Yes, we know, it’s Tuesday. But our offices were closed yesterday in honor of the U.S. holiday, Memorial Day.
This week’s music playlist is dedicated to remembering those lost on all sides of any conflict or war. Songs were submitted by staff, colleagues and myself. If you’d like to add a song, please comment below.
The featured image is from the #NotaBugSplat campaign and is a reference to the term “bug splat” used in U.S. military parlance to refer to victims of drone attacks.
The songs are curated only via YouTube playlist as some aren’t available on Spotify.
The Syrian girl that is singing a freedom song in this video is standing at the site of a targeted attack. The video shows her singing the freedom song as the rocket hits. Thankfully, she survived, but many of the civilians standing around her in the video were killed. The same girl continues to sing for Syria. ~ Raja
“I Can’t Write Left Handed” – John Legend and The Roots cover Bill Withers classic about a soldier he’d meet who’d been shot. ~ MJ
“Lets say that I am okay” – the lyrics speak to human rights defenders: “I wanted to change the world, I don’t know how the world changed me, I wanted to carry the sky on my shoulders. Now I have trouble carrying myself” ~ Raja
“Bella Ciao” – is a popular anti-fascist song that’s been translated in several languages and was really popular during the Gezi protests in 2013. Also, the tune is damn catchy and you can feel the passion in the singer’s voice. ~ Michelle, Turkish-American activist
“I Ain’t Marching Anymore” – is the perfect Memorial Day song because the best way to honor all those who died in war is to stop creating more memories to memorialize year after year. I love this song because it’s simple, brutally honest, and doesn’t glorify any aspect of war or ideology. ~ Chris
“Freedom Songs” – this video from Syria ends in a rocket attack. Here’s a few articles about activists lost in the conflict so far: Death of the ‘Brave One’ & From Facebook about: The #photos that we see coming from #Syria, can cost one’s life sometimes! ~ Raja
“Civil War” by Guns-N-Roses – Lyric: D’you wear a black armband | When they shot the man | Who said, “Peace could last forever. ~ MJ
“Rita” – Marcel Khalife used the song of infamous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and turned it into this beautiful and powerful song. This is called “Rita.” It’s about a Jewish women he fell in love with.. “Standing between Rita and my eyes is a rifle.” ~ Raja