After Rapper Macklemore, Would Other Celebrities Abstain From Dubai?
Some fans felt that rapper Macklemore’s cancellation of a forthcoming show was a show of support for Gaza.
However, it wasn’t. He had canceled the event in Dubai due to the conflict in Sudan, which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives, left millions more hungry, and sparked a humanitarian crisis.
The largest and most affluent city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Dubai on the Gulf, which has been widely accused of providing funds to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the fighting factions in Sudan.
Macklemore declared on Monday in an Instagram post that “the situation in Sudan is catastrophic.” According to some experts on food security, by October, up to 2.5 million people may perish from malnutrition and disease.
The rapper, who became well-known in 2012 with the hit song Thrift Shop, went on, “I have to ask myself what is my intention as an artist?”
“If I accept the money, even though I know it doesn’t align with my values, how does that make me any different from the politicians I’ve been actively opposing?” Macklemore questioned.
Actors hope other artists will take up the moral cause he has taken, as the horrible conflict has received far less international attention than Gaza or Ukraine.
An activist in London who has been pushing for a ceasefire said, “It was huge.” Many individuals expressed in the comments, “Oh my God, what’s happening in Sudan?”It seems to have opened people’s eyes.
The RSF is accused of sexual assault, looting, and ethnic cleansing in regions it occupies as it fights the Sudanese army for control of the nation.
According to a Human Rights Watch assessment, the RSF may have carried out genocide against non-Arabs at a city where it is estimated that 15,000 people were slaughtered; the organization disputes this.
The Janjaweed, a militia that was also accused of committing genocide in Sudan 20 years ago, when an estimated 300,000 people perished, is where the RSF got its start.
There is growing evidence linking the RSF to the UAE.
It was discovered that the RSF had deployed drones throughout the battle; an Amnesty
International weapons expert characterised these as the “same drones” that the UAE had provided to its allies in earlier crises, such as those in Ethiopia and Yemen.
Additionally, experts have reportedly observed civilian aircraft allegedly transferring weaponry from the United Arab Emirates to the RSF, as per a UN report earlier this year.
The UAE is allegedly attempting to take advantage of Sudan’s riches and establish an economic presence in the Red Sea.
Some of Sudan’s most profitable gold mines are in the Darfur region, under the hands of the RSF.
According to a Swiss humanitarian organization, the Emiratis are allegedly importing gold worth billions of dollars that is being smuggled out of Africa, particularly Sudan.
Additionally, the United Arab Emirates inked a $6 billion agreement to construct and run a port, airport, and economic zone on the nation’s Red Sea coast prior to the country’s general outbreak of violence last year.
The claims that the UAE was involved in the Sudanese conflict have been characterized by theUAE government as “baseless and unfounded” and as an attempt “to deflect attention from the ongoing fighting and humanitarian catastrophe.”
“UAE reiterates its demand for an expedient end to the current hostilities. In a statement to the UN, it stated that “the warring parties must cease fighting and work towards finding a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue.”
Macklemore claimed on Instagram that he has been contacted for months by a number of organizations over the situation in Sudan.
An official from Madaniya, a group that supports Sudanese immigrants in the UK, told BBC
News that a boycott led by a well-known performer would undoubtedly increase awareness of the Sudanese cause, which is fantastic.It would be a fantastic side effect if more people investigated the UAE’s participation in Sudan.
In the coming weeks, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has a date at the opera house, and Calvin Harris is scheduled to perform in Dubai’s harbor.
Neither responded when asked for comments.
What would a boycott accomplish?
Prof. Alex de Waal, a Sudan expert at Tufts University in Massachusetts, believes that boycotting events in the arts and sports could be a useful strategy for putting pressure on the regional nations that are thought to be igniting the conflict.
He claims that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are supporting rival factions in Sudan in an effort to gain influence in Africa. A request for comment from the BBC has not received a response from the Saudi and Emirati embassies in London.
According to Prof. de Waal, sanctions against the Arab adversaries are unlikely since they are so economically strong, and putting such measures into action would be challenging.
He continues, “Many Western countries would not prioritize it, given their preoccupations with the Israel-Gaza conflict and tensions with Iran.”
However, he also implies that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are quite concerned about their standing internationally.
“Much more weight is placed on cultural and athletic leaders declaring, ‘We’re not going there,’ than on financial penalties or trade sanctions.”It’s interesting, in my opinion, because soft power poses a far bigger threat to them than hard power and has much more potential.
Dr. Crystal Murphy, an expert in East African finance who works at California’s Chapman University, credits the anti-apartheid demonstrations in South Africa with “rewriting political science and international relations.”
She says, “A large number of public and celebrity [organizations] and awareness-raising efforts around the issue led to enough people pressuring their governments to implement boycotts.”
“So it is possible,” she continues. “What distinguishes the boycotts in South Africa from Macklemore?”
Although boycotts of that magnitude are still a long way off, activists are optimistic that Macklemore’s action will spark further movement.
Warring generals are attempting to destroy the fabric of Sudanese society, according to the
Madaniya spokesperson. But campaigners aren’t discouraged by that. “The Sudanese people always have hope.”
It seems like some people are already emulating Macklemore.
After receiving an invitation to speak at a convention in the United Arab Emirates, a commenter on his site stated, “Your post encouraged me to research a bit more and I decided to decline the offer.”
The ongoing conflict in Sudan is examined in The Briefing Room, which has turned into one of the worst humanitarian crises in history. How do we put an end to it?
