Bob Marley’s High Tide or Low Tide is the musical ‘face’ being used as part of a global social media campaign to help stem the hunger crisis that is increasing in the Horn of Africa. The campaign called ‘I’m Gonna Be Your Friend,’ was launched recently and features more than 150 stars.
Some of the names involved include Lady Gaga, U2, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney who are utilising their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to urge fans to donate money to help the numerous families starving in the region. Other stars participating include Sting, David Beckham, Eminem, Rihanna, Annie Lennox, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Ricky Martin and Lily Allen.
The campaign can be found at www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org. The website shows a video of footage of the crisis filmed by Oscar winner Kevin MacDonald, with Bob Marley and The Wailers’ 1973 song, High Tide or Low Tide playing throughout and an image of the singer used at the end. The song includes the line “I’m Gonna Be Your Friend”which is where the campaign got its name. MacDonald is the director of the upcoming documentary ‘Marley’, about the singer.
According to www.hollywood.com, The celebrities involved have promised to promote a short film about the crisis on their widely viewed Facebook and Twitter accounts in hopes of encouraging their dedicated fans to donate to the cause.
On www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org Rita Marley was quoted as saying, “Not one child should be denied food nor water. Not one child should suffer. Along with Save the Children, we (must) stand up together as friends to put a stop to this, to feed our children and to save their lives.” From each download of High Tide or Low Tide, US$1.29 (J$109.59) will go to the Save the Children appeal for east Africa and used for food, water and medicine. The song was reportedly chosen by the Marley family for the resonance of the single’s lyrics.
starvation
United Nations reports that approximately 3.6 million people are at risk of starvation in Somalia and 12 million people across the Horn of Africa, including in Ethiopia and Kenya. The drought-hit Horn of Africa urgently needs funds to rebuild agriculture and fight famine. The United Nations food agency has called for a high-level meeting to help overcome the worsening crisis.
The ‘I’m Gonna Be Your Friend’ campaign estimated it would reach over a billion people with partners such as Universal Music Group, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, MSN, YouTube and Twitter and the power of celebrities’ reach. The campaign through its Facebook and Twitter pages alone, hope to reach 730 million people.
