OTTAWA – A soothing voice from the childhood of many an Occupy Wall Street or Occupy Canada protester is offering them support and a few pieces of advice.
Raffi, a Canadian performer and activist known best for his children’s music, has been tweeting about the growing demonstrations across the United States and the ones about to kick off in Canadian cities this week.
“May the spirit of Gandhi and MLK (Martin Luther King) move your thoughts, words, & deeds – keep it peaceful!” wrote Raffi, whose full name is Raffi Cavoukian.
In an interview from his home on Saltspring Island, B.C., Raffi said he sympathizes with some of the issues that protesters have raised in their continuing demonstrations around Wall Street and elsewhere.
Raffi, a holder of the Order of Canada, has been an outspoken supporter of sustainable development and protection of the environment. His albums include “Baby Beluga,” “Bananaphone,” and “Songs of Our World.” Earlier this year, he encouraged young voters who might have known him in their “Baby Beluga” days to get out and vote.
“The global economy is in effect compromising life-support systems on this planet and you’ve got a global populace that’s rightly rising up and saying this is wrong, we need an economy that serves people, not merely corporate interests and if it’s a popular movement that’s peaceful, positive, then I’m all for it,” he said.
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“We need a systemic change in this world for the children who are inheriting a very perilous future in terms of climate change and all of the pollution associated with it that comes from an unsustainable economic model with an unsustainable model of commerce.”
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Raffi says he has his own questions for Prime Minister Stephen Harper about Canada’s continuing “occupation” of Afghanistan, and expanding Canada’s prisons despite declining crime statistics. He also laments the “corporate domination” of the country’s media.
The 63-year-old is not sure if he’ll participate directly in any protests, but for now is happy to provide moral support and guidance to people who are active in the movement. He tells them the point is not get arrested.
“I tell them to drop the fist in their imagery, and to embrace a positive image – a peaceful sign in other words. And early indications tell me I’m being heard here and there, and I’m pleased about that,” he said.
“If that role grows, we’ll see, but mostly I’m an observer at this point. I will say that it’s amusing to me that the camps that don’t get what this is all about, it takes a stretch of the imagination not to get what these demonstrations are all about.”
Raffi remains a prolific songwriter, calling himself a global troubadour. He has also established a Centre for Child Honouring, based on the notion that focusing on child wellness and development will have positive benefits for all of society.
He points to a recent song called “No Wall Too Tall,” penned in 2004, as having resonance to today’s protests.
“People say, ‘You’re crazy, you can’t break that wall, it’s too old, too big, too strong, never gonna fall. I say: ‘Think of the Iron Curtain, remember Berlin. Remember apartheid. Look at the state they’re in.’ Cuz, there’s no wall too tall, no wall too tall to fall.”
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