Gillian Bartolo interviews Congo Bon Chic

The Malta Independent on Sunday, 16 Nov., 2003

From left, Jean Silvain, Eric and Zing (Picture by Renè Rossignaud)

Refugee Blues*

A concert on Saturday 22 November, 2003, by emerging African group Congo Bon Chic promises to be a deeply moving musical experience. Not only because they all come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), voted top African country of song and dance last year and because music permeates their daily life, but also because as refugees they infuse their music with both the pain and the joy of living.

On drums, bass guitar, lead guitar and Conga, they will play a wide range of pulsating music including indigenous dance music like Rumba, similar to the famous Brazilian Rumba, the dynamic Soukouss sung and danced at feasts, Afro-Cuban music and Zook, traditional music.

Culturally, music and dance are as much a part of their lives as talking and walking are for us. They have songs to sing and dance to on the way to work, songs for children, music and dance for celebrations, music for funerals. Each ethnic group has its own repertoire which enriches the national culture.

I met three of the band players: Zing, Eric and Jean Silvain and they told me a little about their lives and how they got together. They come from different ethnic groups in the Congo of which there are 450 ethnic groups, with as many languages but one common one: Lingala. All of them fled the war in their country at about the same time in 2002, and met at the detention center in Floriana. It seems that the idea of forming a group once they left the center came after Zing successfully pleaded for a guitar from a policeman to while away the time. All three have been accorded humanitarian protection, which is slightly less secure than refugee status, but they are all happy and say repeatedly that they are grateful to Malta and have found support from the Maltese.

Their journeys here were long and treacherous, mostly through Chad, Sudan and Turkey. They tell heart-rending stories of what they have left behind. Zing is haunted by the young nephew he lost at the Sudan border, who he is sure was captured and taken into the army. “I play music to forget the pain”. He continues. “We can refuse to join the army. But children can’t.” Jean Silvain is writing music about the war, about the tragedy of people killing each other. Eric reports that 5 million Congolese have died since the outbreak of war with its neighbours in 1997. “Whole communities are massacred indiscriminately.”  

These devasting experiences, are bound to bring a further poignancy to their vibrant performance.

Their previous performances in Malta have been a resounding success, both because of their creativity as musicians and because of their ability and willingness to engage with their audience.

They will be playing at the one-day Fair Trade Festival organized by the volunteers of the fair trade shop L-Arka called Taste the World at St James Cavalier on 22^nd November at 8pm

*Read the poem "Refugee Blues" by W.H. Auden

Taste the World

Festival tal-kummerċ ġust

Is-Sibt, 22 ta’ Novembru, 2003

10.00am - 10.00pm, Il-Kavallier ta’ San Ġakbu, Il-Belt

Nhar is-Sibt li ġej, 22 ta’ Novembru, 2003, bejn l-10.00am u l-10.00pm, se jsir festival ta’ mużika u żfin etniku, artiġjanat u ikel, u workshops interattivi, fil-Kavallier ta’ San Ġakbu, Il-Belt. Wieħed mill-mistednin ewlenin għal dan il-festival organizzat mill-voluntiera tal-Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust, se jkun Luca Palagi, li huwa espert fuq proġetti tal-kummerċ ġust f’komunitajiet żvantaġġjati fl-Afrika, li se jagħmel sensiela ta’ workshops interattivi għaż-żgħażagħ u għall-pubbliku in ġenerali. Il-mistednin l-oħra huma l-grupp ta’ mużiċisti u żeffiena, Congo Bon Chic, mir-Repubblika Demokratika tal-Kongo; refuġjat Kongoliż bl-isem ta’ Popol Mubetsambila; u l-grupp mużikali Malti-Afrikan, Hu Jambo.

L-attivitajiet kollha huma miftuħin għall-pubbliku in ġenerali u li se jkunu mingħajr ħlas.

Bejn it-3.00pm u s-6.00pm dawk preżenti se jkunu jistgħu jduqu l-kafè tal-kummerċ ġust b’xejn. Hu Jambo u Congo Bon Chic se jibdew idoqqu fis-7.30pm.

Il-festival tal-kummerċ ġust Taste the World qed jiġi organizzat mill- koperattiva soċjali Maltija li tmexxi l-ħanut tal-kummerċ ġust L-Arka fi Triq San Pawl, il-Belt Valletta. Matul il-ġurnata kollha se jkun hemm għadd ta’ prodotti ta’ l-ikel u artiġjanat għall-bejgħ. Dawn inħadmu minn komunitajiet żvantaġġati fl-Afrika, l-Asja u l-Amerika Latina u l-Amerika Ċentrali, u jinkludu ikel, costume jewellery, ħwejjeġ, artiġjanat biex iżżejjen id-dar, cds ta’ mużika mid-dinja kollha, u aktar,

Luca Palagi (fir-ritratt ma' Nathalie Grima, President tal-Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust) iggradwa fl-inġinerija ambjentali fl-1992 u issa ilu jaħdem ma’ Ctm-Altromercato għal dawn l-aħħar tliet snin. Xogħlu hu li jikkoordina u jwettaq proġetti fost komunitajiet żgħar li jipproduċu prodotti ta’ l-ikel u artiġjanat fl-Afrika. Għaldaqstant kontinwament iżur il-komunitajiet differenti li jaħdmu l-prodotti ġusti li jinbigħu fl-Ewropa kollha permezz ta’ ħwienet bħal L-Arka ta’ 306, Triq San Pawl, il-Belt. Luca Palagi għandu esperjenza diretta tat-titjib li jseħħ fil-komunità kollha meta din tinvolvi ruħha fil-kummerċ ġust. Qabel Malta se jżur il-Ghana biex jiltaqa’ ma’ xi komunitajiet hemmhekk.

Luca Palagi se jmexxi sensiela ta’ workshops interattivi bl-Ingliż maż-żgħażagħ dwar komunitajiet Afrikani involuti fil-kummerċ ġust. Fl-10.30am se jkun hemm workshop ma’ żgħażagħ ta’ bejn 16 u 18-il sena. Il-workshop tas-2.00pm se jkun għal dawk ta’ bejn 12 u 14-il sena, u fil-5.00pm se jmexxi workshop għall-kbar bl-isem ta’ "Travel through fair trade in Africa: Tales and Pictures from the Producers."

Fis-7.00pm, Popol Mubetsambila, refuġjat mir-Repubblika Demokratika tal-Kongo, se jiltaqa’ mal-pubbliku in ġenerali biex jaqsam l-esperjenzi tiegħu skond it-tema "Border Crossings." Dan l-avveniment huwa f’idejn Inijamed, bil-għajnuna ta’ għadd ta’ membri tal-Graffti.

"Those of us engaged in Fair Trade know that there is an alternative and better way to trade and do business, that puts people first and ensures that their work is properly recognised and rewarded,” tgħid Carol Wills, Direttriċi Eżekuttiva tal-federazzjoni internazzjonali tal-kummerċ alternattiv, l-IFAT. Hi kienet waħda mill-mistednin fit-Taste the World li saret fil-Kavallier ta’ San Ġakbu fl-2002. “Fair Trade puts human values, dignity, dialogue and respect at the heart of its work. We want to see an end to the greed and exploitation that results in impoverished lives and a spoilt environment."

Il-grupp Malti-Afrikan Hu Jambo twaqqaf mill-mużiċista Malti Mark Abela u l-kantant Kenjan Syl. Il-membri l-oħra tal-grupp huma Ruth Abela (kitarra), Ryan Abela (drums), Dennis Abela u Ryan Cutajar (perkussjoni), u Allen Gatt (djembè). Hu Jambo se jdoqqu għadd ta’ kanzunetti bis-Swahili.

Congo Bon Chic huma magħmul minn mużiċisti u żeffiena mir-Repubblika Demokratika tal-Kongo. Huma jdoqqu tipi differenti ta’ mużika, fost ir-Rumba, il-Makossa, is-Soukous, iż-Zouk, ir-Reggae, and l-Indombolo. Il-membri tal-grupp huma Zing (lead guitar), Rocky (bass guitar), u Dôris (drums). Il-kantanti u ż-żeffiena huma Jean Silvain, Eric, Shuga, u Japonais.

Koperattiva Kummerċ Ġust hija membru attiva taċ-CTM-Altromercato, waħda mill-akbar organizzazzjonijiet tal-kummerċ ġust fl-Ewropa. Hija wkoll membru ta’ IFAT. Il-festival Taste the World se jittella’ minn din il-koperattiva soċjali Maltija bl-appoġġ tal-Kavallier ta’ San Ġakbu u l-proġett Med2000 iffinanzjat mill-EU.

Għal aktar tagħrif ikkuntattja lill-organizzaturi fuq kkg@maltaforum.org jew progetti@maltaforum.org, inkella ċempel lill-ħanut tal-kummerċ ġust L-Arka fuq 2124 4865.