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Baraka Oyuru Band
Appearing on the Infield stage
at 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM on Saturday July 23rd, 2005
Baraka Oyuru was just 11 years old when he became a soldier in the rebel army fighting Sudan's government militia. In addition to causing the death of his father and other relatives, Oyuru says the 21-year-old civil war in his homeland has stolen his childhood.
Oyuru, a 30-year-old reggae musician now living in Waterville and a father of four children, recently released a CD of songs about Sudan to help raise money for children still living there. Oyuru sings lead vocals and plays keyboard on "Running Away Children," and most of the 13 songs are performed in a reggae style. His lyrics address the plight of people affected by the war in southern Sudan, which has caused the deaths of 2.2 million people and displaced 4.5 million more.
"They declare holy war against us lost boys/Against us poor boys," Oyuru sings on "Sharia Law." Since March, up to 70,000 people made homeless by conflict in Darfur, Sudan, have died as a direct result of their poor living conditions, according to the United Nations World Health Organization.Oyuru says a portion of the proceeds from the CD, will go toward education, medication, shelter and food for Sudanese children displaced in refugee camps.