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(July 03, 2005, 06:25:30 PM)
Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum
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Special Reasonings Archive
Greetings from Afrika!!
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Topic: Greetings from Afrika!! (Read 123559 times)
PatriotWarrior
Newbie
Posts: 67
Greetings from Afrika!!
«
on:
June 21, 2004, 10:16:59 AM »
Greetings Everybody,
I would like to send my greetings to all of you people -- FROM AFRIKA! I arrived here with my family last week and will be here for a couple of weeks. Tomorrow or sometime later this week, I will upload to this site some REALLY nice photos of where I am at the moment.
It is beautiful here and warm.
Greetings to all!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PatriotWarrior
Logged
Oshun_Auset
Senior Member
Posts: 605
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #1 on:
June 21, 2004, 10:21:48 AM »
What country are you in? I'm going to Togo and Ghana next week so I'm curious.
Logged
Forward to a united Africa!
Ras_Legacy
Newbie
Posts: 68
AfricaSpeaks.co m
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #2 on:
June 21, 2004, 10:27:26 AM »
I have never been out of the United States (
) Please, PatriotWarrior, teach i about Afrika, and what you are up to there? Blessings on your visit!
-Sistren Legacy
Logged
InI I hang on in there....InI I no leggo!!!! (So JAH Seh)
Africanprince
Newbie
Posts: 87
AfricaSpeaks.co m
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #3 on:
June 21, 2004, 03:00:41 PM »
yeah what country?
Logged
Oshun_Auset
Senior Member
Posts: 605
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #4 on:
July 03, 2004, 12:16:04 PM »
Greetings all,
Just wanted to drop a line while in the mother land. I've been to Senegal for 2 days, Cote d' Ivoire for 1, and will be in Ghana the majority of the time. I will be visiting Togo for my last 2 days....Just wanted to let everyone know I didn't dissapear. Looks like I'm missing a lot of good topics. Looking forward to catching up when I return to the states.
Ashe,
Oshun Auset
Logged
Forward to a united Africa!
Africanprince
Newbie
Posts: 87
AfricaSpeaks.co m
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #5 on:
July 03, 2004, 07:41:38 PM »
How is Senegal? I've been eyeinng Senegal for sometime.
How is your trip going thus far? How are the people? How is the weather? How is everything lol!!
I'm excited for you since this is your first time there.
Logged
PatriotWarrior
Newbie
Posts: 67
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #6 on:
August 16, 2004, 12:17:53 PM »
Hello guys!
Thank you all for the friendly messages. I arrived back from Afrika last month and had a really wonderful time there. Well, to answer you briefly, I visited Zambia & Zimbabwe … [I am Zambian/South African by nationality] … and visit that place almost every year since I started living in Europe. The place is really nice, the weather superb{!}, the people more friendly than any Europeans … but the most disturbing thing is that almost everything -- i.e. businesses, large chunks of industrial & arable commercial land -- is (still) owned by foreigners: I mean foreigners such as whites (South Africans, Europeans and Americans), Indians, Arabs, other Asians etc. This fact is REALLY very disturbing to most Afrikans there, considering that our people are growing poorer and poorer day by day, and the government supposed to be leading them is busy conniving with those aliens and selling out almost the whole country bit by bit… (I’m particularly referring to Zambia here). Otherwise, my journey to the Homeland was O.K.
Here are 14 pics I chose to “share” … They were shot in Lusaka (Zambia), Livingstone (Zambia) and at the Musi-o-Tunya Falls, famously known as “Victoria” Falls (at the Zambia-Zimbabwe border).
...
Musi o tunya
means "the smoke that thunders" in Lozi, a Zambian language ...
Cheers! ...
~~~~~~~~~~
Logged
Oshun_Auset
Senior Member
Posts: 605
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #7 on:
August 16, 2004, 01:08:30 PM »
Nice pictures. Unfortunately my purse got snatched in the French airport...It had my cameras in it...So I can't post any...
Is this your daughter?...She looks just like me when I was young...kinda creepy...it shocked me.
See...
Logged
Forward to a united Africa!
PatriotWarrior
Newbie
Posts: 67
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #8 on:
August 16, 2004, 01:47:28 PM »
Wow! ... Thanks for the pic!
Yes, that’s my daughter, the only child I have (she’s 6) … I think you’re right that she looks like you when you were young, just a guess ... Well, for you to judge a little more, here she is again:
Greetings!
Logged
Oshun_Auset
Senior Member
Posts: 605
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #9 on:
August 16, 2004, 02:02:03 PM »
Yes, she looks like I did...I have that same purse also , and wear it the same way!...that's a trip...
She's a cuttie...and I'm not saying that cuz she looks like me...
That's good that you took her to Africa.
Logged
Forward to a united Africa!
Bantu_Kelani
Service Member
Posts: 2063
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #10 on:
August 19, 2004, 09:21:10 AM »
PatriotWarrior,
Seeing your child is multicultural do you think she should also venerate her European culture and heritage? Do you think your child should end up growing having strong Black African cultural education with a solid European background to make her a "balanced" person?
B.K
Logged
We should first show solidarity with each other. We are Africans. We are black. Our first priority is ourselves.
PatriotWarrior
Newbie
Posts: 67
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #11 on:
August 19, 2004, 07:05:13 PM »
Greetings Bantu!
Your question is interesting, somehow difficult to answer, but I will try ...
I really don’t think it is all up to me -- alone -- to decide whether or not my daughter should venerate her European side of “the coin”, but I think I have to be there to make sure she doesn’t fall victim to the “politics of race” that, as we all know, persist in this world, since she is my daughter. Look at it this way: she is of course generally regarded as “black”, though, biologically speaking, you and I know she is just as black as she is white. Unfortunately, children like her easily fall victim to such racial classifications and so it shouldn’t be anyone’s surprise that they easily develop complexes about themselves, about what they really are, where they truly belong or how they have to view themselves (of course in relation to how they’re viewed by others). But that is where their parents come in, depending on how they bring them up, what they expose them to.
I must also mention that my daughter wasn’t “planned” (as such), but really was an “accident” … not that I never necessarily wanted to have a child like her, but because both her mum and I were caught “unawares” … what I mean is that the pregnancy was accidental -- (and I hope it isn’t wrong of me to say such a thing).
On the other hand, I have no doubt that my daughter’s (German) mother and I fully understand the difficulties that arise in bringing up such children, and such difficulties multiply especially when such children's parents are no longer together, as is most often the case in many interracial relationships … Personally, I think someone like my daughter needs to be exposed to her Afrikan roots much more than to her European ones, allow me to say, since the Europeans/whites would never even regard her as fully a part of them. We Afrikans are different, as you know very well. I know only too well that it is due to such reasons that I have to be there to *protect* my daughter, or else she would surely go astray!! Fortunately for me, her mother thinks the same as I do and there is absolutely no “tug of war” between us regarding such very important issues concerning the raising and future of our daughter.
So in short, yes, I would like my daughter to identify more strongly with her Afrikan heritage, but I also understand that we generally live in a “white culture”, a “white people’s world”, anyway (except things were to change for the better in the near future, as I hope they will)! European influences, or mis-influences, are totally inescapable! My daughter starts school in two weeks’ time, and she will receive a European formal education, just as we all did. She was born and is growing up for the most part in Europe (though I would really appreciate her finally going to settle in Afrika, like her father one day will, which is just a question of time …); and so the European influence is unavoidably already there, just as it is in all our lives … no wonder many of us Afrikans get brainwashed and lost in a mountain of European books, for example.
Anything else will be left to the test of time … but I can honestly say I will do all I can to protect my daughter, and let her know she is very loved by ALL her Afrikan family, which she knows already, anyway!!! I know she won’t be too stupid to overlook such facts, to weigh facts, and I honestly think she’s the one and only {multiracial} child I will ever have {except I’m mistaken}!
~~~~~~~~~~
By the way, my daughter’s name is “Mulima”, which means “farmer” in Lozi, a Zambian language; her mother wanted her to have an Afrikan name and my dad gave her that name. It is also a royal name …
Regards! … (and hope I didn’t rant too much).
P.W.
Logged
Bantu_Kelani
Service Member
Posts: 2063
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #12 on:
August 20, 2004, 01:25:02 AM »
I hear and feel you Patriot Warrior.. You made good points saying that generally speaking the majority of our people in the Diaspora are definitely mentally enslaved, so confused whether they are multiracial/mixed or not... and that rarely white Europeans question multiracial Blacks about their ethnicity anyway. Nonetheless, the mother of your child is still full caucasian, therefore why your child should consider herself
Blacker
? Why she should automatically be thrown into the
Afro-Black
category when she is someone born in Germany of German heritage? Do you think it's fair to prevent your child to appreciate equally her European roots? Her mother is German, so IMO, I think she should associate with her European part as well, because it's all over her face and genes. There is no way around it.
Believe me brother I'm not trying to hate on your family or not mind my own business I'm just trying to understand this issue.. May I ask you another question: Do you think distancing mixed Blacks from their European part is really helping them in the Diaspora, and is (or will) bring about conscious and concerned conditions in society? How other multiracial people or parents of multiracial children with Black/African genetic background feel about about this?
BTW your pictures are awesome
. Thanks for posting them here!
B.K
Logged
We should first show solidarity with each other. We are Africans. We are black. Our first priority is ourselves.
gman
Full Member
Posts: 417
AfricaSpeaks
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #13 on:
August 20, 2004, 06:18:38 AM »
Greetings PW and BK
I thought I'd throw something in as another 'multiracial' person. My dad's Welsh and right now I'm actually living in Wales for the first time in my life. (I've always lived in London when in the UK before). So this is my first real reconnection to the celtic side of me, apart from sporadic visits to my grandparents' at Nesta (!) Road, Cardiff. Well I must say my impression of the Welsh people here in Swansea is quite positive so far, I find British whites in general to be less fully programmed into racism compared to their US counterparts, and I would venture to surmise that the celts are less racist than the general population of British whites. This is not to say that there is no racism here, of course there is, and extreme right-wing views are growing in some country areas where there's a lot of unemployment and people are looking for a scapegoat to blame. But in general, I don't feel any racial vibes when I walk down the street. One thing that strikes me as odd is how 'Welsh' the Black people here are; it's not a lot of Black people in Swansea and those who've lived here their whole lives or a long time seem (at first glance/hear) to have very little other than the color of their skin to distinguish them from the whites. Even in London where 2nd and 3rd generation Blacks speak in a cockney accent or whatever, it's usually a cockney accent with at least a little flavor of JA or GT or Trini or Bajan or Nigerian in there, here, these people sound as Welsh as Welsh can be (but maybe I'm just not good at distinguishing Welsh accents) and have the same similar mannerisms and ting as the white Welsh.
Well maybe this could have something to do with our cultures being more similar anyway, cos Celtic and African cultures do have some things in common (in fact the Celts could possibly have partly African roots which is another story). Celtic bards were the equivalent of griots, the old spirituality and the folklore remind me of some traditional African beliefs and stories, music and epic poetry are very important and of course, more recently, we both have traditions of resistance to an invading colonial power (the same one, England, in many cases- but of course with the British empire many of the overseers etc, on plantations were Welsh or Scottish or Irish, cos they were second-class citizens at home but they could go the carrybeyond or Africa and have someone else to push around so they could feel like big men).
With all that said though, I still can't feel completely comfortable moving through a city with a large majority of white people, no matter how nice these people might be, I need to see my people around and 'my people' are without a doubt African people, more than Welsh or Celtic. Maybe I would have thought differently if I was raised around plenty white people, I don't know.
'Multiracial' people shouldn't try to deny or be ashamed of any part of their heritage (like how an ex-girlfriend of mine always denies any white ancestry, although it's pretty clearly there from her features- her dad's white but she would never admit this to anyone but close friends). At the same time, if the mix is Black and white (or anything and white I suppose, but I won't speak for others), I think it's important to know that you are BLACK. Because (1) almost anywhere you go in the world, if you are recognizably Black then you will be more accepted by Black people than white, period and (2) the Celts (for instance) may have suffered brutal oppression through the ages, but they are not really particularly oppressed now, the Welsh language used to be banned, now every sign and gov't publication must be in Welsh as well as English. So the Celts don't really need any more warriors to fight for them right now. We Africans do so it's important for us as 'multiracial' people to recognize where our first loyalties lie. Now make no mistake my loyalty is to the entire human race and indeed all life forms cos we are all manifestations of the Most I JAH life force, but where I fit in in this dispensation of time, is as an African, and that's where my primary loyalties need to lie. I consider myself a human, an African/Black man, A Guyanese and Welsh in that order. (If I'd grown up in Wales the order might be a bit different).
Well that is my two pennies on the subject- acknowledge all sides of your heritage but know that you are Black first, otherwise you gone end up quite confused and Africa could lose another warrior at a time when we need them the most.
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Bantu_Kelani
Service Member
Posts: 2063
Re: Greetings from Afrika!!
«
Reply #14 on:
August 20, 2004, 01:40:32 PM »
Thanks for your insights Gman. Your testimony of the Welsh group in Europe is interesting though as far I know Irish/Celt/Welsh folks here in America are the "oppressors" by emulating the behavior of their white brothers. Light skin privilege is an unspoken rule, the person who receives the benefits from having light skin does not have a say in the matter even if they wish not to receive the benefits because they are light skinned.. That's why the notion that Negroid/Black/Africans and multiracial mixed Blacks are entitled to equal contemplation does seem disturbing to me. The "we are all Afro-Black" attitude "no matter our genetic background" that is found in many multiracial Blacks from receiving an Afro-centered education and information that they believe is relevant to their lives still not does reflect on who they are. By the time a light skin multiracial child gets older the relevance of this Afrocentric information in his or her live is questioned because ultimately he or she will get in and out the white exploitative and oppressive system perfectly fine but Negroid/dark-skinned/Black/African group get challenged.
My thinking is that if multiracial Afrocentric Blacks could embrace and acknowledge their European background (as opposed to be perpetually reject it) that could be a first step in establishing better understanding between the races. Maybe even more importantly, it could be the vehicle to allow them to be more comfortable with themselves. My sense is that so much of the void between whites and Blacks is due to long-held thoughts about race that are consistently left unsaid, as well as perceptions just under the surface that are never brought up until directly confronted. Often times when they are confronted, they are packaged with all sorts of emotion and anxiety that it prevents honest and open dialogue. And when you listen to many multiracial Afrocentric Blacks (like you Gman) talk about their perceptions of their European background it is really clear that there's not much communication with their white European relatives going on too.
I think that until they talk about race issues without the emotional denial of who they are things won't get any better. Most Negroid/Black/Africans will agree that some type of frank talk between multiracial Blacks with their European brothers is a good step toward starting the healing process.
B.K
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We should first show solidarity with each other. We are Africans. We are black. Our first priority is ourselves.
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