Write a short summary of what happens in the radio advert
On World Day Against Cyber Censorship, The Uncensored Playlist launched 20 pop-songs created from 10 previously censored articles, by 5 acclaimed journalists. Each song was recorded in both English as well as the native language of the original articles and uploaded onto global music streaming sites, that are freely available everywhere, even in the repressed societies where the articles had once been forbidden.
It was launched along with the campaign website www.uncensoredplaylist.com: Here people could explore the background of each journalist, the articles, as well as their transformation into music artists, including: album covers, artist biographies and music videos shot in the different countries. The world’s first playlist that evades censorship firewalls in countries like China, Vietnam or Uzbekistan could be listened to on Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music and was shared using the campaign hashtag #truthfindsaway.
Script
The Uncensored Playlist Lyrics (Censored articles turned into songs)
UZBEKISTAN
Galima Bukharbaeva
Dear Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Hello dear Mr. President
I am from the same party as you
I've been trying to make a living
Somehow, I manage to pay my dues
Still I have to withstand oppression
Still I have to give something to your men
Or they'll squeeze me with the State’s hands
While the voices inside resent
Now, I won't pay you
I won't pay you more
That's all I have for now
I won't pay you
I won't pay you more
That's all I have for now
Now I've heard there's no need for justice
Once you know that the law is yours
How I wish I could stand here freely
And not be bullied by your bribing force
No more… No more… That's all I ask for now
But no dictatorship stands on its own
No oppression serves itself
It's not written, but clear as daylight
We all serve under a broader will (x2)
Now we won't pay you
We won’t pay you more
That's all we have for now
UZBEKISTAN
Galima Bukharbaeva
A businessman died in police custody
All my life I held my head up high
Sorry, mister, today I’ve tried
But two hearts stopped in that empty night
Try and wash your hands with my lullaby
Lock me up and shoot me instead
That’s the order I’d rather get
The fear remains, have I paid the price
of staring down corrupted eyes?
Tell me how to stay on my feet
Am I searching for something I’ll never meet?
Tired, tired of the rules of men
Unlock the chains, let the time wheels spin
Show me please that a heart still beats
Behind all this power and greed
Murodillo Omonov died in the early hours
After being detained by the police of Djarkurgan district
His mother claims murder under torture
Still we fight for a different time
Waiting, waiting
Open up to a different mind
Let our children win
Who will ever step in and stand
With us, maybe
Is it you with the guts to try
Mr. President? (x2)
The fear remains and we pay the price
Tarring down corrupted eyes
Show me please that a heart still beats
Behind all this power and greed
Still we fight for a different time
Waiting, waiting
Open up to a different mind
Let our children win
Who will ever step in and stand
With us, maybe
Is it you with the guts to try
Mr. President? (x2)
Vietnam:
Bui Than Hien
When did Do Dang die?
Then she saw him laying down
With his head to the left
What a terrible thing
To see a son like that
He was only seventeen
He got caught stealing cash
Was arrested by the police
He didn’t have a chance
What did Do Dang do?
What was done to Du?
Was it all a lie?
When did Do Dang die?
Even though the laws are strict
He’d been arrested illegally
He left the jail for a hospital
After being beaten brutally
What had happened to that kid?
The evidence are still airy
The records are being kept
By the police and military
What did Do Dang do?
What was done to Du?
Was it all a lie?
When did Do Dang die?
What happened inside that jail?
Has something been left unsaid?
Why did it take so long
To tell the mother he was dead?
They don’t seem likely
To tell us what we’re waiting for
Was it October 10th,
Or October 4th?
What did Do Dang do?
What was done to Du?
Was it all a lie?
When did Do Dang die? (x2)
Vietnam:
Bui Than Hien
Introducing Chaos
Nhan Dan honored Nguyen Phu Trong’s anti-corruption campaign
But inspectors of the central committee have not confirmed
There were only mistakes made in a business operation
He thinks he is in control of an oblivious nation
Trong used an anti-corruption shirt in Thanh's trial
Even though the focus of the investigation was poor management
So, what's up with that fake T-shirt
When nothing’s been proved
People walking to their demise
Feeling wrong and confused
Government leads the press
Trong has nothing to lose
Covering Formosa's trial
Forcing Trinh Xuan Thanh to move
Sargent, Lieutenant, General Le Why Vuong dared to make a statement
The investigation must be objective on the basis of innocent speculation
The principle is to be open, transparent and serious and this
Investigation must obey the law, only then we can find peace
We can find peace
So, what's up with that fake T-shirt
When nothing’s been proved
People walking to their demise
Feeling wrong and confused
Government leads the press
Trong has nothing to lose
Covering Formosa's trial
Forcing Trinh Xuan Thanh to move
Vietnam feels like a joke, but it's more like a comedy drama
It just needs one glimpse of fire from somewhere and the regime will die
So, what's up with that fake T-shirt
When nothing’s been proved
Showing up the Formosa's trial
Takes the spotlight from you
Egypt:
Basma Abd-Elaziz
Hunger Games
Fortified castles,
A fancy and good life,
Nothing is missing
Where the gentlemen live their lives
Here they sleep
With their power and pride,
Buildings of gold
And govern the poor outside
They keep people busy
Playing a strange sport for these days
Like in the medieval times,
When animals fought slaves
People wrestle each other
Their skin getting thinner
But games won’t end
Until there is a single winner
These are the games of hunger
The government proclaims
People struggling in anger
These are the hunger games
Lakes are so blue
The vast lawns on spring
It’s so beautiful to see
Our capital on tv
But reality is not like it
Times are menacing
We want children to get
Good treatment and medicine
People can’t fight forever
Below poverty lines
On this game between us
The gentlemen rely
No more buildings
When our lives stay the same
The hope is in making
a new future with no games.
These are the games of hunger
The government proclaims
People struggling in anger
These are the hunger games
Egypt:
Basma Abd-Elaziz
Modern Ovens
History is repeated from time to time
Just like Hitler was driven by a mad desire
There’s a determination to remove every voice
These are the seasons of evil…Seasons of evil from time to time
They have ways, methods, all reasons why
Many regimes have tried and tried
To remove their people till they are wiped out
These are the seasons of evil…Seasons of evil from time to time
In a common sense
Whatever the fight
Whoever has a heart can only cry
No one ask questions and I’m not surprised
Why the prisons of the state kept them to die?
A brotherhood in charge, they will hurt and kill
These are the seasons of evil…Seasons of evil from time to time
In a common sense
Whatever the fight
Whoever has a heart can only cry
In a common sense
Whatever the fight
Whoever has a heart can only cry
Seasons of evil…Seasons of evil from time to time
China:
Chang Ping
Freedom Cage
Across that yellow sun
A place I used to call home
So, few will try to overcome
When the cage begins to crush us all
Freedom is dying
Fading as times change the way we think
We live in denial
Can’t see clear
When we don't belong
And some see it is big enough to live in
Hide in here and stay
Regret those words and pay
You just can't pray it away
When the cage begins to crush us all
Freedom is dying
The mystery is bigger than we know
We live in denial
In rooms of dirt
We look at monitors
So, the work is left undone
My name is Chang Ping.
Seven years ago, I had been fired for critical writing in Mainland China.
And then the government of Hong Kong denied me permission to work there.
Now my family and I now live in exile.
Freedom is dying
Fading as times change the way we think
We live in denial
Can’t see clear
When we don't belong
Freedom is dying
The mystery is bigger than we know
We live in denial
In rooms of dirt
We look at monitors
So, the work is left undone
This way of life is not fair
We are stuck in this freedom cage.
In China I have tried a recent trip to raise the freedom of speech
China:
Chang Ping
Speech Is Freedom Itself
Well, I’m honored.
But I can’t say that I’m happy
They say foreign awards are sugar-coated poison
Which should be firmly rejected
They say it’s all part of a plot
But time goes by, and it’s not, it’s not
Freedom, peace, human rights, democracy, civil society
Constitutionalism, independence, these things that take your breath away
Are frightening words that back in my place have sent people to their death
They say it’s all part of a plot
But time goes by, and it’s not, it’s not
Speech is freedom itself
Don’t let it be an old book on your shelf
In China political prisoners are made criminals for their speeches
Convicted of various trumped up crimes, like in a dictatorship
They say the world is forming a plot
But time goes by, and it’s not
I’ve been fighting for speaking out, that’s why I’m here, that’s for sure
Without freedom of speech, nothing will be left in the civilized world
They say the world is forming a plot
But time goes by, and it’s not
Speech is freedom itself
Don’t let it be an old book on your shelf
We can’t return to China.
Where people can’t say what they wanna say
I don’t get to see my mother
Or my relatives or talk to my father
Speech is freedom itself
Don’t let it be an old book on your shelf x2
Democracy… the movement and the woman rights campaign, it’s just two sides of one coin. I don’t know if there is right future for the human being, but do I believe we could get more freedom by fighting against the diplomation.
THAILAND:
Prachatai
UNDERGROUND RADIO
Exiles forced to leave their lives
It's just one price they have to pay
Some need to keep them quiet
But times have shown new ways to speak
Internet’s proving to break the distance
Let’s people say what they want to say
Sadly it can't be done in their home, Thailand
What does it really mean to be free?
Article one hundred and twelve
Makes many of us enemies
All it takes is discussing
Other forms of society
Not everyone wants the exact same things
But there's convergence and they all agree
To a Republic where opposing forces and thoughts
Take us closer to democracy
Even you will hear me, King
Hmmm
Let's be honest, let's be honest
This is not stability
On the underground radio
You cannot silence me
All forces of suppression
That make so many people flee
When things you say condemn you
No longer your allowed to be
Some in Europe, most of them in Asia
All abroad, but still not safe and free
Pages attacked on a daily basis
Government now reaches internationally
“Department of Police on the left side of Laos requested that they cease broadcasting via YouTube. If they do not comply, they will be deported for prosecution in Thailand. In addition, there has been intermittent news that a special forces unit has crossed the Mekhong River. Fai Yen was warned to be on alert to move houses at all times.”
What does it really mean to be free?
Even you will hear me, King
Hmmm
Let's be honest, let's be honest
This is not stability
On the underground radio
You cannot silence me
On the underground radio
You cannot silence me
On the underground radio
You cannot silence me
THAILAND:
Prachatai
Authorities Don't Like This Infographic Showing Why Thailand's Royal Insult Law Needs Reform
Watch out for books that you translate
Or you might land in jail
Be careful with plays in which you’re acting
It's 2 years and 6 months in hell
Don't step on a printing of royalty
Don't you dare to rip it apart
Don't go defaming our monarchy
You better keep in your thoughts
Life ain't safe if you're not majesty
Plenty of things you can't do
So don't let the king and his army
Disagree with you (x2)
Don't go printing out articles,
Distributing leaflets, uploading any files,
Sending out SMS that incriminate you,
Even conversations in cabs, writings on bathrooms, selling CDs
Even gestures can get you
Stand up during the anthem
Cause it doesn't take much to be caught under lèse majeste laws
Sometimes not even the truth
Life ain't safe if you're not majesty
Plenty of things you can't do
So don't let the king and his army
Disagree with you (x2)
But you can hold on to your hope
This can't last forever
If we just fight on for our voice
One day it'll get better
Life ain't safe if you're not majesty
Plenty of things you can't do
So don't let the king and his army
Disagree with you (x2)