"Life haad out yah," that immortal refrain from an Erwin Jones poem has become quite the catch phrase and the common cry on the streets, on bumper stickers, and now it is a video. Entrepreneur and poet turned fulltime social activist Erwin Jones this week released a video for the poem. It is not a new poem, in fact Erwin first released the poem a year and a half ago but today Erwin told us his lyrics are more relevant than ever because, hey, life is haad out yah.
Erwin Jones, Poet
"The video highlights the conditions of poor people who have been exploited, who have been used, who have been abused, rejected, denied, ostracized, marginalized, and people who have been forgotten by the present administration and by the ruling powers that be. It highlights the conditions, abject conditions, it highlights the poverty, it highlights the way our people are now striving to make ends meet and are now struggling to try to find food to put on their table. It highlights the conditions of a people who are in need of help."
"I didn't expect that the poem and the statement itself would be accepted and would be used in such a time so widely but the reality is this is what our people are feeling."
"I, like the teachers, the unions, and all concerned citizens we are wide awake and we know that this present system is adverse to us as a people. It is not responsible for the upliftment and the advancement of our people, but it is now responsible for the destruction, the impoverishment, the marginalization, and the poverty stricken conditions that are now plaguing Belize from Corozal to PG."
"In order for me to vocalize my work and express myself based on what my people are feeling and based on the condition of my people I decided to do a video because when we look at BET and the way the big artists express themselves is by a video. This present culture has grown up on videos and a video speaks volumes."
The poem is from Erwin's forthcoming written word collection "Ghetto Food."
