Gambia L,
Thought one or two might be interested in reading this speech I gave last
night, in West Bromwich, at a gathering organised by the Afro Caribbean
Society in West Midlands.
Here it goes:
Brothers and sisters, I am very honoured to be asked to speak in tonight's
forum, organised as part of activities marking/celebrating the black history
month in Britain.
Since all the speakers before me have already highlighted/listed the
numerous achievements of the black people around the world, then there
wouldn't be any need for me to repeat what these speakers have stated.
Instead, permit me to say in a few words in my capacity as a black African
whose fate is linked to that of all black and oppressed people in the world.
Indeed, brothers and sisters, history has created a bond of solidarity for
those of gathered here tonight, and the question we should never stop asking
asking ourselves, in my view, is: how could we (Africans born in the
Continent and those of you born here) collectively exploit our growing
solidarity to change our age-long image and situation as an exploited people
to one of a liberated people?
Or do I have to remind you that, in spite of all the achievements cited by
the speakers before me, we are still the long-exploited majority of the
world whose tears flow the laughter of the exploiting minority?
Brothers and sisters, the time has really come for us to ask ourselves two
fundamental questions: Firstly, what are doing as blacks, in concrete terms
I mean, to help build/achieve a genuine world order, based on justice and
equality for all peoples and races?
Secondly, what are we also doing to dismantle, or help dismantle the pillars
of a world order based on "cowboyism", in which one country sets the rules
and standards for all, in which one country seeks to interpret its narrow
national interest as global interest?
Brothers and sisters, the time has come, especially as we are about to enter
the new millennium, for us to write our own history, and stop consulting
history as taught by the Westerners or the white man, because it is full of
distortions.
Just last week, I was going through the pages of a new history text book for
secondary school students here, and the author was again repeating what
other Western historians had said in the past.
The author wrote that it was Mungo Park, a Scottish, who discovered River
Niger; David Livingstone, also a Scottish, who discovered Lake Victoria; and
Christopher Columbus, an Italian who discovered America.
Of course, the author's claims would have been deemed TRUE if his history
went further to say that these three explorers - Mungo Park, David
Livingstone and Columbus - had discovered these places for the Europeans,
and not my ancestors who were already living in these places long before the
three explorers came.
The author deliberately failed or refused to take note of the fact that
there were people, call them natives, living alongside River Niger, Lake
Victoria and what is now called America long before these three European
explorers ever set foot in these spheres.
So it is clear that according to history as taught by the white man, we only
came into existence after the white man set foot on our soils. But it is not
only in their books that you find this distortion of our history.
Even in their films and Television programmes, you again find this
distortion of our history and, of course, all sorts of stereotyped images of
the black people are also shown.
I am sure some you do remember, for example, the Tarzan films, where
generation of Americans and European were taught to believe that Africa is
all jungle with native partying with wild animals/beasts.
And, believe me, even as I am speaking to you now, there are many Westerners
who still think that Africa is nothing, but a jungle full of uncivilised
people. But, of course, there is an abundance of proof that Africa was the
cradle of civilisation long before Europe.
And apart from the architectural wonders of the pyramids, the sphinx, the
luxor, Africa was far ahead in agriculture, medicine and transport.
The respected Senegalese philosopher, physicist and historian, Cheikh Anta
Diop, did establish, beyond all doubts, that, in actual fact, the ancient
kingdoms of Songhai, Ashanti, Benin and others were highly organised and
sophisticated at a time when Europe was underdeveloped and America was even
non-existent.
Even the first university in the world was set up in Africa. I think it was
in Timbuktu. Africa's development, Diop told us, was hampered/interrupted
around the 14th century by the heinous institutionalized enslavement.
Brothers and sisters, the lesson is therefore clear. No history written by
the white man would ever tell you these things. According to the white man's
perspective, Africans or blacks for that matter, knew no great heights of
civilisation before they (the colonialists) came.
Another thing I've noticed during my stay here is that while the educational
system in Africa, including my country, The Gambia, attempts to make its
citizens well informed about the world and its geography, your system here
tends to be inward-looking.
You are only taught about Western countries, because I presume they are the
countries that matter according to your educationists. No wonder, I have
been asked several times by people who should know better whether the Gambia
is near Brazil.
Another worrying development I've observed here is the fact that I have
visited many homes of Jamaicans, Nigerians, Barbadians, Trinidadians,
Zambians, Ugandans, even Gambians where their children cannot speak their
maternal tongue, and are as English as the average white kid. Brothers and
sisters, that has to stop.
I see no reason why a child born to an African parents here, or any where in
the world for that matter, should not speak the language of the foreign land
of his birth and the language of his parents.
Those of you from the Caribbean should speak your "PATUWA" (Caribbean
Creole) to your kids, and those of us from the African Continent should also
speak our languages to our children born here.
Remember that even our ancestors had struggle to keep/preserve some of their
old ways of doing things while they working for the slave master on their
plantations in the Americas. In fact, this struggle should explain, or give
pointers as to why one or two African cultures are still practiced/retained
in some parts of the Caribbean.
Brothers and sisters, I wouldn't be doing justice to my conscience if I
don't tell you, in clear language, that it is not only the white man who
exploited Africa and her people.
Black rule in Africa has also imposed a new kind of exploitation, this time
of blacks by blacks. In fact, some of these black oppressors are far worse
than the colonialists.
You see, most of you people think that Apartheid was the only crisis of
freedom in Africa, but take it from me that as I speak now, freedom is still
under siege in most part of Africa.
Blacks are exploiting blacks in many parts of Africa, and while every form
of exploitation is bad, the black man can be awful when he takes his turn to
oppress as we have seen in Africa.
Recently, during the war in Kosovo, many black African leaders were quick to
condemn President Milosevic of Yugoslavia for his "barbaric acts" against
the Kosovans. But are these black African leaders themselves not guilty of
the very crimes that were perpetrated by President Milosevic.
These African leaders were urging President Milosevic and the Serbs not to
harass or kill the Kosovo Albanians and also to release all political
detainees; but how many of these African leaders practice what they preach,
or apply this charity at home?
The celebrated African-American was indeed right when he asserted at the
beginning of the century, that the problem of this century, 20th, was the
colour line: blacks exploiting blacks.
The problem is still showing its ugly head, and although I do not want to
sound pessimistic, I am, nonetheless, of the view that as far as Africa is
concerned, the new millennium will still see our Continent engulfed in black
versus black struggle, the result of which will devastating.
And, of course, needless to say that the beneficiary of this internecine
strive will be the traditional exploiter who will stand by and watch our
people kill each other.
Brothers and sisters, since we are all black people - whether born here or
in Africa - the time has come for us to forge stronger links/ties, as
advocated for by Malcolm X in the early 60s, and be ready to make our voices
heard whenever we see injustice - either here or on the Continent.
As I told before in one of your programmes, it not enough to romanticise our
African roots, or our Africaness by wearing African outfits, or by listening
to African music, or by cooking African meals in our homes.
We should rather express our solidarity by speaking for each other, and by
supporting each other, be it morally or even materially if the need arises.
Let us also be more tolerant towards each other, and avoid unnecessary
confrontations among ourselves.
And I must warn you now that if we really want to assert ourselves in the
21st century and expect to be given the respect we deserve, or if we want to
rewrite our history properly, we have to acquire sound education.
This is an era of endless reading and studying. We must make sure that we
have armed ourselves with the right knowledge, so that we can finally
succeed in charting out for ourselves the right path we should follow in the
21st century.
Already, there is enough literate here that we can consult in order to
enhance our understanding of the world and the politics of our respective
governments.
For Heaven's sake, brothers and sisters, let us read more and more if not
for anything else, but for our own personal enlightenment. The books are
here, and we have to read them regardless of whether they are written by our
enemies or our friends.
Birmingham University alone has over 2 million books - more than the
population of my country. And its Centre of West African Studies has, over
the years, collected/gathered enormous materials/books about Africa, for
example.
As we are about to enter the new millennium, we should also try to be more
flexible and be more open minded, again, regardless of who is talking.
Chauvinism, narrow-mindedness should not be part of us if we want to avoid
unnecessary disputes in the new millennium.
When I arrived in this country, I promised myself that I would study more
about International Relations/Politics, but would also take courses beyond
the realm of politics.
The other day, I told Sandra that I was going to take a course in Theology
in my spare time, and she was flabbergasted!!!
"But you are a Muslim", she was quick to add. In reply, I said: "Of course,
I am a Muslim and will remain a Muslim; but what is wrong with taking a
course in Theology that would, in fact, widen my understanding of
Christianity and Christians"...
In the end, she got my point.
On a final note, Brothers and sisters, I must tell you that I have now come
to the conclusion (and this is what is consoling me now) that even if we
cannot succeed in changing our age-long image and situation as an exploited
people to one of a liberated people, the Almighty Allah will, in His own
time, intervene and put us back on track once again.
Meanwhile, I challenge you to do whatever possible, and within the scope of
the law, to make sure that we get out of the mess we've found ourselves in
as soon as possible. This is the challenge I will leave with you people
tonight.
Long live Africa! Long live the black race.
Ebrima Ceesay,
Birmingham, UK.
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