A song for Ukraine: Cape Breton student musical collaboration spreads message of world peace

Children half the world apart have joined together in a message of world peace in "We are the Love," a song dedicated to the people of Ukraine. Riverside Elementary and Marion Bridge Elementary choirs teamed up with local Mi'kmaw musicians from Eskasoni and students of the Lviv Linguistic Gymnsia in Lviv, Ukraine, to record a song and music video dedicated to the people of Ukraine.

At the song's heart is Carter Chiasson, a dedicated music producer and teacher at Allison Bernard Memorial High School in Eskasoni. Through his creation, the EYM Project, Chiasson empowers young local artists to create music with a socially critical message.

"EYM (pronounced aim) stands for Empower Youth Music, but it is also a word in Mi'kmaw. I went through the whole Mi'kmaw dictionary and came across the word 'eym,' a Mi'kmaw word that essentially means 'I am here,'" said Chiasson. "I thought that was a really fitting title for our new project."

Chiasson says the idea for the EYM project had been building for almost a decade, about as long as he's been teaching music in Eskasoni. His first such project was creating a song to honour legendary Eskasoni poet Rita Joe, 'Gentle Warrior.' That song also included his students and Eskasoni rapper Devon Paul, who is the main recording artist on 'We Are the Love.' Chiasson says the success of that experience led him to keep exploring possibilities through similar projects.

"I've been a musician and a music producer for most of my life. I've been putting on shows, writing songs, and working with musicians for so long. This project has allowed me to take those skills into my job here as a music teacher at ABMHS, and the success of those first projects has allowed me to do many more," said Chiasson. "After that, we had the idea to create the EYM Project, which is just a way for me to work with youth to create socially conscious, socially important messages through music and music videos, and do that outside the school system."

Two musicians from Eskasoni, both frequent collaborators of Chiasson, are featured on the song. Emma Stevens, probably best known for her Mi'kmaw language cover of the Beatles hit "Blackbird," sings the song's chorus alongside students from the Riverside, Marion Bridge, and Lviv Linguistic Gymnasium choirs.

Rapper Devon Paul, also of Eskasoni, does the lyrical heavy lifting through the song's verses. Paul says creating music with a positive message is important to him as a rapper.

"If you're going to be doing music, you should spread a message while doing it," said Paul. "We artists have the people's attention, and the people are looking at you, listening to you, so you want to try and direct them toward something."

Paul says he hopes the message of world peace spreads far and wide to combat the divisiveness he sees in the world.

"I hope they spread it to their children, co-workers, and families. Spread the message of peace," he said. "We're living in a time where people are so fixated on trying to outshine each other, always having anger inside them. Life is too short for that. I hope people take away a sense of being better for themselves, each other, and the world."

Paul says getting kids and young people involved in music, especially with a message, is crucial to the project. Riverside and Marion Bridge Elementary school music and choir teacher Jennie McKibbon agrees. She says broaching complex topics like world peace and the war in Ukraine with elementary school children was made easier when put in the context of a musical project.

"We practiced the chorus, and then we explained how it was a tribute to the people of Ukraine, without getting into too many of the details of the situation, just to explain that there's a war and there are some ways that musicians can help, by raising awareness and showing their support and how that can make a difference for some people," said McKibbon. "The kids were really proud to be part of a project like this."

From singing in a professional recording to being filmed in a professional music video shoot, McKibbon says this will be an experience her students will remember for the rest of their lives.

"Over the last couple of days, the best part for me has been showing them the final product. I wish you could see the looks on their faces when they see themselves, their friends, and their classmates up on the screen. They feel like superstars," she said. It was a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of them, and they'll probably remember this forever."

Mckibbon says students were also excited to see the video and see their Ukrainian counterparts, especially one student from Ukraine, who has called Cape Breton home for the last two years.

"They were excited to see the other kids from Ukraine in the video as well. There's one little boy here who is from Ukraine. He's not in the choir, but he moved here two years ago as a refugee and came to our school," said McKibbon. "I think he was the most excited to see the video because of all the footage from Ukraine. He felt special because it was a song about where he's from."

"We're always trying to teach the kids how music can change their lives, affect their emotions, give them new ideas, and change their feelings. Experiences like this help that message hit home: that music can be powerful and make a difference."

Mitchell Ferguson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post