Interview: Fada Freddy

The Future Watch team visited Fada Freddy of the rap group Daara-J, Sunday, January 26, 2003, at his residence before their month-long Parisien tour.

Future Watch:
What do you think of FutureWatch magazine?

Fada Freddy:
A newspaper gives information; therefore Future Watch is a good vehicle for communication of useful information for young people who are sometimes confronted with a lack of information on certain subjects which concern them. Right now, it is enough to be willing to get it out there. If the young take it upon themselves to organize and work toward the same goal, it will bring them together and they will support each other. Then, they wonʼt wait for others and they will be able to create their own source of employment. I think it is a good initiative, especially because it is only the youth who manage the magazine. These days, a lot of young people have talents that are not being utilized. FutureWatch therefore allows them to come together for training and information for the exploitation of their numerous talents.

Future Watch:
You invented a concept that has brought you notoriety and credibility so that you are well-known today, what inspires you?

Fada Freddy:
It's a fight that is necessary to take but to succeed, it is necessary to want it. In all things, it is necessary to have a goal. We are first of all Muslims, senegalese and African. Those are three characteristics that must motivate our actions and positive ambitions for Senegal, a poor country. And the development of this “poor country” can only happen through us, the young. We are the ones with the real will to contribute to our development. Thus, we are engaged in this noble mission for Senegal and for all of Africa. And it will not be able to be realized unless men are imbued with virtues such as openness, acceptance of others and tolerance.

Future Watch:
Being an involved artist, what message do you want to send youth facing the AIDS pandemic?

Fada Freddy:
If there is a barrier to man's development, it's AIDS. And a lot of Muslims think that being Muslim means they don't need to know about it. It is necessary to know a lot about the disease and its transmission for self-preservation and to protect others. Information also educates people on risky behavior. But the paradox is that when a person infected HIV is informed, psychologically he or she is traumatized, and lives without hope. He loses all ambition and joy in living, as he lives without hope of being healed one day. I think it's necessary to promote the campaigns for sensitizing and fighting against AIDS, and that's not only the business of competent authorities, persons already affected, but of everyone in society. I think for example it's necessary to make leaders aware, religious leaders, politicians, and musicians, on the importance of their mission to know and to relay information in this vast campaign of sensitization. On the whole, everyone must do their part to make this fight against AIDS succeed. If we abstain, we save ourselves, and that's all!

Future Watch:
What are your feelings regarding street children and what strategies do you recommend for fighting this?

Fada Freddy:
Life is hard but this is not a reason to send one's child into the street or to stop fighting. Most often, it's the parents who send their children to beg in the street or entrust their education to a marabout in a daara to study the koran. The children find themselves in the majority of the cases on the street begging. The child is innocent and it's the parents who have to help guide him in life and grow up to be a respectable person. The street is not a good environment for children. There are dangers such as drugs, delinquency, etc. They're educated in street ways and thus they lose all chance of succeeding in life. One time in the city, we saw the most distressing display, a drunk child. We tried to provide some assistance by giving him a sweet beverage but a women told us he didn't need what we offered him. As for the irresponsibility of parents who commission the education of their children, the daaras must play the role assigned to them and not send the children into the street, where, left to themselves, they fall into all sorts of trouble: diseases, crime, pedophilia, etc. The child is a resource but he has to be put it in the right conditions for growth so that his future is not compromised.

Future Watch:
What are your thoughts regarding other phenomena such as pedophilia or sexual exploitation of children, which are more and more widespread these days?

Fada Freddy:
Yes, pedophilia is a real fate lived by street children. We have a habit when talking about this subject of citing only Cambodia, but it is present also in Senegal. The child who is subjected
to this is traumatized for life and gravely affected. This explains certain children's behaviors which are only the visual reflection of a painful drama.

Future Watch:
Don't you think that artists need to mobilize and get involved in fighting these problems and working to promote the rights of children?

Fada Freddy:
Yes, we've been the first ones to get involved in the fight for the promotion of children's rights. And the fact that we have children makes us more sensitive to anything that might be an attack on their growth and we are more conscious of our role in the sensitization by the slant of our songs. That's why music remains a weapon with which messages can reach the public at large and touch them. It's necessary to incite the authorities to work for the respect, protection and education of children. The child is the future of a nation.

Future Watch:
Can we talk about your new album and its promotion?

Fada Freddy:
Esperanza sends a strong message. You can see from the cover what's inside. We three are on the front and behind us is a light that symbolizes hope. Esperanza is a vow, a wish, a message of hope and expectation; it constitutes a source of motivation to always be positive and go forward in life. Concerning the promotion, we are doing a tour that will take us to 3 countries at the most and at least 20 cities. That's a lot of concerts
and shows to put together.

Future Watch:
What are you saving then for the Senegalese public? Fada Freddy: We've already done a tour at the regional level. We will return to Senegal with the expertise and the experience that we get from our foreign tour. This tour is for foreign promotion of the product, and we will return with a lot of surprises