Albertine

Albertine by Brooke Fraser

I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
there in her eyes what I don't see with my own
rwanda

now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are

I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda

I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine

I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine

In 1994 there was a mass killing in Rwanda. Almost a million people were killed in the hands of their neighbors and friends with in only a short 100 days. There have since been decades of tension and fighting between the two ethnic groups- the Hutus and the Tutsis. Brooke Fraser, the artist and singer of this song, went to visit Rwanda in 2005. She helped out in the local churches, schools, memorials, etc. With in her stay she met people from child-headed households, communities living with AIDS, and many people facing life with no medical care or basics like clean water. She met many people who were joyous and many people who were in a lot of pain. Brooke's friend wanted her to meet a young orphan whose personal history he was familiar with. Through out the whole trip he introduced Brooke as a a musician from the other side of the world who was going to go back and tell everyone about the people of Rwanda and help. Just before introducing Brooke to the orphan girl he told her..."You must go back to your people and you must write a song, and I will tell you what the name of the song is going to be." He motioned Brooke toward the girl. "This is Albertine."

"Albertine is alive today because of the selfless, sacrificial love of another. Funny thing is, so am I. And now I want to know what it's like to love other people like that, so have decided to spend my whole life on the experiment. Feel free to join me. We might just change the world." -Brooke Fraser

This song has been on my mind a lot lately. I am blown away by it's beauty! I hope you are too. You can listen to it by clicking on #2 of my playlist in my sidebar.

Also check out the interview Part 1 and 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84RVRy0jFT4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efi8mxIrcec&feature=related

Enjoy.