For people all over the world, music is a commonality that brings comfort, unites communities, helps keep cultural identities alive, and promotes advocacy. In the midst of turmoil and uncertainty, music can serve as a constant source of hope and familiarity for displaced people.
With most refugee settlements lacking an adequate supply of basic necessities, like food and water, the ability to play and listen to music may not be a priority. However, music therapy has been shown in many instances to help individuals recover from trauma. While physiological needs must be put at the forefront of concern, the mental health of displaced people must not be ignored.
“Brass for Africa” is a charity that supports underserved people throughout Uganda, Rwanda, and Liberia with musical education. One of their programs to highlight is the LAB UGANDA Community Music Programme, which provides musical education to adolescents in the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement (Berbegal, 2023). Located in Yumbe, Northern Uganda, this settlement is home to at least 270,000 mostly South Sudanese refugees (Gilderson, 2024). Beginning in October of 2021, a mobile truck equipped with a fold-down stage, a recording studio, WiFi, and a cinema would come to Bidibidi to give musical lessons and teach life skills to the children twice a week (Berbegal, 2023). Members of “Brass for Africa” not only teach music but also strive to instill characteristics like resilience, confidence, and teamwork in the children. Their key values of gender equality, disability inclusion, community empowerment, workforce readiness, and fulfilment of music potential demonstrate their commitment to bringing a little normalcy and joy back into the lives of people facing adversity. With the ability to play an instrument, these children are given an opportunity to express themselves while preserving their culture.
Language barriers are one of the most prominent challenges that refugees must face. With limited means to communicate with a new population, feelings of isolation can be amplified in an already unfamiliar environment. However, music offers a universal medium to convey emotion and foster a sense of belonging, breaking down these barriers. Music can also be used to develop language skills when learning new words or pronunciation (Krüger & Diaz, 2023).
Not only does music help connect people of different cultures, but it also connects displaced people to their homes. It is common to have certain songs that are linked to distinct memories and emotions. In the brain, the amygdala and hippocampus, which are involved in emotional processing and memory consolidation, respectively, are also active when playing or listening to music (Toader et al., 2023). This suggests that even while displaced from their home, refugees can use music to look back on positive memories.
For some people, music is no more than a form of entertainment, but for refugees, music can be an outlet to cope with trauma and maintain their identity in an unfamiliar place.
Works Cited
Berbegal, A. (2023, December 7). LAB UGANDA Community Music Programme in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement — Brass For Africa. Brass for Africa. https://www.brassforafrica.org/programmes/bidi-bidi-refugee-settlement-music-connects/
Coombes, E. (n.d.). How music therapy can help rebuild the lives of refugees. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-music-therapy-can-help-rebuild-the-lives-of-refugees-205881
Gilderson, C. (2024, June 20). Refugees find hope through music charity supported by MAF - Mission Aviation Fellowship. Mission Aviation Fellowship. https://www.maf-uk.org/news/refugees-find-hope-through-music-charity-supported-by-maf/#:~:text='Brass%20for%20Africa'%20staff%20regularly,from%20the%20horrors%20of%20war.
Krüger, V., & Diaz, E. (2023). The potential to meet the needs of refugees and other migrants through music therapy. The Lancet Regional Health. Europe, 29, 100637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100637
Toader, C., Tataru, C. P., Florian, I., Covache-Busuioc, R., Bratu, B., Glavan, L. A., Bordeianu, A., Dumitrascu, D., & Ciurea, A. V. (2023). Cognitive Crescendo: How music shapes the brain’s structure and function. Brain Sciences, 13(10), 1390. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13101390