Gomez you wrote,
<<<when females take
leadership roles and males work to support them to develop our continent. I
have a vision of an Africa where violence and abuse towards women, children
and the poor has been abandoned and all humans are treated with respect and
dignity.>>>>>
I like your vision and most of all the above quotation.I have followed with
great interest this debate about the the unification of Africa.It is a
political and moral resposibility for all Africans to see the need for the
unification of the continent,even if not in our life time,but some day in
the future and thus we can further reassert ourselves and reclaim what is
rightfully our own. The inferiority complex in the African mind a product of
centuries of political ,economic,cultural exploitation and oppression and
this is the biggest hindrance to the liberation of the Continent.The
continent is yet to be liberated and it is only through liberation we can
be united.
Given the opportunity, we are capable of lifting the African continent and
people from the decadent porverty. I am of the believe that as
Africans we have so much to improve,given the socio-political situation in
the continent before we can embark on serious mind provoking development.The
backwardness that has infected a great part of our society is a big issue.
And this takes me back to Alagie Kinteh's posting were he stated "we must
start from ourselves. Gambians abroad have to unite first." This I believe
believed is much of self criticism,which we need in abundance.Africanism to
me means self reliance and self determination. And as long as we have that
we can move forward to liberate the African mind . We need to build that
African/Gambian nationalism,which is not narrow nationalism,a love for our
nation and people to address of differences as indiviuals,nations and
people, and believe in ourselves. All these cry for a unification, I
believe is a base for a start and we can build it from here, right now.
The question asked by Alagie is in many of us why can't we organised, unity,
share. Why can't we revisit that Africaness that we cherished. Of course
there are critical
questions that we need to asked ourselves and others. But that does not stop
one from analysing and looking into the possibilities.
People withcritical thoughts have all right to do so because it is only
through this way we can come to something very concrete. A genuine
unification of Africa has a lot for Mother Africa and its children. Yes,
Saikss said unification just for the shake of unification is not the main
issue and not even enough. But I don't believe that is what we are calling
here for. I don't believe all these voices are just calling for the
unification of Africa just for the sake of unity, that will be flawed.
Malanding did raised a very important question when he asked what does this
unity mean for Africa ? Gambia and the rest? Yes this is a good question to
asked. I believe that the development of Gambia is relative to the
development of Africa and vis visa. If as Gambians we show the way forward
then other nations will be able to learn from our experience. If as
Gambians we managed to show the world that it can happen in a little
country like the Gambia, then it will set the pace.
Madi did go further in his analysis today of the need for African unity. He
raised so many issues which I believed is the reason why some people think
it is too early to call for a unification ,we have some many issues on the
ground to address. A cab driver in Johannesburg told me" Oh my sister
Africa is a beautiful continent, with all these beautiful people I wish we
can only unite, I wish we can realised our potential, I wish we can see the
need for unification. From Senegal to South Africa, From Tunisia to
South Africa, From Uganda to South Africa." We are depending on you the
young ones, we need you to pave the way, don't make the mistake we made, we
spend much time in ethnic wars and if that time was spent in liberating
ourselves,you can just imaging what a world Africa is." People rise and fall
within the context of the nation
institution. When they lose the ability to master and control the nation
institution they lose their freedom and this is where we
are.
Therefore a good start will be to take a serious look at
ourselves. We must rehearse for a nation building by controlling our
communities. By controlling the input into our education. By examining the
curricula used the school to train our children. Education I believe is the
best weapon for liberation as the same time the weapon for oppression.
If we could understand the nature of our mission in the world, if we could
understand that African continent of 12 million square miles, we wouldn't
have any unemployment for the next thousand years. With all those rail roads
to built, all the steel foundries to built, the
refineries to be built, the oil to be discovered, do you think there's
less oil in the body of Africa than there is in other places? probably
more. We have to build our owe things and do our own things. If
someone does things for us they are not really going to charge us for for
it, they are going to control us doing it.
Marcus Garvey said,"One God, One Aim, One Destiny." and that is true. But we
have to understand no matter what we plan to be , no matter where we are in
life, that its whom we relate to that we begin to examine history: where
we've been, where we are in order to understand where we still have to go.
T he Struggle Continues!!!
Ndey Jobarteh
From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 15 September 1999 15:17
Subject: MY VISION FOR AFRICA
> MY VISION FOR AFRICA
>
> I HAVE A VISION OF A NEW AFRICA
>
> I have a vision of a positive future for Africa; a vision, which I
>believe, is deeply rooted in the Hearts and Minds of all true Africans. It
>is the vision of a day when Africa is a united, independently sustainable
>continent in which divisions of language and conflicts of ethnicity,
gender,
>religion and class have been overcome. It is a day when Africa will be a
>united, non-violent society in which oppression and conflicts of gender,
>religion and class and divisions between races have been overcome. I have
a
>vision of a day when Africans will practice true equality; when females
take
>leadership roles and males work to support them to develop our continent.
I
>have a vision of an Africa where violence and abuse towards women, children
>and the poor has been abandoned and all humans are treated with respect and
>dignity. I have a vision of a day when traditional African religion
>believers, Muslims, Christians and Bahai all work together to develop and
>create a more peaceful continent.
> It is a vision of a day when our African leaders foster African
>unification and the development of our continent by democratically
>distributing high quality services to all Africans, regardless of ethnic
>group, gender or religion. I have a vision of an Africa where corruption
and
>monopoly has been eliminated and heads of state are no longer dictators but
>instead, support and maintain true democracies. I have a vision of a day
>when the abuse of military power and violence in Africa has been
eradicated.
>A day when African presidents serve no more than two, five year terms; when
>African heads of state are restricted from investing money outside of
Africa.
> A day when no African is above the law and those who committed crime
against
>Africa will be dealt with severely by our legal system. I have a vision of
a
>day when our chief justice and our criminal justice system become more
>effective, making Africa no longer a dumping ground of prostitution and
drug
>trafficking. I have a vision of a day when the use of knives and guns to
>create violence and commit crimes in Africa has been eradicated; when our
>homes, neighborhoods, schools and communities will be safe and clean, a
>healthy environment where people of all races are proud of where they live
>and go to school and work together to build and sustain them for future of
>all African children.
> It is a day when our political, religious, intellectual, and
educational
>leaders care for our environment. I have a vision of an African
educational
>system which values, maintains and incorporates, as an integral part of the
>curriculum, local cultures and activates individual talent and uses it for
>the production of valuable goods and services. It is a day when all
African
>institutions and the departments within them value, maintain and practice
>cultural and ethnic diversity. I have a vision of a day when our
>intellectuals do not condemn African leaders and when they are not seen as
a
>threat in our society but rather, they put their knowledge, skills and
>experience into positive practice for the development of the entire
>continent. I have a vision of a day when recent secondary and college
>graduates, the unemployed, both white and blue collar workers,
intellectuals
>and community and religious leaders all refrain from disparaging our
cities,
>towns, institutions and leaders, but instead, put their knowledge, skills
and
>experience into positive practice for the development of our African
>continent. This is a vision of a day in which Africans of all religions,
>races, genders and class work together for the common good of all of our
>children who will become the future leaders of our continent. I have a
>vision of a day when we will value our own products, have our own market
and
>control our own resources; sharing and trading fairly among ourselves. I
>have a vision of a day when all Africans will say no to Western Aid and its
>sanctions, which oppress, suppress, discriminate, divide and control us. I
>have a vision of an Africa where physical and mental slavery has been
>eliminated and our people work together to build a better continent. I see
a
>day in which Africans unite with all African descendants around the globe
>from Asia to the Americas to work for the common good of our children who
>will become the future leaders of the human race. I see a bright future on
a
>day Africa will have a United States of Africa; A day Africa will have a
>single currency for the entire continent.
> When all this has been achieved and maintained, I will be able to say
>we have true Democracy, Equality, Liberty, Freedom and Justice in our
African
>institutions, communities and nations. On this day, all Africans will be
>able to proclaim that we are in charge and control in of our own continent
>and that this is a society ruled by all of its people for the benefit of
all
>who live within it. I challenge you, today, to join with all people in
>Africa, to unite with a common vision for a united, non-violent,
>independently-sustainable Africa which is a safe and productive society
>because we owe it to our children, our ancestors and ourselves. The guiding
>principles supporting this vision and commitment are: a united, peaceful
>society where all humans, regardless of race, gender, religion or class,
are
>valued and treated with equal dignity, respect and fairness. However far
>down the tunnel the source of light of my vision seems to be at this
moment,
>I am hopeful with its presence down there and so I can say: "At least there
>is light at the end of the tunnel." Africa; from North to South, East to
West
>and Central, I therefor declare, we can do it!
>
>By: Michael Ba Banutu-Gomez
>
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