Finally, 4135 days late (or 10 years and 120 days later), the British Establishment is agreeing with the million British citizens at Hyde Park on Valentine’s Day 2003 – by declaring Tony Blair “mad” on Iraq. On that 2003 Valentine’s Day, when this writer flew into London from Banjul to report on the Hyde Park Demonstration, Blair hid away from the million strong crowd – and left it to the late great Tony Benn and the American Rev. Jesse Jackson to address the crowd and condemn Blair’s and Bush’s War (UK & USA citizens were against the war by huge majorities).
The Banjul Observer, Harare Herald and Addis Herald headlined my report “World Against War” and indeed the Blair/Bush Madness was demonstrated against in every major world capital city that Valentine’s Day. Nevertheless, Blair and Bush had their war and set the Middle East on fire destroying probably up to 10 million lives: they then retired to their ranches to enjoy rich retirements.
Now, in June 2014, when the vicious Islamic jihadists threaten to overthrow the bloody “democracy” that Blair and Bush installed bloodily, Blair pops up and advocates for a new bombing campaign in both Iraq – and Syria! To the chagrin of many British people, Blair also declared that he and Bush are “not to blame” for the chaos in Iraq today. That attempt at self-justification has led to Blair’s condemnation by much of the British Press. And our London Mayor Boris Johnson has called Blair “unhinged” – and one couldn’t better that!
I just wish to ask, in vain, that ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda demand an un-redacted copy of the Iraqi War Report that is to be released in UK soon (apparently, the British people will only get a much redacted copy of that report – with much of Blair’s and Bush’s pre-war discussions blacked out).
Dida Halake
London, UK
Skin bleaching: Fighting the devil within
Dear editor,
Skin bleaching within the womenfolk is becoming alarming. It has been here from a long time but we are again witnessing its increment in an unprecedented manner, which is only disturbing considering the fact that it will only increase the possibility of more diseases and also racial inferiority, which is ironically the major cause of the bleaching problem itself.
The black man and woman as a result of an ongoing process of mental colonisation, has continuously been bombarded of the fallacy that the black skin is inferior to the white skin. The tide is so strong that this fallacy becomes etched in our minds, thereby perpetuating the bleaching phenomenon. This gradually became an almost accepted norm in our societies, that is slowly but surely taking a life of its own.
However looking seriously at the side effects which are many and dangerous, one is apt to realise that something must be done to stem its tide. From skin cancer, asthma to severe birth defects in ladies, the effects are too many to enumerate here. With the poverty that plagues our societies we must be realistic as to how can we treat all of these very dangerous diseases on a mass scale.
It’s clear as day that the entire scope of the bleaching problem lies in the sad fact of colonization. After long years of been subjects, the notion of superiority becomes something that the conqueror instills in the consciousness of the conquered. In so doing the African person especially the black man, comes to see the European and the Caucasian as his superior. So the first stop in fighting this diabolical attitude of self hate is in supporting the continuity of the decolonisation of the African continent. Fighting the political and economic hegemony was one thing but fighting the psychodynamics that support and perpetuate self hate amongst our people is a whole other thing that should be in continuous cyclical motion.
Decolonisation starts with the mind, so unless the mind is free of all those notions of one race’s superiority over another, the entire restructuring of the African agenda will be a total failure. The bleaching is an indication of the disease and not necessarily the disease itself. So in tackling the menace let’s not forget real problem itself is more spiritual than it’s physical. The psychological effects of seeing Hollywood portraying the beautiful one as the white one, goes a long way in defining for the African woman her approach to beauty itself.
Teaching our young ones the beauty and appreciation of self is a key point in the realization of the eradication of this bleaching problem. Knowledge of self, starting from teaching an authentic and positive history of the black race and Africa in the schools, to establishing proper mechanisms in reaching out to the wider society. Decolonisng the educational system is a top priority in this fight. For so long our historical narratives have been confine to what the European wrote on us whiles the researches that have been done by our own African historians are hardly featured in our curriculums.
Alieu Bah
Sanyang
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