Beyonce in Baghdad
When Beyonce sang "I Was Here" at the the UN General Assembly on World Humanitarian Day in 2012, it inspired a volunteer campaign in Baghdad by the same title.
When the United Nations promoted World Humanitarian Day in 2012, Beyonce sang “I Was Here” before the UN General Assembly in New York. When the song reached Baghdad, it sparked a campaign of the same name. Five people started the campaign, but within two years, its ranks reached 150 volunteers. These are mostly university students who roam the city doing humanitarian work.
The UN proclaimed Aug. 19, the date of the 2003 bombing of the UN building in Baghdad, as World Humanitarian Day. The bombing led to the death of UN representative Sérgio de Mello and 21 others. The holiday was created as an incentive for people to carry out charitable acts and provide humanitarian assistance to the needy, as de Mello and his colleagues did. Beyonce promoted the occasion with a rendition of her anthem “I Was Here” to wide acclaim.
