2007: Warfare and Recovery

 

As the stranglehold and supremacy of the still aspiring coloniser, britain begins to slip and expose its not so democratic backside, things on this little island inhabited by over 60 million people became characterised by the endeavours of the british elite to maintain power and dominance at any cost. Amongst their psychological armoury were the political, mental, media and cultural mechanisms by which they generate fear and ignorant bliss amongst the public majority.

2007 was many things to many people. For some, it will be remembered as the year that ignorant bliss went into overdrive as Britain spent unprecedented millions to be seen to be commemorating the Act of parliament passed in 1807 stating that:

“The King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and seven, the African Slave Trade, and all and all manner of dealing and trading in the Purchase, Sale, Barter, or Transfer of Slaves, or of Persons intended to be sold, transferred, used, or dealt with as Slaves, practiced or carried on, in, at, to or from any Part of the Coast or Countries of Africa, shall be, and the same is hereby utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful.”

The Illusion and Psychological Anesthesia

Then, as now 200 years later, these parliamentary Acts had strategic purposes geared towards the maintenance of a global illusion, spell binding millions and usurping their autonomous will and ability to self determine as conscious human beings. The 200th Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807 illustrated the ability of the british elite to sustain this illusion. The financial expenditure and subsequent resources, time and people power dedicated to the huge number of exhibitions, talks, museum commissions, television programmes, books, church ceremonies, national and international tours and other miscellaneous resources should alert us all to the fact that the british meant business last year as far as their quest to maintain control of the minds and actions of millions.

And for the most part, they have succeeded in ensuring that the majority of british citizens succumbed to their psychological anesthesia, with many overdosing and becoming addicted to their booster medication. The slavery story for these people goes something like this: Africans needed saving from themselves due to their corrupt morality and inhibited ‘civilisation’ but luckily enough William Wilberforce, the Quakers and the british public were on hand to save them from self destruction and we all lived happily ever after. The Christian Mission Society, set up to impose westernized Christianity on the world, were particularly busy last year visiting schools and presenting children with images of a british parliamentarian and an African chief followed by the question; “who do you think is the bad person in the story of slavery?”. According to the CMS, the African chief was the ‘bad’, evil money hungry seller of his own people and the british MP none other than the ‘amazing’ William Wilberforce.

The reach of this fairy tale extended beyond this small island to Ghana where a jamboree promoting ignorance and acceptance was arranged, neatly and ironically tied in with the year of Ghana’s 50th anniversary of ‘independence’. Meanwhile, british monarch Elizabeth II visited Jamestown, Virginia in her first trip to the United States for 16 years. Protests from native Americans and African Americans against the 400 year anniversary of Jamestown served as a reminder that the british story was far from the only one in existence. Jamestown may be symbolic as the first english settlement established in America in 1607 but it also symbolises the mass genocide against the indigenous Americans and the beginning of the American chapter of the Maafa involving the kidnap of Africans from Africa and their enslavement in the Americas.

And so it continued. The Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur re-opened the Wilberforce House Museum. Replicas of the Zong and the Amistad toured the Thames, with the latter involved in a 16 month round the world trip dubbed the ‘Amistad Atlantic Freedom Tour’, which will retrace the route of the transatlantic violation. A depraved mind somehow, somewhere conceived of a slavery beer which featured the infamous image of the cross section of the Zong ship depicting Africans packed, sardine like, into the base of a ship. The beer, created by Elgood’s brewery, was sold and drunk in the House of Commons thanks to Tory party MP, Malcolm Moss. Few noted or cared that an image of a gas chamber loaded with caucasoid bodies pasted on a beer bottle in reference to the gas chambers inflicted on the people who refer to themselves as Jews would have been utterly unpalatable and inappropriate.

Once all was said and done, the year proved noteworthy in as much as a significant few truly realised or reaffirmed the belief that the fight back against the british propaganda and festivities for their so-called slave trade goes beyond merely saying “this is wrong”, and must be more focused on what is right for us. We must move away from reactive responses which simply legitimise the operations of our enemies and ensure that the proactive work that builds community become the priority. Our history must be taken out of academia into the practical implication of our cultures and traditions. There were many laudable attempts within the community to combat the abundant propaganda and at the very least, it stimulated in the minds of some, the awareness of other perspectives, African perspectives. The challenge remains however to be consistent and committed to learning about our history and culture through African lens and humbling ourselves to those with the wisdom and experience to guide us.

Justice british style

Moving away from the flurry of activity surrounding the british Wilberfest, the UK defiantly stamped their authority on their citizens by reminding them that killing innocent people can and will be done with impunity. Jean Charles de Menezes’ family were outraged at the outcome of the political circus, also known as an ‘inquiry’ that was held to superficially ascertain what were the circumstances leading to police officers pumping seven bullets at close range into the head of an innocent, unarmed and petrified member of the public. The british elite appreciate the need for façade, illusion and show: the need to be seen to be democratic holds much more weight than actually being so, especially if you ensure that your education system is so substandard and media spin machines so powerful that your average Metro reading, LBC listening ‘reasonable’ woman and man on the Clapham Omnibus will swallow what they are fed, hook and line.

The other characterisation of 2007 was the version of reality that the media tried to project onto the public. For them, it was the year ‘black on black’ crime got out of hand. The victims were usually shot or stabbed in what the hysterical caucasian media termed an ‘epidemic’. No one commented that some of the killings were the result of the increase in ethnically motivated attacks against Britain’s African community. The racist shooting spree of BNP member John Laidlaw, the surge in racist attacks in numerous UK towns and cites, the near fatal stabbing of Christopher Ikolo and the murder of Jevon Henry, 18, Christopher Alaneme, 18, and David Haynes, 21 are all testament to a serious simmering problem. Unlike crime by and against African people, racist hate crime continues to surge year on year and should be the real subject of the ‘epidemic’ label. But perhaps that would be guilt complex overload for a nation who suffer from the inability to feel remorse and from the dubious historical understanding of their role in the world as one of great conquests (read mass murder) and spreading their special brand of democracy around the world (read exploiting the masses through the systemic decimation of their culture, tradition, land rights and humanity). This democracy has been working in Africa and in other places around the world and it therefore it comes as no surprise to many that our Motherland remains divided and traumatised.

What many failed to realise about the media orgy around this issue is that this was all part of a pre-planned strategy: high profile the killings of young Africans, thereby giving the impression that such activity is on the rise and out of control, galvanise the support of the british public, including African people, against the terrible actions apparently committed solely by Africans, and then bring in a draconian law that will be used to harass African people with the support of the country’s majority.

Having said that, it is critically important that as a community, we do not obsess about the oppressive nature of british democracy whilst residing comfortably in the realm of the oppressed victim. Children, women and men are dying as a result of violent crime in Britain. Some perpetuated by those who look like us, and some not. Not only is this a serious issue, but other social problems such as domestic violence, rape, engagement with criminality and mental health are very real issues. All can be traced back to the violent removal of our traditions, values and culture. Once this was been drained from us, it then becomes a free for all for any manner of corrupt and foreign ideology to guide our thoughts, actions and responses.

Britain: "prosperous and fair"?

And as if these mental, cultural and social problems were not troubling enough, prime minister Gordon Brown ended the year with a sinister new year’s message that suggested there wasn’t much ‘new’ about the forthcoming year, more a reaffirmation of the british strategy: “for Britain, 2008 will be a year of real and serious changes”. He continued: “All these policies reflect our shared vision of a new Britain rooted in enduring traditions and values. A Britain, strong, prosperous and fair. A country proud of its progress toward equality and confident of its future. That is what I want to see when we look back on another New Years Day years from now.”

For me, this reads as a stark warning of the gathering speed of the intolerance tidal wave of british people. 2008 has already seen calls for an increase in the draconian stop and search of Africans and a decrease in the related police accountability. We barely said goodbye to 2007 when a colleague of mine was subjected to excessive physical abuse by the police for merely observing their heavy-handed tactics against their favourite prime suspect: young, African and male - considered guilty until proven innocent. The heat of debate around stop and search sits neatly within an oppressive and aggravated political climate part of which has been helped along by the on-going saga of unanswered questions at City Hall and community hub, Brixton Base, around missing money to ‘BME’ organisations and the disproportionate delighted media fanfare and political tricksters revelling in yet another bad news story that aims to taint us all with the brush of an immoral and corrupt few. Anti-immigration rhetoric continued to be a major vote winner in 2007 with a surge in support for ‘tightening restrictions’ which included the proposition of a three month reduction of the current six month length of stay for visitors to the UK, a bond of up to £1000 for visitors and the immediate and complete ban on ‘unskilled’ workers from African and Asia. This proposition was paralleled by the wide and welcoming arms extended to migrants from the EU, be they ‘skilled’ or ‘unskilled’.

International signs

Internationally, the political landscape shifted somewhat with senatorial, presidential, parliamentary and local government elections taking place in France, Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, England, Scotland, Wales, Slovenia, Switzerland, Argentina, Kosovo, Croatia, South Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Kenya, Russia, Estonia, Abkhazia, Philippines, Republic of Ireland, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Guatemala, Denmark and Kyrgyzstan. Of those, 13 witnessed a change of government and here in the UK, there was a non-publicly elected change of prime minister from Tony Blair to Gordon Brown. South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon also replaced Kofi Annan as the United Nations Secretary General.

Three nations celebrated momentous independence days: Ghana and Malaysia marking 50 years and Pakistan 60 years of their independence from former colonial invaders representing the apparently ‘Great’ british empire. Guerilla operations by the Communist Party of Malaysia essentially kicked british backside out of the country. Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah promised a vision of Pan African unity, however a personal message from Elizabeth II 50 years ago has sinister echoes with the present day dynamics in Ghana. She said: "The hopes of many, especially in Africa, hang on your endeavours. It is my earnest and confident belief that my people in Ghana will go forward in freedom and justice." My people? The leadership in Ghana as in Africa Continent wide is still beholden to the puppet masters outside the nation who continue to pull their colonial strings.

War continued unabated with North America joining in the Battle of Ras Kamboni in Somalia, using their AC-130 gunships to conduct air strikes against ‘suspected’ Al Qaeda members in January and later in the year bombarding a Somali village with bombs from their warships. Cowboy mimicking North American president, George Bush also announced his plans to send over 20,000 additional troops to Iraq. Leading nations in the development of war technology, China and Russia, tested their unique creations: a ground-based ballistic missile which can destroy satellites in orbit and the FOAB, or Father of All Bombs.

Planet Earth had her own surprises up her sleeve this year, with some speculating that the retribution has been a long time in coming. Britain was subjected to some of the worst floods and storms in decades, Australia was hit by drought, Buenos Aries in Argentina witnessed snowfall for the first time in almost 90 years and earthquakes in the Solomon Islands hit 8.1 on the Richter scale resulting in a subsequent tsunami. Scorching temperatures and the subsequent heatwave in the Mediterranean resulted in water-rationing and locust plagues in France, 95,000 hectares of forest fell foul to fires in Spain and 97% of Portugal suffered severe and extreme drought with an estimated fall of 35% in the country’s farming income. The European Commission had to permit 200,000 tons of surplus cereals to be sold to the country. The heatwave also led to crop shortages and locusts plagues in Italy, and Greece suffered 67 deaths as a result of fires that engulfed nearly 200,000 hectares of land. In Africa, Lake Chad continued to shrink with some predicting that it will reduce to a mere pond within the next 20 years whilst conversely, the Sahara continues to expand. And all this in the spectre of the ongoing battle to own and have imperial control over the world’s natural resource, personified by the international battle for control over the Arctic and Antarctic.

On reflection

In 2007, I spent a great deal of time observing the mechanisms of the community in the UK. I was also blessed to have the alternative perspective of knowledgeable Elders in the community and a Traditional Medicine woman, whose role now and historically has been to purge individuals of their psychological illnesses and subsequently help them to help themselves in the process of their own and therefore the community’s recovery. Their relevance and history is often suppressed beneath the romantic history Diasporans are often guilty of ascribing themselves. The institution of Traditional Medicine in Africa has been dismissed by white supremacy’s history but many of us, primiarily in the Diaspora remain guilty of viewing this integral element of African society as irrelevant and primitive. Yet still it is this system that is central to our historical development and the solution to our current psychological and spiritual ill health.

With the trauma of the Maafa still weighing heavily on the heads and shoulders of us all, the healing process which needs to occur should become our ultimate priority. Whilst many have settled comfortably within the realm of regurgitated political rhetoric and ideological utopia, there needs to be a shift away from the mantra to the practical every day solutions that can only come from those in the community willing to challenge their personal dysfunctions in order to overturn the process of colonisation so intrinsic to our lives in the land of our enslaver. Political ideology alone, no matter how uncompromising, can not advance a community whose psychology and spirit remain connected to the thought processes, propaganda, actions and sustenance supplied by the elite supremacist forces that enslave us past and present.

Far from this being a message of gloom, I am inspired to challenge myself and reject the need to fall back on comfort zone intellectualism and make real changes in my life and work that will help to empower my community. I am committed to fully understanding what it means and takes to be African in more than a political statement in the belief that my personal example will have a ripple effect on those I associate with. I intend to make 2008 a year for internal development and reassessment for myself which has already encouraged and paralleled others, predominantly African women, to examine their own mental obstacles and see the overcoming of these minefields as a means towards generating the sustainability and progressive development needed in the community.

Women continue to be marginalised in the community, perhaps due to our tendency to engage less in talk and more in action. As someone who has worked tirelessly in the community for years and is committed to doing so for the rest of my life, I have watched and listened as numerous women, including myself, receive a cursory if any mention whilst the men continue to be idolised, cared for and pushed to the forefront whilst revelling in the attention. Unfortunately, some women are also guilty of perpetuating this status quo and I hope that 2008 will be a year that African women critically analyse and develop the women’s cultural movement so often relegated to the realm of unimportance by show-boating, male dominated festivities. I have had countless conversations with women who are tired, depressed, struggling and suffering from low self esteems. Whilst women remain in this condition, no amount of Pan African bible bashing will lift us out of our condition. Pan Africanism can only be actualised when individuals are liberated from their personal hells and sicknesses. Men will only be men when women can truly be women.

emma pierre