© 2024 KOSU
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Fatoumata Diawara's Stirring Reminder Of The Global Migrant Crisis

The latest video from Malian singer and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara, for the song "Nterini," opens with a simple but stark reminder: "In a world of seven billion people, one billion are migrants." The Pew Research Center puts the number at a quarter of a billion — a figure that's still shockingly high.

"My love has gone far away and may never come back," Diawara sings. "He has left his family and friends behind and gone away / He may never come back / What am I to do? He was my friend and my confidant."

The video, directed by the Ethiopian artist Aïda Muluneh, follows a young man as he crosses the desert, a single bag of belongings slung over his shoulder. Though he's left behind a woman he loves and his family, he's gone in search of a better life. By the end, his family receives news of his journey — it isn't good. It's a subtle, affecting reminder of the global migration crisis.

"Nterini," which means "My Love/Confidant," is from Diawara's just-announced album FENFO, due out May 18 on Shanachie. It's her followup to 2011's debut full-length Fatou.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
KOSU is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.