AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

In case you didn’t know,confidence is power.I remember been told/reminded that fact some years ago when my mentors were injecting in me “the powers” that they always believed and wanted me to posses. I am not sure whether that was a success but I am comfortable that at least the bells that keeps me awake when needed to, sings the same tunes;confidence is power!

The Iranian president, Mr.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is one man who is a living proof of a marriage between confidence and power.He is confident, too confident to the extent that all of us are most of times left to wonder,where does his confidence come from? Faith?God?Islam? Questions after questions.

Few months ago Mr.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had written this open letter to Untied States president,George W.Bush. Neither Mr.Bush himself or his white house administration ever responded.If they did,then they never made it public as he did.Lack of confidence? Perhaps after that long silence from Washington the Iranian president now wants a live televised debate with not anyone else but same Yale University graduate,who went on to become Untied States president. He is even questioning the UN’s security council authority. Now that is confidence,isn’t it?

On top of the list is an interesting food for thought on what if George Bush turns down this offer? What will his reason be? Can’t debate with a terrorist? What will you think after having falled in love and always believed in western democracies of debating almost everything even those which were traditionally forbiden for debates?I am waiting to hear the response from Dark House. If you are lucky please watch President Mahmoud’s interview with CBS correspondent Mike Wallace here.

Over this week CNN, the station that I rarely watch, has been airing their Christine Amapour’s documentary “In The Footsteps of Osama Bin Laden”. The main anthem of that documentary was knowing your enemy. I happened to watch the documentary not because I had nothing else to watch but because I wanted to see whether things have changed since the last time I got myself glued on my couch to watch “cnn”. I guess we are still singing the same old song.

When I started watching this documentary I could not stop questioning the reasons why CNN decided to air it. To me the documentary was narrating the same story that their mainstream media have been telling them for almost over 15 years now. To millions of Americans, if not all of them, their enemy is Osama Bin Laden. I can’t blame them. That is what their president, their media headquarters (every television station and leading newspapers calls themselves headquarters of news), their senators, their congressmen and women keeps telling them, day and night long. On another hand, while American government wants the rest of the world to also believe in what they are telling us about who are enemies are, we just don’t want to end up “just believing” but also put a tough question on their face “WHY” is Osama bin Laden a number one enemy? Unfortunately, whoever questions that is automatically labeled “our enemy” too. Democracy seems to end only on ballot boxes not to expand in power of reasoning, democracy of owning our own psyches.

Psychologically, when somebody tells you something, same thing, for extended period of time, you tend to believe. Few months ago, a friend of mine was put on that psychological test. As soon as he walked in the office in one beautiful summer day we told him that he looked sick. Of course we had just made it up. However, before the day ended our friend was sick for real! Imagine that happened in a course of just one day. What if for over ten years someone keeps telling you “you are sick”?

The questions I want to ask now are twins, identical twins. What if Osama Bin Laden is not American’s number one enemy? What if instead their presidential institutions, from their president to the clerk at their investigation bureaus are their enemies? I know what answers are out there; “we have concrete intelligence” to prove that Osama is actually our enemy. Fine. I am not going to question all that although I have my preservations when “American intelligence” is the only reason. In America intelligence and politics seems to be inseparable twins.

Unfortunately, my questions are hard to most people. People who are not easily convinced but indefinitely convinced without leaving any room for further questions, further historical explanations of the caused of all the calamities, all the wars on terror movements etc. That is when I want to ask where is our own God given intelligence as people? What do we know about the reasons for terrorism? Do we just think someone is crazy or jealous of something as some politicians wants us to believe?

Without tiring you with questions I would like to challenge you to completely re-own your ability to put self-intelligence into work. Forget everything your politicians have told you; forget everything that your best news anchor or talk show host has told you. I had these thoughts and many more when I visited Niagara Falls last week. Accept the above photo of the falls.

Almost a week to come,last year, the world saw a different face of America. The face that somebody wishes it was never to be revealed. How the saga came out of headlines seems to be a conspiracy of its own nature. A week or so after Katrina I wrote this in my swahili and only blog I had by then.

Spike Lee, one of the film producers that I respect a lot, has come up with When The Leeves Broke documentary that is definetely set to bring big waves of heat to American politics. I have not seen this documentary yet but I can’t wait to see what Spike Lee brings to television and movie theatres this time. And I can’t wait to see it because I believe,just like in so many places in the world,justice was not done!

When tough gets going,why not just watch the geese and smile?

The XVI International Conference on HIV/AIDS 2006 in Toronto, Canada has started. Over 24,000 delegates across the globe are in Toronto to plan, evaluate and discuss policies, politics, freak economics etc. The first reflection that comes into my mind is when will this conference go back to Africa where it is believed to be a fact that almost half of the people infected with the virus live? Is someone telling me that Africa has no capacity, in terms of resources, to host a conference like this one? Mmmh!

When HIV/AIDS comes into spotlight, Africa walks just too close to every word of it. HIV/AIDS is almost, by big mistake, not a global problem but an African problem. HIV/AIDS has a black face, so say many activists. I agree with them. It then comes as a no surprise when Canadian PM, Steve Harper chooses to ignore the importance of joining hands with millions of people across the globe plus thousands of international delegates and prove to the world about his government’s commitment to fight the war that to me it worth every minute, every dollar, every political move and above all, it worth every inch of humanity! While the organizers have called his non-show up a political blander that will cost “Steve” more than he can imagine, I am disappointed and angered by his decision.

From the look at the calendar of activities that I have on my lap, I can easily tell that this is not a political picnic like G8. There are people who are committed into raising awareness to above the roof, making sure that right policies are discussed and set, making a huge step towards availability of a vaccine if not a better treatment across the globe. Easy access to the drugs, for the people already infected by the virus remains a crucial part of “why they meet”.

As we know, HIV/AIDS is now 25 years old, same age with Grammy –winning artist Alicia Keys who showed up at the Rogers Centre this Sunday alongside other remarkable figures like Bill and Melinda Gates, Hollywood actor Richard Gere and many more. Inside last 25 years questions have been pondered, scientific answers have been suggested, millions of dollars have gone into research (more is still needed) but yet a needed destination (cure) has not been reached. While respecting and eagerly waiting for a scientific breakthrough, I want to keep asking myself few questions. Why is HIV/AIDS keeps much of its interests in Africa, among African/black people than other human race? Is poverty the only reason; is it true that polygamy among African Muslim cultures in Africa the very reason? Are the researches telling us the truth or exaggeration of its own kind, as it has always been when Africa is put into context? Is the virus that infects millions of people in Africa different from the one in developed countries? Is it not mainly spread via unprotected sex? Is it spread differently in Africa then? Is sex not all that here in North America for example? What is wrong then?

The questions WHY seems to have eluded the minds of many fellow Africans. We have agreed, with no further questioning, the reasons given by almost 25 years old research findings. Have these facts remained the same even after so many years? If it’s our habitual problem, what are we doing to end it? If it is the psychological drama of being baptized “victims” from the beginning, what are we doing about it? Could it be that other lives reality like low self-esteem, remaining chains of psychological slavery and colonialism, unending war on racism etc be our killer reason than just unprotected sex? What would we find underneath if for once, we started thinking in reverse from what we are used to? What if its not poverty, its not cultural practices, it has nothing to do with polygamy? There are of course millions of questions with hard to find answers.

Therefore when the theme of this year’s conference is “Time To Deliver” I suggest its time to re-start again to find some new answers on the question WHY MOSTLY US AND NOT OTHER RACES?

Dear Mom and Dad,
As I promised you in my last letter, whenever I get time I will write. I am not sure whether its because I am a promise keeper or just because I love writing. The challenge I have is to write more and also learn more so that I could escape the trap of writing more, learn less and therefore end up planning more and accomplishing nothing. Have I ever told you that in this part of the world there are people who attend just meetings, whole year and make millions of dollars? They call themselves community organizers, community facilitators and bunch of titles that never existed during your days. These kinds of people are those who plan more and yet accomplish nothing.

One thing that I am certain about is that I treasure your opinions. You are still two human beings that I do not even put in my role models list believing that you worth more than all that even if this world doesn’t have a more realistic term about you than parents. I believe, however, that if Shaka Zulu had lived during these times, he would have come up with a better term. To me parenting is not enough, especially nowadays when almost everyone can be a parent, even against all odds. That is where you will realize that our generation, especially the generation of these fellas where I am now making ends meet, have conquered the outer space but never inner space. There are still lots of holes down there. Even splitting of an atom has not helped to eradicate prejudice. Who is to blame in your opinion?

I know mom hates even just the word “prejudice”. I am sorry that it is in my little vocabulary. Mom, this word is mentioned out here than African continent. It’s a vote catcher word for politicians. I swear you’d think politicians out here are angels. They don’t talk humanly. Instead they talk about all the impossible. Last week I heard one of them talking about how he would eradicate global poverty, if elected as if poverty is/ was just a new small cocoa farm that needed clearance by one fire shot. Instead of talking about reducing poverty these men and women, with their egos, now talks about eradicating. Dad, don’t you think this is quite funny and silly new century political joke? Or is it just me who is not convinced and therefore don’t have a scientific mind? And guess what, when they talk about poverty they always point fingers towards where the two of you lives, Africa. They don’t only neglect the fact that poverty is a pure global issue but also do not even care to reflect the cultural background of Africa before airing the modules. Mom and Dad, would you blame me if I call someone that name you completely prohibited me to use it when addressing another human being?

I sometimes wonder what exactly has happened to our world. Where I live, people are always on the rush. They even have what they call rush hours. People here cannot wait for anything. Patience is an old sinful word for most of them. If you ask them where are they rushing to, the answer is “to make money”. When they answer that way I then understand why most of them have higher incomes but lower morals. I still carry the book you bought me when I entered secondary school. I am not sure whether you still remember; the book has taught me all I need about choices and the fact that I can not get both, its either heaven or hell.

Now, Mom and Dad don’t get me wrong when I write you about this part of the world. Its not like there is nothing good out here. There are quite lots of things that I wish they were also available out there but also hope that they wouldn’t corrupt people’s morals if not destroy people’s health. For example, out here these people have managed to build more computers so that they can hold more information and produce more copies of information. But would you be surprised if I tell you that that has caused them to have less communication while at the same time remain long in quantity but short on quality? Mom do you remember warning me about eating fast foods, as they are popular in slowing digestion? Then what will you say if I tell you that where I live there are about seven of fast foods places and they all make lots of profits?

Before I finish this letter let me give you a message for my young brother. I wish I had time to write him a letter as well. Ask him to forgive me for passing the message instead of giving it to him directly. He had asked me about relationships out here. Do you think he wants to marry soon?

Out here a good percent of relationships are too shallow; completely contrary to steep profits that the so called “relationship counselors” makes out of people. I almost considered going back to university and study those counselors subjects before I realized that, such conies do not have powers to change my philosophy of work hard and you will earn big! Its sad and surprising that out here there is more leisure and less fun. Just as how there are more kinds of foods yet less nutrition broken homes keeps mounting. Divorces lawyers make millions of dollars because so are the days of our lives. We have fancier houses but lots of broken homes as well.

So tell my young brother to stick to our traditions. That is all I can say. Let me end up here for today. It’s a civic holiday weekend out here but as usual, lots of commitments.

Son,

Jeff