Nashwa Abdel-Tawab listens to the power of universal languages collected in a song for children's rights A three-minute Arabic song, Red Card, released on video by the North Africa office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) brings together some of the world's most universal languages -- football, music, colours, numbers -- to deliver a strong message about child labour. Part of the ILO's global campaign, the song was adapted from the 2002 original French, Carton rouge au travail des enfants (written and performed by Pierrette Adems and released in partnership with FIFA and the African Cup of Nations (ACN), on the occasion of the tournament held in Mali), for broadcast on the occasion of the 2006 ACN in January in Egypt, following English and Swahili translations. In 2003 FIFA and ILO issued a joint media release vowing to unite forces to eradicate child labour through the Red Card Campaign: the values of fair game, whereby a player was issued a red card and thereby kept off the pitch for the rest of the game when he misbehaved, were thought to have relevance for the way society is run. More recently in Egypt, the song was turned into a video clip and, only this month, aired on national and satellite television. A moving experience with plenty of impact, the song promises to be a huge hit. Performed by the emerging pop icon Khaled Selim, a young man with a tender voice and earnest look, it was adapted to Arabic by lyricist-musician Aziz El-Shafei; the clip is directed by a Lebanese, Karim Kabbarra, one of a handful of clip-makers with a vision. Selected by the ILO, the three artists were so enthusiastic about the project they worked free of charge. They maintain a sense of commitment. Using the notion of being "sent off" with the referee's red card makes for bright colours, to be contrasted with the drab conditions of the child labour scenes depicted -- all the more effective when devoid of brutality. While the use of figures as subtitles at the beginning of the video is common to all three songs, the Arabic version adds sign language to the terse, powerful lyrics. "The idea of using sign language for the first time, seems appropriate to this song," Kabbarra explains. "I want to draw attention to the existence of an audience that needs it." An art work with a message, the clip is the moral face of an otherwise increasingly commercialised industry, with Arabic video clips becoming almost synonymous with soft porn. According to Ambassador Moushira Khattab, secretary- general of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, "It is a work of much moral value that deserves the utmost respect. It will spur large-scale action." Judging by the testimony of one university student, Mona, this is not too far from the truth: "I am optimistic that we can help make children happy; on seeing this great clip, my friends and I are wondering how we can spend some of our time helping eliminate child labour; we're seeing if and how we can join an NGO in the field..." According to El-Shafie, indeed, this has been the point of the song since its -- French -- genesis: "The original lyrics stress the importance of education and prevention of sexual harassment of women as well as child labour, which amounts to torture. The Arabic phrasing is simpler and more direct. I started with the idea of a girl dreaming of a world in which there are equal educational opportunities and the child is recognised as a citizen with major rights, then progressed to the problem and its consequences, concluding with the desired happiness, love and peace. Art can spread awareness of important issues -- the environment, AIDS, racism... It can make a strong point by giving a human face to an issue. The problem is rather funding, with completely disproportionate representation for issues like these, resulting in downright neglect." For Selim, speaking at an Italian Embassy press conference on the World Day Against Child Labour, the song was a delightful opportunity to spread a message: "If we want to spread an idea, we must communicate it so that everyone gets what we mean. I think this is the beauty of music, especially when it is accompanied by accessible lyrics -- it provides a framework for effective communication." For his part Kabbarra sees art as an honest mirror of the society it depicts: "We can't sugar-coat it. There is no clear strategy for the media but my own aim, I feel, is to effect change through my work." Even though she does a different kind of work, the ILO sub-regional director for North Africa, Lorette De Luca, is similarly driven: "We undertake such campaigns because we have a goal; and the best way of achieving it is to raise awareness through direct contact with our target audience. We also encourage ILO constituents (governments, employers and workers' organizations) as well as local authorities, civil society, community leaders, youth, children and their families to take a stand on the issue. The ILO Red Card Campaign involves people from the realms of sports, the arts and education to help create an Egyptian and an African movement centred on the fight against child labour, and thus make a strong contribution to the broader global movement." Nevine Osman, ILO communication officer in Egypt, agrees: "Hard work in liaison with popular fields like sports and entertainment has always proved fruitful. Last year's ILO global report -- entitled The End of Child Labour Within Reach -- shows that rates of child labour have for the first time decreased worldwide, dropping by 11 per cent from 246 million to 218 million between 2000 and 2004. The report calls on member states to aim for eradicating the worst forms of child labour within a decade. At the moment the regional distribution of global child workers is as follows: 61 per cent in Asia and Oceania; 32 per cent in Africa; and seven per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean." Even Juan Somavia, ILO general director, has testified to the power of the song: "Many have said child labour will always be with us but the global movement against child labour is proving them wrong. That is the meaning of the symbolic waving of the Red Card against child labour -- it's not just a gesture, it's a way to highlight our struggle for the right of every child to a real childhood." On the local front, song- oriented campaigns against diseases like Bilharzia, or else spontaneous popular expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians, have been so successful that one MP this year asked urban folk icon Shaaban Abdel-Rehim to come up with something about avian flu to spread awareness among the most affected social groups. Songs, it seems, are far more intriguing than any other means of making a point. They make for a more or less universal language in which people relate to the same issues worldwide, a common ground for global change, however slow it might end up being. While back in the 1960s it was a politician who embodied collective aspirations and inspired people, now, it seems, this is the job of a performance artist, who have the greatest capacity to influence people. Thankfully they have a sense of responsibility to match.
