Chris Blattman

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Child soldiers to child rockers

My friend Dave over at Tukapamoja is in West Africa checking in on some of his programs and projects. He sends me this e-mail:

Saturday night I sat on the ferry from Sierra Leone’s international airport to Freetown, about a one-hour ride. At the front of the cabin, a TV monitor showed music videos, and I was amazed to see a five-year-old little boy in white undies walk onto the screen and start dancing up a storm. This kid could move. He was awesome; at some point the camera panned the audience, focusing on a proud-looking couple likely to be the boy’s parents. The kid’s name was “Little Ranky.” The next video was a nine-year-old (just guessing on these ages) hip-hop star, BBDJ, talking fast and presiding over a host of young dancers. It’s sweet to see a country that once saw thousands of its children toting AK-47s now letting them bust a move and stay in school.

One Response

  1. Is your friend sure those weren’t American videos!? I can’t say I heard of a TV studio with an audience in Freetown in my two years there. The ferry’s a laugh though.

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