RI entertainers get on HIV/AIDS awareness bandwagon
RI entertainers get on HIV/AIDS awareness bandwagon
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Little did the four young men know what they had started, but the
song they made, Matahari Pagi (Morning Sun) and its English
version Overcome, is the first song in this country to be
dedicated to the national campaign against HIV/AIDS.
Singer Ariyo Wahab, whose name became familiar after he
starred in the musical movie Biarkan Bintang Menari (Let the Star
Dance), which was released late last year, has long been
committed to helping the Indonesian AIDS Foundation (YAI)'s
campaign.
"I have always wanted to contribute something to society
through the thing I do best: singing," he said during a recent
interview.
Along with music and lyric writers Andi Rianto and Monty Tiwa,
and producer Jitta Papilaya -- whom he has known since the making
of the earlier film Andai Ia Tahu (Wish S/he Knows), which uses
his songs as the soundtrack, Ariyo worked out his dream.
Not an easy task, though, as emotionally they were not well
prepared.
They had to contact a number of people living with HIV/AIDS to
see for themselves what stigmatization and discrimination are
like.
The lyrics say it all:
If you have the chance/Give a second glance/Do not look
away/'Cause I'm here to stay/There's only one thing/I ask from
you/To open your eyes and see the truth
I'm not a shadow/My world will not be dark/And I will always
be the one who waits/Inside your heart/And when you see the truth
about me/We are not that different/You and me
Although the whole process of recording and duplication took
no more than eight days -- from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, with its
launch being timed in conjunction with International AIDS Day on
Dec. 1, Ariyo still had to do a number of retakes before
completion.
"It felt like I was carrying all the woes of people living
with HIV/AIDS on my shoulders ... a sensitive issue and I want to
make it sound as it is."
To make it all happen they just needed one thing: a donor. It
was a U.S.-based non-governmental organization, Church World
Service (CWS) Indonesia, that enabled the four to put out their
songs in 8,000 cassettes and 1,000 compact discs, which were
distributed free on International AIDS Day.
The limited promotion afforded to the record prompted Jitta to
open access to the public to download the lyrics and the songs
for free from the internet via
http://www.geocities.com/song4aids/.
"I would be glad if more people could listen to these songs in
the hope that more and more of us will learn to respect those who
make a choice by living with HIV/AIDS," he said.
These young entertainers -- all are still under 30 -- have
even greater plans, however.
"We want to make a compilation album involving local bands who
have released songs on the same theme -- the struggle of people
living with HIV/AIDS -- such as Padi and Dewa. If other countries
can organize concerts to mark AIDS Day, why can't we? Are we
really that ignorant of the issue? But, again, we need donors,"
Jitta remarked.