here :
http://myspace.com/23andkader
http://www.myspace.com/lalforest
Hour: Finding sanctuary in hip-hop
by Stefan Christoff
http://hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticl
Algerian refugee in sanctuary launches rap album...
Abdelkader Belaouni, an Algerian refugee living in sanctuary for more than two
years at St-Gabriel's Church in Pointe St-Charles, is launching a hip-hop
album. After a winter-long collaboration with the Muslim-American rapper 23
(Tu-Three) - who recently transplanted to Montreal - the duo has produced a
unique rap album, born within the walls of sanctuary and from a desire to fight
for a more just refugee determination process in Canada.
Over two years ago, in defiance of a deportation order from Citizenship and
Immigration Canada, Belaouni took sanctuary. Since, he has played an active
role in the campaign for the government to act on his case while developing
musical skills on the side. In the two years he's been living within the walls
at St-Gabriel's Church, Belaouni has learned to play flute and piano and is now
conveying his struggle through hip-hop.
"This is the first time I have made music in my life, let's be honest,"
explains Belaouni. "Many people would think that while in sanctuary I am simply
hiding. However, throughout this time I have been working hard on my music,
singing in sanctuary beside my bed."
Belaouni, backed by many community organizations and social justice groups, has
been fighting a very public battle with Immigration Canada. It's not the only
battle he's faced in this lifetime. In 1996, Belaouni escaped a violent civil
conflict in Algeria, which took an estimated 100,000 civilian lives, an escape
that began his journey and struggles as a refugee. He's also blind.
Despite his claims, Citizenship and Immigration Canada rejected Belaouni's
refugee application, issuing a deportation order that has led to the longest
standing sanctuary case in Canada, stretching out now for over 850 days.
"This is one of the rare opportunities that Abdelkader has to express himself
to the outside world, having been stuck between four walls for over two years,"
explains Mostafa Henaway from the Committee to Support Abdelkader Belaouni.
"In creating the album, Abdelkader's personality and struggle is expressed
through the music, a cultural expression surrounding the themes of personal
freedom and destiny and their relation to borders and global migration,"
explains hip-hop artist 23, Belaouni's collaborator. "After our first session
it was clear that we were really starting to build on something, that there was
a blessing for this project to work."
Themes on the album range from local issues relating to antipoverty and housing
struggles in Pointe St-Charles in Montreal's southwest, where St-Gabriel's
Church is located, to issues of an international scope such as the realities
faced by refugees in a time of war.
"One track is called Borders, a piece that highlights the privilege that a
limited number of people and multinational corporations have to cross
international borders freely," says 23. "In today's age of security and
surveillance we are faced with increasing oppression. Twenty years ago many
people celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall, however, today we are seeing
more and more walls going up throughout the world, from the U.S.-Mexico border
to Israel's apartheid wall in Palestine."
Today, the official position of the Canadian government is that Belaouni is not
allowed to remain within Canada's borders, and a deportation order still
stands.
* Info visit:http://www.soutienpourkader.net/
* View a performance from 23 featuring Abdelkader Belaouni:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGtC36Lf
oh, and you can listen here :
http://myspace.com/23andkader
http://www.myspace.com/lalforest
Hour: Finding sanctuary in hip-hop
by Stefan Christoff
http://hour.ca/news/news.aspx?iIDArticl
Algerian refugee in sanctuary launches rap album...
Abdelkader Belaouni, an Algerian refugee living in sanctuary for more than two
years at St-Gabriel's Church in Pointe St-Charles, is launching a hip-hop
album. After a winter-long collaboration with the Muslim-American rapper 23
(Tu-Three) - who recently transplanted to Montreal - the duo has produced a
unique rap album, born within the walls of sanctuary and from a desire to fight
for a more just refugee determination process in Canada.
Over two years ago, in defiance of a deportation order from Citizenship and
Immigration Canada, Belaouni took sanctuary. Since, he has played an active
role in the campaign for the government to act on his case while developing
musical skills on the side. In the two years he's been living within the walls
at St-Gabriel's Church, Belaouni has learned to play flute and piano and is now
conveying his struggle through hip-hop.
"This is the first time I have made music in my life, let's be honest,"
explains Belaouni. "Many people would think that while in sanctuary I am simply
hiding. However, throughout this time I have been working hard on my music,
singing in sanctuary beside my bed."
Belaouni, backed by many community organizations and social justice groups, has
been fighting a very public battle with Immigration Canada. It's not the only
battle he's faced in this lifetime. In 1996, Belaouni escaped a violent civil
conflict in Algeria, which took an estimated 100,000 civilian lives, an escape
that began his journey and struggles as a refugee. He's also blind.
Despite his claims, Citizenship and Immigration Canada rejected Belaouni's
refugee application, issuing a deportation order that has led to the longest
standing sanctuary case in Canada, stretching out now for over 850 days.
"This is one of the rare opportunities that Abdelkader has to express himself
to the outside world, having been stuck between four walls for over two years,"
explains Mostafa Henaway from the Committee to Support Abdelkader Belaouni.
"In creating the album, Abdelkader's personality and struggle is expressed
through the music, a cultural expression surrounding the themes of personal
freedom and destiny and their relation to borders and global migration,"
explains hip-hop artist 23, Belaouni's collaborator. "After our first session
it was clear that we were really starting to build on something, that there was
a blessing for this project to work."
Themes on the album range from local issues relating to antipoverty and housing
struggles in Pointe St-Charles in Montreal's southwest, where St-Gabriel's
Church is located, to issues of an international scope such as the realities
faced by refugees in a time of war.
"One track is called Borders, a piece that highlights the privilege that a
limited number of people and multinational corporations have to cross
international borders freely," says 23. "In today's age of security and
surveillance we are faced with increasing oppression. Twenty years ago many
people celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall, however, today we are seeing
more and more walls going up throughout the world, from the U.S.-Mexico border
to Israel's apartheid wall in Palestine."
Today, the official position of the Canadian government is that Belaouni is not
allowed to remain within Canada's borders, and a deportation order still
stands.
* Info visit:http://www.soutienpourkader.net/
* View a performance from 23 featuring Abdelkader Belaouni:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGtC36Lf
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