Minutes into his concert, fifty thousand people pressed the "peace, love and happiness" button on his Facebook page, and human trafficking immediately disappeared!
[him] moderator
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Jason Mraz Tops Burma Anti-trafficking Concert
Yadana Htun
Associated Press
December 17, 2012 |
RANGOON—American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz mixed entertainment with education to become the first world-class entertainer in decades to perform in Burma, with a concert to raise awareness of human trafficking.
Mraz’s 2008 hit “I’m Yours” was the finale for Sunday night’s concert before a crowd of about 50,000 people at the base of the famous hilltop Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, the country’s biggest city.
Local artists, including a hip-hop singer, also played at the event organized by MTV in cooperation with US and Australian government aid agencies and the anti-slavery organization Walk Free.
Burma is emerging from decades of isolation under a reformist elected government that took office last year after almost five decades of military rule. It has been one of the region’s poorest countries, and its bad human rights record made it the target of political and economic sanctions by Western nations.
But democratic reforms initiated by President Thein Sein have led to the lifting of most sanctions, and the country is hopeful of a political and economic revival. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy opposition leader, was released from house arrest in late 2010 and won a seat in parliament last April.
Mraz called his top-billed appearance at the concert a “tremendous honor.”
“I think the country is, at this time, downloading lots of new information from all around the world,” he said. “I’ve always wanted my music to be here, (for) hope and celebration, peace, love and happiness. And so I’m delighted that my music can be a part of this big download that Burma is experiencing right now.”
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Organizers said Mraz was the first international artist to perform at an open-air, mass public concert in Burma. Jazz artists Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Charlie Byrd visited the country under U.S. government sponsorship in the 1970s, when it was still called Burma, but played at much smaller venues.
Many in the crowd queued for two hours before being admitted to the concert site. Rangoon native Sann Oo, 31, wearing a white T-shirt with a sketch of Mraz, said he was pleased that Mraz had come and that there would be a broadcast of the event.
“His visit can promote the image of Burma, because people outside have been seeing the country as an insecure place, and poor,” he said. “Now they can see how we look like from the concert. It also opens the potential for more concerts by foreign artists.”
Mraz has a history of involvement with human rights and other social causes.
But there was some criticism of his visit by campaigners for Burma’s Muslim Rohingya community, which has been the target of ethnic-based violence this year that has forced scores of thousands of people from their homes into makeshift refugees camps. They feel Burma’s government has been complicit in the discrimination, and that Mraz’s visit provides it cover with the image of being a defender of human rights.
Walk Free used the occasion of Sunday’s concert to launch a campaign calling on the world’s major corporations “to work together to end modern slavery by identifying, eradicating and preventing forced labor in their operations and supply chains.” They are seeking to have the companies make a “zero tolerance for slavery pledge” by the end of March next year.
“While many think of slavery as a relic of history, experts estimate that there are currently 20.9 million people living under threat of violence, abuse and harsh penalties,” the Australia-based group said in a statement. “Within this massive number, the majority of people—more than 14.2 million—are in a forced labor situation, used to source raw materials, and create products in sectors such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and domestic work.”
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/21331
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MTV EXIT Live in Myanmar with Jason Mraz
MULTI GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ARTIST JASON MRAZ TO PERFORM AT HISTORIC MTV EXIT CONCERT IN YANGON, MYANMAR TO RAISE AWARENESS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
17 NOVEMBER 2012, YANGON: MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) today announces a historic live concert in Myanmar to be held on December 16th to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking. The free live concert will be held at the Yangon People’s Square, which lies at the base of the magnificent 2600 year-old Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the most iconic and auspicious sites in the country.
Multi GRAMMY award-winning singer songwriter Jason Mraz will headline the event becoming the first international artist ever to perform at an open-air concert in Myanmar. Also performing are Myanmar’s top artists including Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein and R Zarni. Sharing the stage at the free concert will be speakers from the anti-trafficking sector, government and donor community who work to fight human trafficking in Myanmar.
In addition, MTV EXIT today launches a contest giving fans a chance to win a trip to see Jason Mraz live in Myanmar. Contest details are at www.mtvexit.org.
MTV EXIT Live in Myanmar will be broadcast in Myanmar on national television and will air across MTV’s international network in early 2013 as a special edition of “MTV World Stage,” MTV’s weekly live music series. Available in more than a half-billion homes, the program will feature performances, interviews and key educational information about human trafficking.
The event is funded by the Australian Government’s Agency for International Development (AusAID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Walk Free, a global movement to end modern-day slavery; and produced in partnership with the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project Against Human Trafficking (UNIAP) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Jason Mraz has taken his musical journey from coffee houses to stadiums globally and now has two GRAMMY awards and six GRAMMY nominations to his credit. In 2008, his third album, We Sing We Dance We Steal Things, featured the hit “I’m Yours,” which sold more than 21 million units worldwide and the GRAMMY-winning songs “Make It Mine” and “Lucky.” Most recently, Mraz released Love Is A Four Letter Word, which features the chart-topping song, “I Won’t Give Up.” Mraz has been a longtime advocate against human trafficking, engaging with anti-trafficking organizations in Ghana and The Philippines. The Californian singer last performed to capacity crowds in Asia in June 2012 as part of the Tour Is A Four Letter Word world tour.
Human trafficking is a tragic crime that enslaves and exploits its victims, the majority of which are women and children. There are more than 20 million people living in slavery around the world with Myanmar and Southeast Asia particularly affected. The concert forms part of a wider initiative that seeks to educate and train youth through innovative television programming, digital content, capacity building workshops and community-based events. MTV EXIT Live in Myanmar follows the production of two Myanmar MTV EXIT documentaries on human trafficking, which were broadcast in 2010 and 2012 on national television to educate the public about the dangers of trafficking.
http://mtvexit.org/blog/mtv-exit-live-in-myanmar-with-jason-mraz/
