Oleh : Azirah Shahieza Simatupang
Mahasiswa UIN Imam Bonjol
Amidst the roar of the stage and the glittering lights, a musician emerged with tremendous courage to speak out against injustice and truth through her song “Karmageddon”. Iyah May is a young Australian musician and doctor who was born Marguerite Clark in Cairns, Queensland. The song went viral because of its melody and poignant lyrics, but behind that Iyah May raised global issues that are often overlooked, including the genocide taking place in Palestine. In addition, the term Karmageddon also describes the destruction of the world that occurs due to the accumulation of destructive human actions such as corruption, social injustice, cultural void, economic inequality, as well as the negative impact of political policies and corporate greed.
In the lyrics, Iyah May emphatically states, “More than war, it’s genocide”, a statement that highlights the suffering of the people of Gaza due to the prolonged conflict, which made her lose a contract with a record company and was abandoned by her manager, because the lyrics of the song were considered excessive in favour of Palestine at the time Iyah refused to change the lyrics that called Israel’s actions in Gaza an act of genocide. Iyah was also worried that she would receive a lot of hate and negative reactions because of this song. However, the music video was flooded with supportive comments, with several human rights activists and pro-palestine influencers calling the song a sincere and brave form of resistance art, inspiring many people to care more about the suffering in Gaza.
Posting on Instagram, iyah expressed her gratitude to her supporters: “Thank you for being here” for encouraging this song, for supporting, for being behind an independent artist, it’s an honour to create something that expresses a deep truth and share it with you. And to the Creator of all things for giving me the voice to speak.
The music industry is not an easy place for voices that speak the truth. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for legendary American band Green Day. While performing at the Coachella international music festival, vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong inserted a lyric change that was supposed to be “Runnin away from pain when you’ve been victimised”, but was suddenly changed to, “Runnin away from pain, like the kids from Palestine, tales from another broken home”. The audience was immediately boisterous, even chanting “Free Palestine”. This moment went viral and was widely discussed on social media.Green Day has always been known as a band that not only rocks the stage, they make music as a weapon, lyrics as bullets, and the stage as a pulpit of struggle.
In the American Idiot era, they strongly criticised the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq War. Billie loudly declared: ‘I’m not part of a murderous nation,’ a strong allusion to the country’s policy of silence. So it was no surprise that they brought the issue of Palestine to a stage as big as Coachella, which surprised and touched the hearts of many viewers. Showing that support for humanity doesn’t have to be masked by popularity and commercialism.
Recently, airstrikes hit a school that served as a refugee camp, killing dozens of people and injuring many others. A paediatric hospital was also hit, exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis. More than 61,000 lives have been lost, thousands of children who should still be playing and learning, not running from bombs or mourning the loss of relatives.
Amidst the ruins and cries, the voice of Gaza calls out to all of us, not just Muslims, but all humans who still have a conscience. They are not asking us to be heroes, just human beings. We can start with small things: stop supporting products that are affiliated with supporting the occupiers, donate through trusted institutions, and spread correct information about the conditions in Gaza. Each of our small actions is a big hope for them.
Imagine the children who lost everything, whose tiny bodies were blown away by the explosion, whose eyes lost the light of the future. It is time for us to speak up, to act, and to stand with Gaza. Because when humanity is at stake, silence is not an option.
From Iyah May’s soft voice to Green Day’s loud screams, they know the risks of losing contracts, being blasphemed, but they keep going, so that the world begins to hear the whispers of resistance that can no longer be silenced and they are not alone, various artists from all over the world have also expressed their solidarity. There is Macklemore, a rapper who openly supports Palestine, there is Kehlani who is outspoken on social media, Bella Hadid who continues to voice justice, Zayn Malik who shows his empathy for his ancestral land, to Fontaines D.C. saying like (You Got Mic, You Got Responsibility) this Irish band also inserts pro-humanitarian messages in every performance. They all prove that conscience is still alive in the entertainment industry. So, it is our duty to support musicians who voice humanitarian messages to the world.
Penulis : Opini
Editor : Nofal Wiska
