Statement Congratulating artist K’naan on Winning a Grammy Award for “Refugee”
On February 12 Senator Omidvar gave a statement to congratulate Somali-Canadian artist K’naan on winning a Grammy Award. Watch her speech:
Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Colleagues, I rise to speak about an extraordinary win at the Grammys this year — and no, I am not talking about Taylor Swift. Instead, I bring to your attention one of our own, the remarkable Somali-Canadian artist K’naan, who was awarded a Grammy for the Best Song for Social Change, honouring his 2023 single “Refugee”.
It won’t surprise you, therefore, to know that K’naan came to Canada as a refugee from Somalia when he was a teenager, and — like many other displaced people — that experience became a defining one for him and his music, which has always reflected this sensibility.
Many of you, I hope, will know his name and his music. His foot-tapping single “Wavin’ Flag” went on to become the official Coca-Cola promotional anthem for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, which I watched avidly. This tune was played over and over again, and every time it did so, I did feel an extraordinary sense of pride. You will remember the words:
When I get older, I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom just like a wavin’ flag
Your Honour, I was going to sing it, but I suspect you would have called me out of order.
His music is not just words set to a nifty tune. He’s a fierce advocate for refugees, and he has held the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, to account for the organization’s failure in Somalia. He notes that it takes both courage and desperation to abandon your home for somewhere else. He says:
. . . You set aside whatever it is that once made you an individual, in order to join a kind of faceless mass. . . .
He objects to the everyday associations we make with the words “refugee,” “displaced,” “outcasts,” “faceless” and “voiceless.” Instead, through music, he presents hope, joy, justice and a sense of community.
His music will not change the fate of the close to 110 million displaced people in the world, but it will give them hope and provide them with a role model, as a young man, to know that someone out there is rooting for them.
Please join me in congratulating this extraordinary young Canadian for his contributions to music and social justice. Thank you.