When I first went to school, I was fighting all the time. The soldier mentality was still in me. I kept getting expelled. I found it hard to take instructions from anyone who wasn't a military commander.
From Emmanuel Jal
Music moves my emotions because music loosens me up.
Violence in Darfur is cataclysmic.
We lack role models who can inspire our young people to make change.
If I sleep for more than half an hour, I get horrible dreams in which I'm firing a gun and helicopters are coming down.
I lost my childhood. I didn't play football or video games. Or have birthdays or the love of a family.
A lot of child soldiers lose their minds.
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.
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.'
There's no pride in having been a child soldier.
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