Adelaide...Thank your for your response.  Perhaps I should remind you that
'motive' is a very difficult thing to prove, even in a court of law.
Certainly, your attempt to read my piece on the above topic as a sign of
ingratitude, particularly to the Nigerians, speaks volume about this
difficulty.  I hope your desire to do so was not intended to pander to a
group and breed discord as you have done in the past.

Let me hasten to add that, besides the humor intended which was to draw a
parallel between the blues sang by the Nigerian Major of the ECOMOG
contingent, and the Trinidadian calypso of the 1930s and 40s ( in fact, this
was the only time the word "Nigerian" was used, all other reference (s) was
to ECOMOG), it was not my intention to downplay the sacrifice made by
Nigerians in the Sierra Leone war.

While we may laugh at the humor in the two songs, we must be mindful of the
broader picture, which is that thousands of fatherless children have been
spawned by these ECOMOG forces.  To suggest that this a mere consequence of
warfare, which must be overlooked, is callous and preposterous.  As parents,
we must a take a deeper look at the trauma girls and women have suffered in
Liberia and Sierra Leone.  I don't care if the act was perpetrated by our
liberators or the rebels. Furthermore, Sierra Leone and Liberia are not
Vietnam; hence, the players are different.  For obvious reasons, the
likelihood that these fathers will ever look back for their children is very
remote.  Given that our social policies do not cater for the less fortunate,
the fate of these children is very bleak indeed.

Finally, let me remind you that the AAM archives will show that I have been
gratuitous in my praise for the ECOMOG, especially the Nigerians, for their
gallant role in Sierra Leone.  To even suggest that I, or any Sierra
Leonean, is not thankful, is to do a disservice to the memories of many
innocent Nigerians who lost their lives to free us.  Have a good weekend.

Ben.

"If people don't have their own vision,
         all they can do is "sign up" for someone else's.
                                     The result is compliance, not
commitment."
                                                                  --Senge

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Adelaide Fiske [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2000 10:26 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Familiar strains (native girls and foreign soldiers...)
>
> A Thank You gesture is in order for our Nigerian brothers and sisters
> present in our midst and  elsewhere, and their leaders for their
> considerable efforts in staying the course to facilitate the peace and the
> curb  the      mayhem. Whatever situations arose as a consequence of their
> presence in those geographic locations. they are not the first neither
> will they will be the last. Remember the Vietnam war?????? Children are
> still coming out of the woodworks to connect with their fathers. Wars
> create strange circumstances and both soldiers and natives suffer
> emotionally and otherwise. As we  contemplate the  unproductive
> consequences of the African conflicts let us resolve not be part of the
> destruction. We do not need a new breed of Africans , what is needed is
> the ability to distinguish between the negative and positive life force
> with which each  of announced our entrance into the world and make a
> conscious decision to leave it a better place
> .
>

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