The Refugee AllStars from Sierra Leone

From 2002 to 2005, Zack Niles and Banker White filmed, recorded and befriended a group of musicians who had fled Freetown, Sierra Leone to seek refuge in Guinea. They had left behind a country overtaken by a group of rebels engaged in what came to be called, "Operation: Destroy Every Living Thing". Sierra Leone's infamous diamond trade was at the heart of this turmoil which in the end displaced half of the country's 4.5 million people. It also ended up bringing together the 8+ musicians that came to be called the Refugee AllStars.

The album and the documentary film that Niles and White introduced to an international audience in 2005/06 tell the timeless story of how music can be a uniting and healing force even under the most adverse conditions. Check out RefugeeAllStars.org to watch the trailer and get a taste of what this project was all about.