The Grammys and K'naan's Refugee

If I was gonna be free, I'd have to change my name

Mama don't feel shame, somebody call me refugee
My old name was all wrong, I've waited for so long
To decide my destiny, somebody call me refugee
Somebody call me refugee

I am
I am

And I walked a long way
I am
But I was not at all alone
I am
Whole city gone astray
I am
Every suitcase held a home

Somebody call me refugee
Somebody call me refugee
Somebody call me refugee
And I'll wear it proudly, refugee

I am
I am

Refugee -- K'naan 

 The annual Grammy Awards show took place last night and we didn't watch. There's a lot of glitz, glamour, that doesn't really appeal to a couple of geezers. We did go searching for 80-year-old Joni Mitchell's touching rendition of her classic Both Sides Now, bolstered my a cadre of contemporary musicians.

A Grammy was given to another Canadian ex-pat, K'naan, who came to this country from Somalia as a 12-year-old. You might remember his song Wavin' Flag which was chosen as Coca-Cola's  promotional anthem for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. His family left the violence of Mogadishu and Somalia and arrived in Toronto with next to nothing. He learned English by sounding out song lyrics.  It seemed fitting that he won his Grammy in the category of Best Song for Social Change and the song Refugee. 

We hear about refugees on a daily basis with a growing awareness that around the world millions are on the move because of food insecurity, climate change, religious persecution and political turmoil. We hear about them for a while and then, it seems move on to the next crisis. 

Remember how much attention was given to the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar/Burma? In 2017 hundreds of thousands were forced from their homeland and are still living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Two years before many Canadians were involved in sponsoring Syrian refugees, a wonderful outpouring of hospitality, yet there are still millions of displaced Syrians in Lebanon and Turkey. The flood of migrants at the southern border of the United States is a humanitarian crisis and a political firestorm. Let's not forget the hundreds of refugees camped on Toronto streets until given safe haven by two Black congregations. 

                                                         Holy Family Refugee Icon -- Kelly Latimore 

There are plenty of refugees and migrants in the bible, including the formerly enslaved people of Israel and Ruth, along with the infant Jesus and his parents. These are stories of vulnerability and privation because of economic and political circumstances, not unlike today.

I am
There's a weight inside my shoe
I am
Built a nest for those I grieve
I am
And no matter what I do
I am
They will always walk with me
They will always walk with me

Somebody call me refugee
Somebody call me refugee
Somebody call me refugee
And I'll wear it proudly, refugee

I am
I am
Take me
I am
Make me, take me
I am
Make me, take me
I am
Make me, take me
I am
Make me, take me

I am
Somebody call me refugee
Somebody call me refugee
Somebody call me refugee
And I'll wear it proudly, refugee

I am
I am
And I'll wear it proudly, refugee

Refugees camped on Toronto street