Mammas

MAWE from SETH CHASE on Vimeo.

· Females in developing countries on average carry 20 liters of water per day over 6 km.
· Globally, women account for the majority of people aged over 60 and over 80.
· Pregnant women in Africa are 180 times more likely to die than in Western Europe.
· 530,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth each year.
· Of 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide, 70% are women.
· 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women.
· Women own around only 1% of the world's land.
· AIDS sees women's life expectancy of 43 in Uganda and Zambia.
· Women are 2/3 of the 1 billion+ illiterate adults who have no access to basic education.

Still Haven't found what I'm looking for

Visage from SETH CHASE on Vimeo.

When I was a young formidable chap my father told me: "A philosopher can say in a thousand words, what a teacher can say in a hundred words, what a poet can say with one word."
I knew after hearing that quote that I wanted to be a philosopher, because saying something in a thousand words seemed to be a good idea. Plus I thought a thousand was a big number. Indeed, I was quite philosophical from my mid exciting teens - to my - mid to less formidable 20's. And now I prefer the poetic way of life. I'll soon correct this error but for now i'll bathe in it's sweet sounding glory of the word for a little longer, at least until my palms wrinkle.
The poet in this video is John Bosco, a local teacher here in the capital of Burundi. He loves music, his true passion, and this song is about his spiritual searching. What I like most about it, is that he really sort of got a Bono'ish feel. "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" is easily one of my favorite U2 songs along with "one" like almost every other U2 fan under the sun. You can't tell us cliché U2 fans apart, we look alike, talk alike, and dress the same. But I'm the one in Burundi, and you're the one reading this from a comfortable office, or room, somewhere in the developed world. And one of your internet tabs is on a comedic utube short, another one is on your email account, while skype rests in the background, and when you hear the sound of someone approaching you'll shrink all the tabs revealing your excel spread sheet just in time for when your boss, or spouse, or friend walks in on you with less than groundbreaking news, and it's likely that they are U2 fans of the same exact sort.

So John Bosco isn't the typical Christian. His view of the Trinity isn't comfortable:

The one with the Hidden face= Father
The one in the middle of misery= Son
The one with the forgotten face= Spirit

I'm willing to bet when most people picture Jesus they don't picture a man with many sorrows, a suffering being, that's why we put up crosses everywhere as reminders, but they don't seem to work like they were intended to. Because now you can get cross jewlry of gold and silver. What would the "light" of this John Bosco Trinity be like I wonder: not so bright and Christmassy I would guess, not just the giver of blessings. This seems to be the tri-unity of trials. The first time I heard the term Tri-unity was in 1997 at Grace Bible Church in Bozeman Montana. I remember jotting it down.

Some Christians grow up in a comfortable world, with electricity, peace, jobs, internet cafes, NBC, and FOX news. Some Christians grow up in a painful world of poverty, war, rape, theft, violence, refugee camps, pain, and no NBC or FOX news. Both study from the same book, but what's taken away from that book is sometimes miles apart. I grew up in the former environment. John, the ladder.

The Person with the hidden face - The Father is ever unseen by mankind, though in the time of the Son, if you saw the Son, then you Saw the Father. A thirty three year window (or there abouts). But after the 30's A.D. there is no chance to see the Son, save via visions and such, which many around the world claim to have. But to see the Person with the hidden face with your own eyes… No. Hidden.

The Person in the middle of misery - had 33 years (give or take) of living and serving in the middle of misery. Took on the weight of the world, taught, healed, prophesied, and did a myriad of other activities. 3 1/2 years of ministering in misery as it were, no retreats, no benifits, no social security. No executive desk, Black leather chair with wheels, AC, comfortable bed, message therapy, pain meds... nothing. Fox hole, nomadic type lifestyle. Maybe even one pair of sandals, though this issue is hotly debated among scholars.

The person with the forgotten face - I imagine that the Helper would have a forgotten face, if you saw friends, family, neighbors, killing each other. You have forgotten many things if find you are killing your brother. You have forgotten many things if you find you hate your brother. Christian killing Christian, the face of the Helper, forgotten.

John, searched in time, space, in the good, and in bad, among powerful men, but never found what he was looking for. Then in a moment of his life, he had a vision, and when God visited his house, (the french is literally "When You knocked on my house, You had the face of my Brother") John saw that God, had the face of his Brother: for John a shocking revelation. And ultimately John didn't find God among the rulers of the Earth, rather a child with arms extended toward His Father.

By all accounts a well written song. Personal wisdom, insight, experience, self, and much more, all poured into the lyrics.
Word Count 877.

The Way It Is

Motosi is at it again. In this song Motosi sings of a couple different subjects, and presents them honestly and unapologetically. Some observations are unique to Burundi, like the "bed mattress" observation. Some subjects are shared by all cultures, like "marital conflict." And other topics like "begging" and "education" are sung about for good measure. I shot this video a couple months back with my friend Adam. See what you can make of it. I think it's a keeper.

The way it is from SETH CHASE on Vimeo.

umoja

To be together as one in spirit. That is the message of this song. John Bosco is the name of this musician, and he actually teaches music here in Bujumbura not too far from my house. He's the most refined of the musicians so far, and he has a load of songs, and on this day, he recorded two of his originals in our living room. Again, John is a friend of a friend. My buddy Adam tried to get john for a month... we couldn't track him down, so when I heard he had an hour, we just rolled cameras. I think John Bosco is Burundi's Ben Harper. I have no doubt that if John Bosco cut an Album, it would do quite well, I'll have to talk to Adam to see if we could help with that. John doesn't showcase his guitar skills here, but he's actually quite good, because he would just jam inbetween songs, and when we started recording, we would totally change his style. This song is about his message for unity, so it's a vocally driven song, with a chorus you can't ignore. He sings this song in 4 languages, almost as if, he's using the different languages to emphasize his point, that no matter what tongue you speak, we should be united in spirit as one. Again I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.

Swahili:

Tuna taka umoja … Africa

We ask for unity … Africa

Tuna taka umoja … wa warundi wote

We ask for unity … every Burundian

Tuna taka umoja … from South Africa to Tunisia

Uwacu wote umoja … umoja ni nguvu.

We ask for unity … unity is our strength.

Kirundi:

Dusabira umoja abarundi, yeah …

We ask for unity all Burundians, yeah …

Dusabira umoja imisi yose

We ask for unity every day

Dusabira umoja ibintu vyose bifite ibibazo

We ask for unity in everything that causes us problems

Dusabira umoja imisi yose.

We ask for unity every day.

Moja - African local music project video 3 from SETH CHASE on Vimeo.

Local Burundi Music Series featuring live performances by local African artists

Have you ever heard the sound of a Burundian musician? I didn’t think so. If a Burundian wants to get his or her music on the radio or televsion, they give up all the rights to their songs, so the serious musicians never really get their music out there. They’ll maybe get an audience of a couple hundred other Burundians and a few expatriates. I decided to do a Burundi music project and feature some local musicians, from my area of the woods in Burundi in order to bring the musicians to you. This series will feature four musicians. The two musicians in this video are August and Ceasar. They are twin brothers, and they are Tutsi, and they wrote this song together about the genocide that has been happening in Burundi for the last thirteen years, only I've not heard anything like this song before. The song discusses the genocide from an angle I've not heard, and gets to the root cause. If you are from the region you would know it’s a song written by Tutsi’s, and August and Caesar have taken a bit of slack for it, but anybody who doesn't live there wouldn't be able to tell. I think it's fine for people to tell their story from whatever side of the fence they are on, true freedom of expression is necessary for healing. What I love most about all these musicians, is that, everybody that I will show you is writing from experience. Every artist featured has lived through the genocide. They are all among the poorest people in the world, they are not "A List" artists visiting the country, then writing a Billboard hit single. These guys are the real deal. They are the people in their songs. I was sort of blown away by the lyrics of this song, and as I said already I’ve never heard a song like it. If you choose to watch the video, make sure you’re in a quiet place with no distractions. A I mentioned, August and Caesar are twin brothers who grew up during the genocide, and their whole life experience is seasoned by war, and corruption, simply because of where they were born. Many of us, who watch this video are fortunate to never experience anything close to what these guys would call their, “normal life.” I’m thankful for these musicians, and the stories they tell. The struggles they’ve survived. This was a live performance recorded in our living room. Myself, Trina, and my buddy Adam, were all present to watch these guys, sing their story. I hope the song is as powerful for you as it was for me.