“I Can’t Believe I’m a Human Being”

Popular hip-hop artists are not usually the silent type. But Emmanuel Jal, one of Africa's up-and-coming rappers, is hardly typical. As a preadolescent boy Jal carried an AK-47 for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. He once was so hungry in the bush that he was tempted to eat the flesh of a dead friend. During a recent visit to Washington, D.C., however, he was staying at the five-star Willard Hotel. A promoter for a forthcoming documentary called “War Child” needed Jal to help market the film, which is about Jal's life—before and after he was rescued by a British aid worker. But Jal was suffering bouts of fatigue and depression. He could hardly muster the energy to answer a question when first reached by phone. "I'm finding it hard to talk about my story all the time," he mumbled. Jal agreed to meet later at a reception for the new film at a trendy bistro called Leftbank. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How is it going here in Washington?
EMMANUEL JAL: I'm having fun. It's tiring, but I have to believe it's worth it.

It must be strange. Do you ever feel a sense of cultural confusion? Staying at the Willard Hotel with a feather pillow and room service and all the cable channels …
[Chuckles] And I used to be here. [Points to a magazine photo of Sudanese boys in threadbare clothes cooking over a fire]

Do you find it strange?
It's very strange. Unbelievable. I used to cook like this. [Gestures again at the photo]

But you've come this distance. What goes through your head?
I'm kind of getting used to the situation now. But what goes through my head is, "How can I give back to those people? What can I do?"

You have the Gua Africa foundation.
Yeah, I have a foundation whereby you pick kids from the [refugee] camps and put them in better schools. We get a child and match them with a sponsor. The sponsors pay school fees directly to the school. And if the sponsor wants to visit the child, they can actually go and visit.