So I'm traveling back in time to the ballroom at the Hotel Intercontinental last night. I walked into a long and very narrow room with a stage set up at one end and fancily dressed tables for the 300 people about to come over from the World Justice Forum. It was 6.30pm and Ato Pereferico were doing their sound check. A handful of Forum staff people were present and the band had invited their local contact, Lea, who could translate for them. So hip hop is not what I'm used to and the sound levels were going to blow out the room!! That's what I thought! We needed a plan: how would we get the message across that these young teenagers coming from the favelas of Brazil were here to tell the World Justice Forum that they understand that they have the power to change their view of law. We couldn't let the power of their message be overwhelmed by a speaker system turned on high. And, since they would sing in portuguese, we needed to figure out a way to translate.
Lea became our onstage translator, a last minute role she gladly assumed (phew!) and we split the performance up into two parts - a more acrobatic first fifteen minutes to warm up the crowd at the beginning of dinner and then a second set with singing right after dessert. These boys do physical stunts, spins, handstands, twists, that require chiropractic intervention or a stretcher, depending upon your age. And, to my joy and amazement, the WJF folks at the party, were standing and cheering them on as they walked in and took their seats. The narrowness of the room made it hard for people to see the stage, so many just walked toward the front and the sides, so powerful was the performance.
When they came back a second time, Lea translated several songs. Imagine if you spent your life being the hunted. What if you felt that everyone who looks at you thinks you've done something wrong. Their songs describe their lives and their aspirations. These kids live in the favela, one of the poorest places in Recife, and two of the boys (their names are Dete, Jonas, Okado) will go back home to no running water. There are days they have little to eat. And, here we are, shepherding them to a gala affair in one of the most spectacular cities in the world. What a culture shock - the hotels, passports, the clothes they bought, the nightclub they visited and performed at later in the evening, the walks in the park. They were big enough to handle it all.
Their message got across. People talked about the performance all today at the Forum. Marnie, Valerie and I were all in the last session of the World Justice Forum today, when one of final presenters from Palestine got up to speak. These last words from the regional representatives were commitments by the assembly of future work to promote the rule of law from this forum to the next. She said that their group had met this morning and had been inspired by the performance of Ato Pereferico. She said that they would go home and reach out to their youngsters to put together a play to demonstrate their hopes and aspirations about the rule of law.
To say the least, that made me smile. And, as Marnie, Valerie and I talked about the past 3 days and our plans for work in Afghanistan together, we too were inspired by Ato Pereferico. These kids have come far, and they have grown through a positive interaction with law - and, they both understand and respect it. We are fortunate to have been a part of their life lesson, and, just as pleased to learn from them how to take something that seems so negative upon first view, and turn it around.
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