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Washington, D.C. – In a message to delegates convening for World Bank-IMF annual meetings this week, children from the Global Majority voice their frustrations with global leaders and elites in a new music video by acclaimed Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Al-Nour.[1] Together they call out financial decision makers for perpetuating economic systems that prioritise profit and endless growth over people’s health, safety and wellbeing.
Produced in collaboration with Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the music video “Ahlamouna (Our Dreams)” is a powerful critique of the current economic and financial system, and how it is failing the majority by driving the exploitation of people and the planet. In the video, the children sing that their dreams are not for sale and that they want to live in a peaceful, kinder and more sustainable world where they can thrive.
Watch the music video on Greenpeace MENA’s YouTube channel. Visuals are available in the Greenpeace Media Library.
Amjad Al-Nour said: “I’m happy to collaborate once again with Greenpeace MENA on a bold new music video that delivers a powerful message on wellbeing, especially in these challenging times for the Middle East and North Africa region and the world. Wellbeing is inseparable from our core values, the dismantling of neo-colonial systems, and the pursuit of justice. These struggles are deeply intertwined, and none can be fully achieved without addressing the others.”
Across the region and in the Majority World, nations grappling with multiple crises, including devastating conflicts and the increasing toll of the climate crisis, are trapped in extractivist and neo-colonial economic models that are fueling a debt crisis.[2] The world’s 26 poorest countries, which include nations in Africa and MENA, are facing the highest levels of debts since 2006, putting further burden on the people.[3]
Hanen Keskes, Campaigns Lead at Greenpeace MENA said: “Children across the Middle East and North Africa are already bearing the brunt of a global climate crisis they did not cause. The Majority World faces further injustice as wealthy polluting nations continue to uphold unfair global financial rules that do not work in the people’s favour. These include the unequal distribution of climate finance, climate finance primarily in the form of loans which exacerbate countries’ debt problems, and debt-related conditions imposed by international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF, which add to countries’ economic challenges and climate vulnerability.”
Keskes added: “This imbalance deepens the suffering of the most vulnerable populations, especially as ongoing conflicts in the region are worsened by the very systems perpetuating climate and economic inequity. To redress the inequities and ensure a sustainable future for our children, we need an economy that shifts beyond GDP and puts the wellbeing of people and planet at its centre.”
ENDS
Photos and video: the music video is available to embed from Greenpeace MENA’s YouTube channel and more visuals are available in the Greenpeace Media Library.
Notes:
[1] This is Amjad Al-Nour’s second collaboration with Greenpeace MENA. The first was released last year at COP28, tackling the issue of climate justice, entitled “The Polluter Pays”.
[2] June 2024 Breaks Heat Records: Greenpeace MENA Demands Accountability.
[3] World Bank: Poorest Economies Face Toughest Conditions in Two Decades.
Contacts:
Dania Cherry, Communications and Branding Manager with Greenpeace MENA, dcherry@greenpeace.org, +971 50 530 70 83
Greenpeace International Press Desk, pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours)
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