Rapper Macklemore canceled a Dubai concert because of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) alleged support of paramilitary militia groups fighting government forces in Sudan, he told fans.
“The crisis in Sudan is catastrophic,” wrote the Emmy-winning “Thrift Shop” singer, whose given name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, in an Instagram post Saturday laying out the moral quandary and soul searching that led him to cancel the Oct. 4 show. “I know that this will probably jeopardize my future shows in the area, and I truly hate letting any of my fans down. I was really excited too. But until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) I will not perform there.”
Sudan has been at war with itself since April 2023, when tensions between former allies leading the government’s military and paramilitary groups boiled over into actual fighting. Originally ignited in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum, the conflict has since spread throughout the country, costing more than 18,800 lives and displacing upwards of 10 million people.
West Darfur is especially targeted, with atrocities against the Masalit people and other non-Arab communities leading to accusations of ethnic cleansing by Human Rights Watch and other organizations. On Friday the U.N. warned of a looming second cholera outbreak, on top of ongoing famine.
The UAE has been accused of supporting the Rapid Support Forces and its leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo by United Nations experts and human rights groups, which the Emirates have denied.
“While numerous external forces contribute to this crisis, advocates, organizers, journalists and officials repeatedly highlight the UAE’s role in funding the RSF militia as a major factor,” wrote Macklemore, who has also championed besieged Palestinians in Gaza. “At the end of the day I have to ask myself, what is my intention as an artist?”
With News Wire Services