Bugumbe was 3 years old at the time of the murder and 16 years old when he arrived in the United States. In the following years,” he says, “his family moved from country to country near the Congo in every way possible. After the his mother “disguised” her “mother” as a child – because the rebels behind the massacre killed the children or made them into child soldiers – they fled the Congo for a refugee camp in Tanzania. Efraim Bugumba, a competitor in a small office, treats pain with music: all the songs that Efraim Bugumba considers to be 3 years old when his family fled the violence in the Republic of the Congo. Efraim Bugumba’s song “Voices in My Head” was a great contribution to this year’s Tiny Table contest. Efraim Bougoumba, who submitted his song “Voices in My Head” to the contest, is an exceptional candidate. Bugumba says that he expects his music to inspire others to feel hopeful and show their vulnerability. Bugumba, a refugee who came to the United States seven years ago with his family, survived the Makobol massacre in 1999, which killed up to 600 people. His song “Voices in My Head” was a great contribution to the NPR Music Desk contest. But his girlfriend, to whom he wrote in a letter to judge Tiny Desk named Bugumba, “the green-eyed beauty of the four cities,” encourages he to express his feelings. This struggle is the theme of Bugumba’s song “Voices in my head”, which in turn serves as a space for his emotional expression. I want to remind people that they can always get better, even in the dark,” says Bugumba, thinking about “their” work. Bugumba’s father had a real pedigree that prevented the family from returning safely to the Congo, so he asked UNHCR for asylum. The story Bugumba tells in Voices in My Head is a story of emotional scars and vulnerability. In the United States, singing and music continue to play a central role in Bugumba’s life. And in addition to his excerpt from a reality show, Bugumba finds critical emotional expression in the music he writes. “When we grow up, we learn to suppress our emotions,” says Bugumba.
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