A collective of creative Ipswich talents have come together to highlight the plight of refugees and inspire compassion for newcomers in this region.
This spring will see the release of a new song and accompanying music video that will tell the story of a young refugee, Malka, and her mother who journey across unknown territory in search of safety.
It is the result of a collaboration between Stefan Freedman, who wrote the lyrics and music; musicians Andy Mapplebeck and Adrian Lush; sound engineer Tony Mounter; and artist Lois Cordelia, all of whom are from Ipswich. Lead singer, Sebastiana Black, is from Norwich.
Stefan said he came up with the idea for the song around eight years ago, but was moved to bring it to life after seeing “tragic” news about the ongoing European refugee crisis through the media.
He said: “It’s really hard to connect with statistics but people connect to a story, so we thought we would tell the story from one girl’s point of view.”
The subject of the song, Malka, is around six years old and is of no specific nationality but was created to be a symbol of every refugee’s struggle.
Describing the young girl, Stefan said: “She’s not greatly suffering, she’s just mystified, everything is new to her.
“The mother explains things to her in a really sweet way.”
Stefan, who also sings and plays instruments on the recording, said he hoped the song would be “heart-opening” for listeners.
Lois has created a series of more than 60 visuals to be turned into a music video. She has been working on the artwork since May 2016 and has combined painting, drawing, paper-cutting, brushpen, photography and digital effects.
“We hope it will be circulated as much as possible,” Lois said.
“It’s not for profit but to hopefully encourage people to make an emotional connection with refugee people.
“We have a lot of refugee communities in Ipswich but I think it’s true that a lot of people struggle to relate to them because they don’t understand what they have been through.
“This is an attempt to bridge that gap and to portray that journey through the eyes of a child.”
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