Philippe Decourroux (www.decourroux.ch) is a Christian musician from Switzerland. His songs, which are in French, express his abhorrence of human trafficking.
His most recent album, A Contre-Courant (Against the Flow) denounces the scandal of forced prostitution, especially in his song Les filles de l'Est (The girls from the East).
Philippe recorded the song in Prague, and this video was made during his recording session with musicians of the Prague Philharmonic.
You can view more of Philippe Decourroux's work as well as an interview with him about the motivation behind this song at clair-de-lune.tv.
The words of Philippe’s song are below, in the original French and in an English translation.
| Les filles de l'Est |
The girls from the East |
Elles rêvaient comme rêvent les filles de leur âge
Elles rêvaient comme on rêve quand on a 17 ans
Elles rêvaient de quitter leur quartier leur village
Et puis un jour d’aimer et d’avoir des enfants
Les filles de l’Est
Elles rêvaient d’échapper à ce destin trop dur
Qui avait condamné leurs mères derrière le mur
Elles rêvaient d’évasion, à mille lieux de croire
À la pire des prisons, au pire des cauchemars
Les filles de l’Est
Oksana, Marouchka et les autres
Piégées par des barbares elles pouvaient pas savoir
Esclaves dans la gueule de ces chiens
Elles étaient innocentes
Ils les ont faites putains
Je déclare la guerre à tous les salopards
Tous les marchands de chair et tous les charognards
Ceux qui vendent des filles contre quelques dollars
Et ceux qui les ont prises sans chercher à savoir
Je déclare coupables tous ceux qui ne font rien
Politiques et notables qui s’en lavent les mains
Je déclare coupables tous les porcs dégueulasses
Capables d’oser encore se r’garder dans la glace
Je déclare la guerre au marché de la honte
Et des vies qu’on enterre dans des bordels immondes
Et au nom des victimes j’appelle à se lever
Pour dénoncer ce crime contre l’humanité
Oksana, Marouchka et les autres
Si pour vous c’est trop tard
Un jour ils vont payer
Vos larmes et vos corps déchirés
On laissera pas tomber on va pas oublier
Les filles de l’Est |
They dreamed like other girls of the same age,
They dreamed like you do when you are 17,
The dreamed of leaving their neighbourhood,
their village,
And then one day of loving and having children,
The girls from the East.
They dreamed of escaping the too harsh destiny
That had condemned their mothers behind the wall.
They dreamed of escape, a thousand miles away
from believing in
The worst of prisons, the worst of nightmares,
The girls from the East.
Oksana, Marouchka and the others,
Trapped by barbarians they could not have known,
Slaves in the jaws of those dogs,
They were innocent,
They were turned into whores.
I declare war on all the bastards,
All the flesh merchants and all the scavengers,
Those who sell girls for a few bucks
And those who took them without wanting to know.
I declare them guilty, all those who did nothing,
The politicians and worthies
who washed their hands of them,
I declare them guilty, all the disgusting swine
Who can still dare to look at themselves in the mirror.
I declare war on the marketplace of shame
And of lives they bury in dirty brothels,
And in the name of the victims I call for people
to rise up
To denounce this crime against humanity.
Oksana, Marouchka and the others,
If for you it is too late,
One day they are going to pay.
Your tears and torn bodies
Won't be left to fall and be forgotten,
The girls from the East. |