Emmanuel Jal

“What I always wanted to do when I was a kid was to speak out and help people which I continue to do afterwards.”

“I grew up in poverty. For 25 years I was fed on aid.”

“I still have nightmares of dead comrades, a long time ago, talking to me. 'Emmanuel, don't forget about us, don't give up, keep telling our story.'”

“The first time I experienced war, I thought the world was ending.”

“In Africa, music is for everything, Music was originally used for community. That was what music was for.”

“Education is the only solution for peace.”

“When you see a Sudanese walking on the street, there is a story.”

“There's no pride in having been a child soldier.”

“In times of war, starvation, hunger and injustice, such tragedy can only be put aside if you allow yourself to be uplifted through music, film and dance.”

“Music moves my emotions because music loosens me up.”

“I'm kind of weird - I don't get excited. Sometimes I fake that I'm excited just to make people happy.”

“I'm still a soldier, fighting with my pen and paper for peace till the day I cease.”

“Violence in Darfur is cataclysmic.”

“The only foreign policy advice I heard from China was when they said to Sudan, 'Don't go back to war.' That's all they said. They didn't push anything else.”

“Only a coward will use a gun to protect and get respect for themselves.”

“What music does to me, it helps me balance my inner pressure so that I can deal with the forces outside that are trying to pressure me.”

“A lot of child soldiers lose their minds.”

“When I was in south Sudan, people used to rap in my village. But the rapping was more in the mother tongue, Nuer.”

“I lost my childhood. I didn't play football or video games. Or have birthdays or the love of a family.”

“I would advise dancers, musicians and others in the entertainment industry to take up yoga, as it clears the mind and creates a sense of balance and stillness which is important for any performing artist.”