In the Language of our Mothers
Sadia is a Masalit composer who immigrated from Sudan to Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya, in 2017. Since 2003 the Janjaweed, a Sudanese Arab militia group, have been systematically attacking the ethnic-African Masalit tribe. With the rise of the civil war in Sudan in April of 2023, the Janjaweed once again found an opportunity to attack the Masalit tribe and planned on exterminating them. With little hope of returning home to help her people, Sadia uses music to inspire the Masalit community both in Sudan and in Kakuma. She composes songs in Masalit, her mother language, not only as a means of resilience but also to pass on her tradition and her culture to the next generation. Sadia sings with her children and the children of the Masalit community who were born in Kakuma. Sadia signs to keep her community rooted in faith, their values, and traditions. She sings so that no one forgets where they came from.