In June 2021, while public events and gatherings were curtailed due to covid-19, UNHCR Cameroon liaised with the Afropop musician Magasco, to offer a live Facebook concert that reached 100,000 people on social media on World Refugee Day.
The clip was shot in Gado, a refugee settlement in the East region of Cameroon, home to about 30.000 Central African refugees. Released on World Humanitarian Day, in tribute to the humanitarians who are working to protect the rights of nearly half a million refugees in Cameroon.
The highlight of that concert was the premier of Siriri, a song dedicated to refugees, written and performed by Magasco. This was to raise attention, advocate, and trigger local awareness about the situation of refugees in Cameroon, UNHCR again partnered with Afropop star Magasco to produce a video clip of Siriri.
The video Siriri, meaning Peace was shot in the Gado refugee settlement in Cameroon’s East Region, portraying the lives of refugees, the work of UNHCR and the contributions of generous supporters who have come to aid of forcibly displaced persons.
The number of refugees in Cameroon - nearly half a million, mostly from the Central African Republic and Nigeria but also from several other countries.
They live mostly in villages in East, Adamawa, North and Far North regions, as well as in urban centres like Yaounde and Douala. The video preaches on rhe importance of Peace, why we must give it a chance. This is a healing process for many persons who have displaced themselves because of a crisis or natural disaster.
UNHCR provides protection but also seeks solutions for them including integration in the communities where they find themselves.
With just one click, enjoy the piece, Siriri
https://youtu.be/PZDXXXfdaYM
Picture credit: UNHCR/Helen Ngoh Ada
By Ndefru Melanie
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