Roger Waters, the founder of legendary progressive rock band Pink Floyd, has recited an anti- Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) poem by poet and Jamia Milia Islamia University student Aamir Aziz.
The guitarist was protesting in London against the extradition of Wikileaks’ Julian Paul Assange when he recited an English translation of the poem to those present.
While addressing the gathering, the legendary music icon made a reference to India’s anti-CAA protests, as well as protests occurring in other countries like France and Argentina. He then proceeded to recite the verses from poet Aziz’s Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega.
Watch the video here:
After reciting the poem by Aziz, Roger said, “This kid’s got a future.” The crowd at the site cheered and applauded the poem.
Aamir’s poem was widely shared on social media during the anti-CAA protests. In an interview with Scoopwhoop last year, he talked about how the library at his college was destroyed during the anti-CAA protests.
Here is what Rogers read:
“Kill us, we will become ghosts
And write of your killings, with all the evidence
You write jokes in court,
We will write ‘justice’ on the walls
We will speak so loudly that even the deaf will hear
We will write so clearly that even the blind will read
You write injustice on earth
We will write revolution in the sky
Everything will be remembered,
Everything recorded.”
Watch the original piece by Aziz:
Who is Julian Paul Assange?
Assange is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
These leaks included the Collateral Murder video (April 2010), the Afghanistan war logs (July 2010), the Iraq war logs (October 2010), and Cablegate (November 2010). After the 2010 leaks, the United States government launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks.
On February 24th, 2020, Assange’s extradition hearing convened in Woolwich Crown Court, adjacent to Belmarsh Prison, where he has been confined for 10 months.
After a week of opening arguments, the proceedings will recess until May, when lawyers for the US government and barristers defending Assange will present their respective evidence. Judge Baraitser is expected to rule several months later, and the losing side may then appeal.
If the courts ultimately approve extradition, the British government would make the final determination.
Photo credit: A screengrab from the video published by the ‘Action 4 Assange’ on YouTube.
