Is Death Better than Bondage?

Black people continue to live with the pain and consequences of enslavement and colonisation. This has meant having to grow up with limited resources and, very often, few prospects. So many of us have faced so much frustration and hopelessness that we have been compelled to believe that we have to exist as if there is nothing to live for. Criminality, violence, drug abuse and illegal immigration have become easily embraceable life choices for too many of us. Our environments and perceptions essentially have our futures chained down and locked away.

In spite of the poverty and exclusion that Black communities have to contend with there are people of exceptional talent emerging from them on an ongoing basis. And for those who may not be sought out for their talents they stil have a great capacity for growth and development. The wisdom and maturity they garner from their lives is something they can share around them and pass on to future generations to keep hope alive. Even in the most oppressive captivity the mind has the potential and capacity to grow and evolve. And it is sometimes in these darkest moments that we may do our clearest thinking. Being shackled by dogma and self doubt is what really keeps us in bondage. Supporting those around us and leaving something of worth for posterity is certainly worth living for.

The history of slavery has shown us that those who refused to lie down and die but fought the hardest to resist oppression and escape enslavement went on to become the torchbearers for future generations. Not only did they uplift the people around them but they also left a legacy of honour and dignity for the human race as a whole.

Given the choice everyone would want to die free but it is also important to fight to create a better future for coming generations whatever the cost to ourselves. Sometimes it takes the effort of the many to realise the vision of a few. And maybe the prospect of the life we could not live is the greatest inheritance we can pass on to future generations.

I don’t mind the idea of dying fighting for freedom. Then even with my dying breath I will still feel a tinge of hope. That can inspire hope and fight in others. Even if you’ve done wrong, fighting for redemption can bring new life to you and others. To achieve that would be to truly be free.

Nigeria's Culture of Human Trafficking

Nigeria has a less than proud history of association with slavery. It's major ports were once staging posts for the slave trade. The active role played by some tribes in capturing neighbouring villagers and selling them to slavers is not explored in too much detail these days. Even back then there were lessons that could have been learnt in tackling tribalism that has blighted the Nigerian federation in modern times. Unfortunately, even though the slave trade has long been abolished it would appear that in the 21st century slavery isn't quite eradicated in Nigeria.

For many years now it has been the practice for families in the village to send young family members to work as servants for wealthy people in the cities. In many cases it involves sending children and teenagers to work as househelps. Children in their pre teens are often sent to work as servants while their parents receive payments to cover the wages they would have earned. In some cases the host families are content to have children of school age working for them but not enrolled in education.

There have been numerous cases of young girls being sent abroad to work as nannies or house helps for families but being abused and held in appalling conditions. Very often they are denied education, not paid, and held illegally in the countries they have moved to. Meanwhile, they are mistreated and subjected to extreme deprivation in an attempt to keep them subdued and captive.

In parts of Nigeria parents are marrying their under aged daughters off to older men for dowries or to pay off debts. In some cases the girls are betrothed and remain with their parents until they finish secondary school. A lot of the girls being betrothed in early youth are often unable to complete, or attend secondary school at all. Where they do complete secondary school any further formal education they receive is often at the behest of their husband or fiancé.

There is a very lucrative industry of trafficking Nigerian women abroad for the purposes of prostitution. Amsterdam and Italy used to be prime locations for this. However, in recent times the UAE, and Dubai in particular have become targets for Nigerian traffickers trading in women for prostitution.

It is time that the government in Nigeria recognised the prevalence of human trafficking in the country. This should involve increasing awareness of the rights and protections needed for young girls. The wealthy should not be able to deny them the right to education and freedom despite collusion from their parents or families. Law enforcement in the country should be actively engaged in combating trafficking in all its forms.

Black on the 4th of July

Source: NewsOne

A section of African Americans are acutely aware of the close connection between America's independence and the history of slavery. They are thus very indignant about any attempts to celebrate the 4th of July by Black people. And they have every reason to be embittered. Not only were Black people enslaved and brutalised but three centuries later they are still being oppressed and marginalised.

Source: chocolatehighhhh.tumblr.com

America's history is a tale of conflicts and hypocrisies. America claims to be the land of the free yet at various times it has enslaved or oppressed Native Americans, Africans, Latin Americans, Polynesians and various minorities. Americans are fiercely nationalistic but suffer from a strangely enduring desire to be British. The American love of sport is legendary yet it suffers from the worst incidence of obesity in the developed world. Americans swear by the second amendment but America is plagued by the highest levels of gun crime and violent deaths anywhere in the world. America is the foremost developed country in the world but it has shown year on year increases in poverty, deprivation, ill health and social marginalisation. 

It is important that African Americans not forget their history. That history is integral to the history of America. While past wounds may not be healed there are future battles to be fought. It is reasonably acceptable not to celebrate the 4th of July but Black Americans have earned their place in modern America and they have a role to play in its continuing evolution and transformation. It is important that African Americans don't become infested with the hypocrisy that inhabits American history and pervades the American psyche. It was ironic that Bill Clinton; a man responsible for drugs and penal policies that have ravaged Black American communities gave the eulogy at Muhammad Ali's funeral. 

There is still a huge amount of work to be done on building up Black enlightenment and self esteem. African America can't keep pointing the finger in one direction and yet turn its back on the poverty, crime, deprivation, under education, ill health, and lack of aspiration that has infested its neighbourhoods. It needs to learn about history while educating itself about the demands of advancing its interests locally and globally in harsh and oppressive modern times. Complacency and settling will only serve to dishonour the sacrifices of the Black people who fought for survival in an independent America.