A bright side to the ungoing story of the Asian tsunami disaster. This reminds me very much of my Christmas Eve post as well (via Canadian CBC News):
The tragedy was fostering co-operation among some longtime enemies.
Sri Lankan soldiers donated blood to help tsunami victims in the island's rebel-controlled north, a military spokesman said Wednesday. More than 100 soldiers in the government-controlled northern town of Vavuniya volunteered to give blood when they learned of a shortage in rebel-held areas, where the two sides have fought a bitter war since 1983.
"Nimal Mendis composes Tsunami Song
Nimal Mendis is one of Sri Lanka's outstanding singer/songwriters. He is a composer with dual nationality of Sri Lanka and Britian.
Nimal Mendis was 'discovered' by Radio Ceylon during an era when the oldest radio station in South Asia ruled the airwaves. They plugged his song 'Kandyan Express' and all his songs turning them into hits.
At present Nimal Mendis is living in France. He had 22 songs recorded in Britain in the sixties and appeared on the popular TV show “Top of the Pops " in 1968 with my own song " Feel like a Clown ". It was with his singing partner Sandra Edema as Ranee and Raj. It was a guest appearance. He is among a handful of Sri Lankan artistes ever to go on the 'Top of the Pops' TV program during the height of the the BBC program's popularity in the Swinging Sixties.
One of his songs " Master Sir " has been a popular song in Sri Lanka for many years. He also wrote " Ganga Addara " for the late Vijaya Kumaratunge, the Sri Lankan President's husband who was assasinated in 1988 . He has written these and many other popular film songs for our country’s foremost filmmakers Lester and Sumitra Pieris 's . The two songs mentioned are still played often in Sri Lanka.
Following the destruction and horror of the Tsumani that struck Sri Lanka Nimal Mendis composed a new song. It is based on the unprecedented sadness that the entire island of Sri Lanka is experiencing. The song will be translated into Sinhala and also to Tamil. Nimal Mendis needs sponsorship for a recording of this song by an organization who could do it like the Band Aid effort by British artistes that collected a huge sum of money for charity. He does not want anything for the song. Money collected should be sent to the President’s fund directly.( copied below )
To contact Nimal Mendis:
Tel: ( 0033 ) 5 45 65 17 66 - nimal.mend@wanadoo.fr
His son ( Paulmarie Mendis ) contact details: in London. Tel: ( 0044 ) 207 272 5748 - datamyst@aol.com
In Sri Lanka - Varadatta Aravinda -
mobile: Tel: ( 00941 ) (0) 777 749420 -saman_li@yahoo.com
TSUNAMI RELIFE IN SRI LANKA - THE PRESIDENT'S FUND DETAILS:
Name of the Account : “ President’s Fund for Disaster Relief”
Bank : People’s Bank- Head Quarters Branch
Account Number : 204 100 190 136245
Type of the Account : Current Account
Swift Code : PSBKLKLX
Sort Cord : 204-7135
Online Transfer : Facility not available
THE COMPOSITION BY NIMAL MENDIS:
1st Verse
Oh see the foam
The foam-crested wave
Everyone is dying
No one to save
Rising terror thirty feet
Crashing on the shore
Rolling horror on the land
Destroying door to door
Did you need the tsunami
To leave war behind
To come together
Love each other
My child I cannot find.
CHORUS
Tsunami Tsunami
Can I forget this day
My hand has lost its grip
My child is washed away
Tsunami Tsunami
From the bottom of the quake
Why have you done this?
Hundreds and thousands to take
The sea speaks to you man
The sea speaks to you
I’m cleansing your sins man
And all of your motherland.
2nd Verse
I was watching the sea gull
Diving for the fish
It caught the swimming eel
Out of the deep
I remembered the bullet
Past my ear with a swish
I grabbed my child, saved ourselves
With one mighty leap.
Give me an answer
You transgressed the law
What is in your mind now
My child is no more.
CHORUS
Words and Music by Nimal Mendis.
For further information please see the tsunami information site:
http://autismsrilanka.blogspot.com"
Posted by: Asia Radio News | Jan 15, 2005 at 12:46 AM
For the last week New York's Hot 97( http://www.hot97.com/)has been running a hideously unfunny and offensive skit named the "Tsunami Song," that ridicules the victims of the Tsunami as "chinks" whose children will now be sold into child slavery. It's being played on the station's morning show, hosted by Miss Jones. Listen here now-> http://www.thesilent1.com/USA_For_Indonesia.mp3
Peep the link and spread it around to as many as you can...this is pathetic, insensitive and disgusting.
One of the Jocks in Miss Jones crew is an Asian female and she had verbal beef with her on air about playing this yet it played in rotation anyway.
http://www.petitiononline.com/tsunmai7/petition.html
_____
Also, email your disgust to the FCC
To file a written complaint, write to:
FCC
Enforcement Bureau, Investigations and Hearings Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
Or file online: fccinfo@fcc.gov
For more info, their website is: http://www.fcc.gov/parents/content.html
Call toll free:
1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice
1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) tty
Important facts to provide:
1) Date of occurrence: Started on Monday, January 17, 2005 and continued thereafter.
2) Call sign of the station involved: NY Hot 97.1
3) Please provide the content for the complaint (the lyrics)
_____
And then get at some of their advertisers and let them know that it could effect your usage of their products or services
LIST OF ADVERTISERS:
Sprint PCS
Media Contact:
James Fisher, 202-585-1947
james.w.fisher@mail.sprint.com
Popeyes:
http://popeyes.com/corp_comm.asp
Reebok:
Reebok International Ltd.
PO Box 1060
Ronks, PA 17573
McDonald's:
http://mcdonalds.com/contact/contact_us.html
(email, phone, address...)
____
Then when you have done that, let Hot 97 know what you did
HOT 97
395 Hudson St. 7th Fl.
New York, NY 10014
(212) 229-9797
hot97@hot97.com
___
Hell tell their parent company too
EMMIS Communications
One EMMIS Plaza
40 Monument Circle, Suite 700
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Email address: IR@emmis.com
Voice: 317.266.0100
___
tv and newspapers too
___
more info
http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/000759.html
It makes all of Hip Hop look bad as well.
I just hate ignorant ish!
Posted by: repost this every where | Jan 24, 2005 at 03:27 AM
SRI LANKANS PROTEST AT HOT 97's RACIST TSUNAMI SONG
Sri Lankans in the United Kingdom have joined with the Sri Lankan Community in New York in denouncing the cruel and racist Tsunami Song by Miss Jones and Todd Lynn aired over Hot 97, the hip hop radio station in New York.
The news of Hot 97's racist tsunami song is filtering through to the tsunami hit countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand, South India. People are incensed at the song which goes beyond human decency. The governments of the tsunami hit region have been urged to take the matter up with the US Government as it insults the deaths of so many tsunami victims. Sri Lanka has lost over 40,000 people in the tsunami according to the latest count.
Sri Lankans have joined in the demonstrations in New York supported by New York City Councillors.
Here are the lyrics:
TSUNAMI SONG
Date aired: Morning of January 18TH-27TH 2005 (multiple airings)
Station call letters: WQHT-New York (Hot 97)
Offending DJs: Miss Jones and Todd Lynn
Offending lyrics:
“There was a time, when the sun was shining bright
So I went down to the beach to catch me a tan
Then the next thing I knew
A wave 20 feet high came and wash your country away
And all at once, you can hear the screaming chinks.
And then no one was save from the wave.
There was Africans drowning, little Chinaman swept away
You can heard god laughing, swim you bitches swim.
So now you're screwed, it's the the tsunami,
You better run and kiss your ass awake, go find your mommy
I just saw her float by, a tree right through her head.
And now your children will be sold in child slavery.
(Imitating Micheal Jackson)
"Oh on, please not the kids. I'll pay for all the kids.
all the little Indonesian kid, the little Asian kids, the Chinese kids.
the black, oh well, not the Black kids.
the White kids, the Puerto Rican kids.
I love them all. I'll pay for everything.
I promise I won't touch them."
Sri Lankans all over the world wishing to protest are requested to write to their local American Embassy and to -
HOT 97
395 Hudson St. 7th Fl.
New York, NY 10014
HOT 97 E-mail
hot97@hot97.com
Posted by: Jaz | Feb 01, 2005 at 02:45 PM
People from all communities will be protesting against Hot 97 radio station in New York - they insulted the deaths of Sri Lankans among others who perished in the tsunami by airing a racist tsunami song. It has angered people around the world.
Join CAHM in protesting Hot 97 on Monday, Feb. 14 at 12 Noon in NYC.
Black, Hispanic/Latino, White, Asian, Hip Hop, Students ... Everyone!
Hold Hot 97 accountable for promoting hatred in our communities.
The Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM) is organizing a protest rally of Hot 97 and *EVERYONE IS INVITED* -- Come as an individual or part of a larger group. If you are coming as a group, please e-mail them at alerts@asianmediawatch.net This will help us anticipate the size of the protest crowd.
Bring posterboard signs denouncing hatred, racism, and the Hot 97 Tsunami Song. Signs must not be attached to wooden sticks. Use cardboard tubing or hold the signs.
The location of the protest is nearly final, and it will tentatively take place in front of Hot 97 Studios.
Who: Everyone
What: CAHM Protest Rally Against Hot 97/Emmis Communications
When: Monday, February 14 from 12 Noon to 1 p.m.
Where:
Hot 97 Studios
395 Hudson St.
(between Clarkson St. & W. Houston St.)
New York, New York
The announcement will be posted on the web at http://www.asianmediawatch.net
To receive the announcement via e-mail, subscribe to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asianmediaalerts
In case of severe weather, call 914-882-1279 for the latest information
Newsday has just withdrawn all advertising from Hot 97 as a result of the wicked tsunami song.
Many companies have already pulled advertising from Hot 97 including McDonalds, Reebok, Sprint, and Toyota. We urge Newsday to also withdraw their ads.
Hot 97 radio, owned by Emmis Communications, demeaned and dehumanized millions of victims of the South Asian tsunami to the horror of appalled listeners. To the tunes of "We Are the World," Hot 97 radio hosts sang lyrics containing racial epithets and profanity, and denigrated tsunami victims in the name of God.
Lyrics include "You can hear the screaming ch**ks ... little Chinamen swept away. You can hear 'God laughing swim you b****es swim.'" To read more about this incident, listen to the song, or read the full lyrics, visit the website http://www.asianmediawatch.net/missjones/
The Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM) was formed over two weeks ago to combat the hatred and intolerance promoted by Hot 97's Tsunami Song, and to hold Hot 97 and parent company Emmis Communications accountable for their actions.
CAHM is a diverse coalition with representatives from different communities: Black, Hispanic/Latino, White, Asian, Hip Hop, student groups, etc. CAHM member organizations attended the January 28 protest rally at Hot 97 Studios, in support of the protest efforts led by City Council Member John C. Liu.
In response to public outcry, Hot 97 fired two staff members, suspended others, and pledged a donation to tsunami relief. However, Hot 97's actions were done unilaterally and not in a spirit of mutual cooperation with the communities they so deeply scarred.
Senior executives from parent company Emmis Communications, not Hot 97, need to meet with community leaders including City Council Member John C. Liu and representatives of CAHM. Firings and suspensions are not enough. Hot 97 management can simply hire new hate producers and DJs. Hot 97 must change its culture of hate: one that condoned, produced, and repeatedly broadcast the Tsunami Song.
About CAHM
The national Coalition Against Hate Media (CAHM) is a diverse coalition of over 40 national and community-based organizations that promotes diverse, fair, and balanced media representation. CAHM denounce messages of hate that discriminate against people based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or religious background.
Posted by: asiamusic | Feb 12, 2005 at 12:13 AM
Sri Lanka lost over 40,000 people - men, women little children in the tsunami. Over 2 million are homeless. Miss Jones, now back at Hot 97 should note, that over half the number of the dead were little Sri Lankan children. Miss Tarsha Jones and the Hot 97 laughed at the dead and the dying.Senior Management at Emmis Radio turned a blind eye and let the song run for a very long time, day in day out until the protests grew.
Sri Lankans in New York have been urged to join the protests outside Hot 97 radio in New York on Valentine's Day. Hundreds of Asian-Americans will attend. They are calling for the sacking of Richard Cummings President of Emmis Radio and Miss Tarsha Jones of Hot 97 who promoted racism and hatred.
The people of Sri Lanka are calling on President George Bush to personally intervene and fine Emmis Radio and Hot 97. They are asking the question is this the compassion of the United States of America towards those who suffered so badly in the tsunami which ravaged Asia?
Today a major feature was published in the 'Sunday Island' newspaper in Colombo, Sri Lanka criticising Emmis Radio and Hot 97. The respected Sri Lankan journalist Nan has voiced Sri Lanka's revulsion against Emmis Radio and Hot 97 - both radio stations are now 'dirty words' in the tsunami hit nations in the Asia-Pacific.
The Sunday Island Newspaper (13th February 2005) said:
Two tsunami songs mentioned in the British parliament with kudos to Nimal Mendis
by Nan
'I mentioned in a previous article the fact that Nimal Mendis was so moved by the destruction and destitution caused by the tsunami that he inspirationally composed a song of the sea-caused tragedy. That was his way of coming to terms with what had happened to his homeland, which he loves so well.
Nimal, needless to mention, is the composer of both the lyric and music for that wonderful plea of a tea plantation worker for justice from his British Periaya Dorai. Master Sir was the theme song of the film Kalu Diya Dahara (correct me if I am wrong on the film’s title), which song has remained perennially popular. In fact a popular singer uses it as the title of her concerts, with no by-your-leave, copyright permission or whatever from Mendis. Such are the liberties taken by our folk, through sheer inconsideration or ignorance.
I tend to feel it’s the former for we as a nation are thick-skinned about appropriating what is not ours, for our benefit. So intellectual property rights are cast overboard with no compunction.
Feelings that prompted NM’s song
Coming back to my subject, Nimal Mendis composed his tsunami song as his way of saying he felt one with the people who suffered. This is his family’s special contribution. The song has already won fame. It has been translated to Tamil and Sinhala and would soon be heard by us.
According to Nimal: "I was stunned by the tsunami. Even though I was not there, I underwent the trauma of a man losing his grip on his child and the child being swept away by the water. That is what led me to write the song in ten minutes. I did not write the song for myself I wrote it for them who suffered and even as I say this, my eyes fill with tears.
"I now think of men getting drunk, taking to drugs, and isolating their women because of the suffering in their minds. I think of children and mothers and another extra great tragedy they have to cope with now, greater than the poverty and struggle they always went through in their lives, whether they be in the south, the north or east or some parts of the west. They are all our people and they are suffering and its time people do not tempt fate. As I ask in my song, ‘Did you need the Tsunami to leave wars behind?’ Each and everyone must ask this of oneself irrespective of ethnicity. It is to awake from this great slumber some Sri Lankans indulge in more than others. Do we need war and do we need another tsunami?
"As I told you, being here I prefer to crawl into a hole and cover my head and think it all is a bad dream. My only wish is that however small the funds got from my song are, it will go towards easing, if it ever can, the fragile minds that have been shattered by this disaster suffered by all - young and old, men, women and children. All of them who have been left behind to cope with bereavement that will linger on in their lives until memory fades. In an apparition of The Blessed Virgin, She once said: ‘There will come a time when the living will envy the dead."
That was Nimal speaking his heart out, not expecting to be quoted in print. But I got his permission to write about his song and the other.
The motion in the British Parliament
On February 6, it was reported in the media that British MPs deplored the racist Tsunami Song aired over Hot 97, the hip hop radio station in New York.
"Parliamentarians of all parties have objected to the tsunami song aired for over a week on Hot 97 and sung by Miss Jones and a team. Two members of the team have been fired by Emmis Radio. The song has angered people all over the world — including tsunami hit countries.
"British MPs of all parties have signed the early day motion 638 sponsored by the highly influential British Parliamentarian, Linda Perham, MP for Ilford North. EDM 638 reads thus:
‘Hot 97’s Racist Tsunami Song
That this House deplores the racist Tsunami Song aired on Hot 97 radio station in New York, calls upon Richard Cummings, President of Emmis Radio, to take firm action against those who aired the song beyond the temporary suspension, and commends the heartfelt tsunami song composed by British-Sri Lankan Nimal Mendis.
Let’s repeat that last section in the decision taken by that most prestigious body of legislators, the British Parliament: "commends the heartfelt tsunami song composed by British-Sri Lankan Nimal Mendis". Isn’t that a great honour for the composer and his country?
Many are calling for the resignation of Miss Jones. The US President has been urged to take action over Emmis Radio and Hot 97 as they have brought America into disrepute.
The two songs
I will give you the two lyrics.
The first is the Tsunami Song, aired between 18 and 27 January with DJs Miss Jones and Todd Lynn.
(HOT 97 RACIST LYRICS)
Disgusting racism, innuendo and sheer bad taste. Thank goodness a vigilant British MP brought the disrespect to light and had the offenders duly punished for their incredible bad taste; and the song withdrawn.
In contrast is Nimal Mendis’ song, composed as he said in ten minutes. His son Paulmarie had come over for a weekend to Paris from London and was on Internet, when Nimal, getting up from an afternoon nap, told Paulmarie to word process what he was going to say. And thus was the song written with no later editing.
First verse
Oh see the foam/ The foam-crested wave
Everyone is dying/ No one to save
Rising terror thirty feet/ Crashing on the shore
Rolling horror on the land/ Destroying door to door
Did you need the tsunami/ To leave war behind
To come together/ Love each other
My child I cannot find
Chorus
Tsunami tsunami / Can I forget this day
My hand has lost its grip /My child is washed away
Tsunami tsunami/ From the bottom of the quake
Why have you done this?
Hundreds and thousands to take.
The sea speaks to you man/ The sea speaks to you
I’m cleansing your sins man /And all of your motherland
2nd verse
I was watching the sea gull/ Diving for the fish
It caught the swimming eel/ Out of the deep
I remembered the bullet/ Past my ear with a swish
I grabbed my child, saved ourselves
With one mighty leap.
Give me an answer/ You transgressed the law
What is in your mind now /My child is no more..
(Music and words by Nimal Mendis) said Nan in the Sunday Island in Colombo.
What a difference between the two lyrics. Nan's major article has caused an uproar in Sri Lanka over Hot 97's racist tsunami song.
The only way out is for Richard Cummings and Tarsha Jones to go and go now. There will be more protest all over the world - people are protesting to American Embassies around the globe - Cummings and Jones appear not to have the guts and the decency to resign.
President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will have to intervene if Cummings and Jones continue to be at their posts despite the cruelty towards the victims of the tsunami of 26th December 2004.
Posted by: Jag | Feb 13, 2005 at 03:36 PM