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Staff Benda Bilili Review – Music empowering us to see beyond disabilities
Under the cheers of a few thousand Londoners, the eight members of the Congolese band Staff Benda Bilili performed at the Barbican last night; among them, four musicians in wheelchairs and one on crutches. Defying their polio stricken bodies, Staff Benda Bilili oozed an incredible joie de vivre, singing and dancing on stage, and making clear to everyone that real disability only exists in the mind.
Staff Benda Bilili’s story is simply remarkable and very much reminded me of what the Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) and the Acid Survivors Foundations (ASFs) abroad stand for: supporting each other in times of trouble and urging people to “benda bilili” – to look deeply and see beyond the surface.
The band is clearly “très très fort” (the name of their first album) and a great example of the strength of the human body and soul, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Seeing and listening to the band on stage is an empowering and uplifting experience I wouldn’t have wanted to miss.
Posted on November 11th 2009 by Test Member in Blog
