I agree wholeheartedly. But how do we get to the next level in our thinking and doing, so we don't become the" continent that once was"?
I am sure collectively we can find the answer to this if we try hard enough. But using a different way of doing things and solving our own problems first.
We need men and women with bright ideas to help us please answer some of these questions and put them in practice , not just theory-as we currently do so well.
The obstacles are so many but this is not unique to Africans alone. If others got themselves out of their hell holes, I think we too should be motivated to do same.
Politics is in the way; economics is in the way; wrong education is in the way; hunger is in the way; self hate is in the way; hero worship is in the way; everything seems to be in the way. Etc
How can these ideas come to fruition and be implemented? Do we need a Jerry Rawlings or a Julius Nyerere to help with these questions as we continue to sink (ie. drinking and sinking)? I am just wondering.
I sincerely believe though that if we believe that oft-repeated saying the first humans originated in Africa, then we too as Africans should the first originators of the solutions to our African problems instead of always looking to first, second, third, fourth anthropological derivatives from Africa who had long since settled elsewhere (eg. Europe, Asia, etc) and have practically forgotten Africa, except to come back to exploit and extract minerals for their new found lifestyles that they must support by hook or crook.
The more I think about this conundrum, the more I come to realize that we as Africans have not properly contextualized and compartmentalized the cardinals vices of greed, lust, and envy. Further, we have fallen to money,power and luxury, forgetting that these are tools that should be understood and used appropriately and not to be used or abused by them, etc.
There is too much confusion; our morals too sandwiched and too much noise in the market, so to speak, that we got all our priorities twisted and in the end, we fall to morbid selfishness and then internal and external chaos no matter how much we accumulated materially in the process.
I am still think about your thought provoking comments. You got me thinking.
Thank you.
Zumo
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
— Leo Tolstoy (Anna Karenina)
(Paraphrase: All happy nations are alike; each unhappy nation is unhappy in its own way)
"There is no justice on the earth, they say.
But there is none in heaven, either. To me
That is as plain as any simple scale.---Mozart and Salieri, Scene 1, para 1.
-----Original Message-----
From: Williams, Roberta B
Doc, thanks for sharing as always, but if we (Africans) love and respect each other and our lands, we wouldn’t have a need for the UN now would we? The problem is us Doc, we are our own problems and enemies.
Most Africans in African countries that are in power don’t want to give it up. Most that are in charge of funds, steals most of it; most that are in charge of caring for children, rape the kids; most that are in charge of lands, sell it and put the money in their pockets. The number one thing an African man love more than himself is power, funny thing is, as soon as they get it, they abuse it and forget about their people. Remembered the saying: “All my mother’s children, I love myself the best and when I get my stomach full, I don’t care for the rest”………we practice this saying everyday in African!
The UN can live in these African countries until the end of time that will not change us, we have to want change and practice it everyday!
Oh by the way, in the UN, the ones that is on the ground and the ones giving the orders to the one on the grounds are of different races, which do you think is sent on the ground? They know we don’t love and respect each other or our lands so why not send the self-hater, makes perfect sense to me, not so?
Roberta Williams
________________________________________
From Dr. Zumo
See below . And compare with other information coming from "the grounds" wherever UN is or has been stationed. You can choose to use two eyes or four eyes, as you like.
FYI
Zumo
Ivory Coast attack further complicates UN presence in Africa
From impotence in Rwandan genocide to helicopter strike on presidential palace, UN walks a fine line across continent
•
•
o David Smith in Johannesburg
o guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 April 2011 17.26 BST
UN peacekeepers patrol the streets in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Photograph: Jane Hahn/AP
The United Nations attack on Ivory Coast's presidential palace and military barracks marks a new chapter in the organisation's often chequered history in Africa.
Most notorious was its impotence during the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which 800,000 people died. The UN security council failed to reinforce the small peacekeeping force in the east African country.
Kofi Annan, head of UN peacekeeping forces at the time, admitted later: "The international community failed Rwanda and that must leave us always with a sense of bitter regret."
Between 1948 and 2007, about 40% of the UN's peacekeeping and observer missions took place in Africa. In 2009, about 70% of its personnel were deployed on the continent. The current missions are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur in Sudan, southern Sudan, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Western Sahara.
After the massacres in Rwanda and then Bosnia, the UN added the protection of civilians as a priority for each mission. But the question of how far it is willing – and able – to go to intervene remains delicate and politically charged.
The UN runs the world's biggest peacekeeping mission in Congo at an annual cost of $1.35bn (£865m) but it is constantly overstretched in the vast country. It has been accused of supporting Congolese army units responsible for grave atrocities.
Last year there were claims that peacekeepers ignored appeals for protection just days before more than 240 villagers were raped by rebels. There have been similar charges in the past, blamed on lack of equipment, manpower and intelligence capacity. UN peacekeepers in Darfur have been accused of failing to stop violence that resulted in civilian deaths.
Major General Patrick Cammaert, a Dutch marine and UN peacekeeping veteran, told the New York Times in 2009: "They can't start a war against a host government like a well-organised Sudanese campaign. That goes beyond protecting civilians; it is on a magnitude that a UN mission cannot deal with."
-----Original Message-----
From: ZumoAmos@aol.com
"Hesitancy to murder has never been the hallmark of imperialism"..Franz Fanon (1925-1961)
"As a continent, Africa will always haunt the UN Peacekeeping Missions (DPKO)"..Eeben Barlow, former South African Defence Force intelligence officer, CEO, Executive Outcomes Intl.
See FYI below:
http://www.liberianforum.com/Articles/Historical-Context-and-Real-time-projections-for-Successes-in-Africa.html
Zumo
From: Morris Kanneh
There is this tendency of people casting blame on the place they fell forgetting that the place they slipped is the principal cause of the fall in the first place. I thought it was Gbago who is more than been exposed for clinching on to power even at the precious lives of the Ivorians. But God willing he will pay for his deed in not a distance future.
Sekou
--- On Tue, 4/5/11, J. NAN LARSAH wrote:
When the UN denied these deaths early yesterday and Outtara dismissively denied said act as "nonsense" lies, it this what the UN/France/US/Outtara rebel forces "international community is hurriedly attacking Gbagbo for so as to get rid of him quickly?
Massacre in Ivory Coast
________________________________________
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
UN & France Exposed - Be warned of grusome pictures
Posted by Robbie Answer My Questions at 8:35 AM 0 comments
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Joke Of The Day
A little boy walks into his parents' room to see his mom on top of his dad bouncing up and down... the mom sees her son and quickly dismounts, worried about what her son has seen. She dresses quickly and goes to find him. The son sees his mom and asks, "What were you and Dad doing?" The mother replies, "Well, you know your dad has a big tummy and sometimes I have to get on top of itand help flatten it." "You’re wasting your time," said the boy. "Why is that?" the mom asked puzzled. "Well when you go shopping the lady next door comes over and gets on her knees and blows it right back up."
Liberians, I have few questions I would really like answers to
Please number your answer(s) to match the question(s)s you are answering.
1. What would happen if all of our Liberian non-for-profit organizations deleted their constitutions and by-laws? Most non-profit organizations outside of Liberians do not have constitutions and or by-laws. What would happen if we had no political jah-jah in our organizations?
2. What would happen if we did not put these titles before our Liberian people names? "His or Her Excellency", "Honorable", "chairperson", "Governor", and so forth and so on? If we call the president of Liberia, Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf, what will happen to us after doing so and what is the reason behind these titles anyway? Most places will say: Mr. Bush, president of the USA, not His Excellency Bush!!
3. What would happen if we really wanted to help our country Liberia and did it this way; instead of having hundreds of Liberian organizations going NOWHERE FAST? What if we divided the Liberians living in America by States and divide them by Liberia counties and terrorities. Here’s my madness: Take Liberia nine counties plus five terrorities equal fourteen areas, hopefully it is still that number from when I left. Divide that into the fifty states, which will give you 3.57 states per Liberia area. Let say, all Liberians in the 3.57 states take on one of those counties or terrorities and get together to re-build the area. Do you think Liberia will be on her feet by the year 2012? Again: 9 + 5 = 14 ÷ 50 = 3.57.
4. What if all Liberian government officials had to public a monthly "job" progress report with evidences to all Liberian newspaper? Do you think they will put effort into their jobs? What would happen if the public had the power to fire them for not doing their jobs or not doing it according to their job descriptions?
5. What if the president of Liberia, Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf was to ask each adult Liberians living outside of Liberia to send $50.00US to help re-build the schools in Liberia; how much do you think would be collected and how many schools do you think will be in the position to compete with the western world by the year 2012?
Everyone please have a blessed day and remember to answer the questions you truly can relate to.
1. What would happen if all of our Liberian non-for-profit organizations deleted their constitutions and by-laws? Most non-profit organizations outside of Liberians do not have constitutions and or by-laws. What would happen if we had no political jah-jah in our organizations?
2. What would happen if we did not put these titles before our Liberian people names? "His or Her Excellency", "Honorable", "chairperson", "Governor", and so forth and so on? If we call the president of Liberia, Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf, what will happen to us after doing so and what is the reason behind these titles anyway? Most places will say: Mr. Bush, president of the USA, not His Excellency Bush!!
3. What would happen if we really wanted to help our country Liberia and did it this way; instead of having hundreds of Liberian organizations going NOWHERE FAST? What if we divided the Liberians living in America by States and divide them by Liberia counties and terrorities. Here’s my madness: Take Liberia nine counties plus five terrorities equal fourteen areas, hopefully it is still that number from when I left. Divide that into the fifty states, which will give you 3.57 states per Liberia area. Let say, all Liberians in the 3.57 states take on one of those counties or terrorities and get together to re-build the area. Do you think Liberia will be on her feet by the year 2012? Again: 9 + 5 = 14 ÷ 50 = 3.57.
4. What if all Liberian government officials had to public a monthly "job" progress report with evidences to all Liberian newspaper? Do you think they will put effort into their jobs? What would happen if the public had the power to fire them for not doing their jobs or not doing it according to their job descriptions?
5. What if the president of Liberia, Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf was to ask each adult Liberians living outside of Liberia to send $50.00US to help re-build the schools in Liberia; how much do you think would be collected and how many schools do you think will be in the position to compete with the western world by the year 2012?
Everyone please have a blessed day and remember to answer the questions you truly can relate to.