africa

African Citizenship for African Americans and a place to call home!

29 Octobre 2019 , Rédigé par Caro Sika Publié dans #politics, #panafricanism, #carosika, #ENG, #ghana, #africa

Mama Imakhus Okofu on the left and Auntie Earna on the right

We Cannot Call Anywhere Our Home

We cannot call anywhere our home!!

Here is the plea of so many African Americans, who proudly consider Africa to be the land of their ancestry and ancestors.

As I was checking out the bold launch of The State of the Diaspora last week in Paris, which pegged itself to the official entity that is the 6th region of the African Union, I met two beautiful African American sisters who have repatriated to Ghana and encourage others to do so.

The 6th region has an important role in their view, as it is meant to be the official entity representing all the Historic Unique African Diasporas as a result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade such as Black people of African Descent in South America, North America and the Caribbean… which account for 170 million people according to the African Union (AU). These groups, despite their African descent are not granted African Citizenships, even though a proportion of them would happily repatriate to Africa should they have the opportunity and legal right to do so. Hence, the importance for these unique groups to be constituted into a State attached to the African Union to be accounted for and eventually granted citizenships. Whilst the 6th region has full legitimacy, the auto-proclaimed creation of a State of the Diaspora is regrettable in my view.

I believe that the alleged Prime Minister would have gained much more credibility as a Head of Project aiming to constitute a State represented by a Government democratically elected. Additionally, it must be said that this project of a State has only received the backing of 3 countries, so far, that are part of the African Union. It would need far more than a 5th of African States supporting the initiative to have a legitimate existence.

As a result, this meeting was vehemently boycotted by a number of Pan African groups. I do understand their stance although I deeply dislike the manner in which some of these groups came to the press conference to publicly humiliate those involved not considering that the Caribbean and South American dignitaries who were present had a different status. There are ways of expressing disagreement, even to condemn actions but, disrespecting flesh and blood will never take us very far as a people. In my view, it simply demonstrates very little respect for oneself and others.

Coming back to my two precious sistahs, both retirees in their seventies; they had flown over from Ghana, connected flights at Addis Ababa to arrive in Paris to see what they could learn from their brothers and sisters in Europe. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be so and after hate speeches broke out at the press conference, one of our precious Mamas fell ill and was urgently taken to hospital in an ambulance due to high blood pressure. I am so grateful that both my friend Mohamadou and myself were there at the time it happened and were able to support as it was out of the question that they should be left on their own, knowing that they couldn’t speak French.

As for me, the value of attending this event was meeting with them and what I found out about their plea.

Auntie Earna is a beautiful sistah from Detroit who repatriated to Ghana when she retired from her teaching job. Auntie Earna’s first encounter with the continent of her ancestors was at 8 years old when she met a first African national. At 11 years old, she was given her first National Geographic magazine by her dad which had he found on a bus. She read all about different places in Africa and knew then that’s where she wanted to go. Her dad admonished her to have a good education as this would be her passport to go anywhere in the world. When she was 15, a secondary school teacher introduced her class to African History in which they were taught about the different African countries and their capitals. As a young adult, Earna started to meet a variety of African Nationals such as Ethiopians, Ghanaian and more and she started working 2 to 3 jobs so one day she could go to Africa. This she eventually did, going back and forth to 18 African countries taking students and teachers with her. Then in June 2000 after a key encounter, she bought a piece of land in Ghana, built her house in 2002 and retired there from teaching. However, it took almost 15 years for her to be granted citizenship. Auntie Earna would say “So many of us are interested in going back. Quite a few of us ended up going to Ghana”. However, once they arrive in Ghana, many African Americans who currently amount to 7,000 people in Ghana alone, pensioners contributing to a minimum of 63 million dollars a year, often have a tourist visa and become illegal once the tourist visa has run out, as there is no swift procedure to recognise this Historical Unique diaspora as lawful Africans.

Mama Imakhus Okofu also known as “One Africa” decided to repatriate to Ghana in 1989 with her husband. They own a health resort which serves as a retreat. Mama Imakhus believes that the mission given to her by the ancestors is “to help as many people as possible to escape from the US.”

To her, The United States remains a land of exploitation of the Black race, the only place in the world where Black citizens are an amendment to the constitution (3/5th of a man), who have eventually been bonified as full humans and granted citizenships. Up to today, she will explain that the Voters Rights Bill still determines every 25 years if Black people can continue voting. Black people, who are undeniably, the builders of America, the farming land, are the only ethnic group this applies to.

However, for these Africans born in America who have been called “negros, coloured, black, Afro-American, African-American”, the reality is bleak when it comes to being recognised on the African continent. Many retirees arrive in Africa with the will and the desire to contribute to the development of the country only to be looked upon as outsiders.

As Ghana was publicly declaring “the year of return”, both Earna and Imakhus attended the Homecoming Summit only to realise that this call to the diaspora was for Ghanaians leaving abroad. Yet, they are hopeful that the message is more than a touristic plot and this year, 250 African Americans who have lived in the country for over 25 years have applied for citizenship and are awaiting a conclusive outcome.

One Africa has also championed a petition in Ghana, click below for more information on the work of these two beautiful sistahs and mamas, as well as for more info on the 6th region of the AU.

Sign the Petition

0 have signed. Let's get to 1,000! PETITION TO AMEND THE NAMES OF THE CAPE COAST AND ELMINA CASTLES *Note* Petition written and initiated by Seestah IMAHKÜS Njinga Okofu Ababio, CEO One Africa** The

https://www.change.org/p/museums-and-monuments-board-and-government-of-ghana-to-amend-the-name-of-cape-coast-and-elmina-castle-to-include-the-word-dungeon

One Africa

Thank you for considering One Africa Health Resort as the place for your accommodations during your visit to Ghana. At One Africa Health Resort, we provide the very best in health and wellness ...

https://www.oneafricahealthresort.com/

The Diaspora Division

Acting Head of Division: Ms. Eiman Kheir The Diaspora Division is under the Directorate office of the Department. It takes directives and instructions from the Directorate office. The African ...

https://au.int/en/diaspora-division

iamnot4sale - A CAMPAIGN TO END SLAVERY IN LYBIA!

14 Janvier 2019 , Rédigé par www.afrocultureblog.com Publié dans #society, #2019, #ENG, #gambia, #africa

To join the movement and more info www.iamnot4sale.org

#iamnot4sale is a platform for raising awareness of the plight of African migrants being sold as slaves in Libya, which was launched in January 2018. Fundraising events are staged and Tshirts are on sale to raise money for those who have been directly affected. Artists are encouraged to join the movement and sing against slavery with initiatives like the #iamnot4sale Song Challenge.

#iamnot4sale also proactively works to prevent migrants from using the illegal route to Libya known as the “backway”, by supporting initiatives on the ground. The first initiatives are in Gambia, where they have partnered with organisations preventing young people from undertaking this journey to Hell and supporting returnees’ reintegration into their communities.

To support the campaign and buy your #iamnot4sale Tshirt, click website link below:

Home

EVERY MOMENT COUNTS Red Entertainment and Afro Culture are promoting #iamnot4sale as a platform for raising awareness of the plight of African migrants being sold as slaves in Libya. We are staging

http://iamnot4sale.org/

Read on for more info and pics!!

#iamnot4sale movement in the Gambia

Leading artists behind #iamnot4sale

#iamnot4sale at Heirborn Legacy!!

Gambian artists supporting #iamnot4sale

#iamnot4sale fundraising events in London and Paris

Rose Lokissim - An outstanding soldier, a tragic destiny

15 Mai 2018 , Rédigé par www.afrocultureblog.com Publié dans #blackhistory, #society, #roselokissim, #ENG, #tchad, #africa

Rose Lokissim (1955-1986) was one of the first women to become an elite soldier in Chad.

Rose was born around 1955 in a small and remote village in Chad, to one of her father’s wives. Not much is known about her childhood, other than that she was a calm and peaceful child with a strong will. By the time she was twelve, she was able to hold back her father in a fit of fury. Hardworking and ambitious, she refused to let her gender hold her back and by the time she was around 23, she joined the Chadian Army and went on to become one its first female elite soldiers.

When she joined the army, there was a civil war in full swing. The former President had been killed ca. three years prior and around one year later, in 1979, rebel forces led by Hissène Habré took the capital, collapsing any kind of authority structure in the country. Now there were armed groups contending for power, the French colonialists (who just had to give up Chad as a colony in 1960 when it gained independence) rapidly lost influence and the whole country was in chaos. In 1982, Hissène Habré officially became President of Chad. Violently crushing his opposition he quickly turned his reign into a dictatorship. Soon everyone who dared speak against him was persecuted and the people lived in fear of denunciation. Around 40.000 people were killed during his eight years in power. By 1984, Rose realized she could no longer be a part of this army and had joined by then the opposition.

She began to smuggle information to rebel forces and to speak out against the regime, hoping to gain international attention to remove Habré from office. However on December 14th of the same year, Rose and several others were arrested by the DDS, Habré’s secret police. The arrest was painful, involving electro shocks and a fair deal of violence. They were brought to La Piscine, an underground swimming pool that had been turned into a windowless prison. Rose was seen as a real threat by the DDS as only a day later she was taken to Les Locaux in N’Djamena, a prison for notorious criminals (mostly political prisoners), and instead of a women’s cell was taken to a cell to share with 60 men. Its real name was Cell C but it was known as the Cell of Death as few prisoners made it out of there alive.

Rose survived. After eight months she was transferred to a women’s cell. She would be the one to unite her fellow prisoners, keeping their hopes for a better future alive. They had friends in the prison too: there were officers who were willing to pass on messages to their families, letting them know they were still alive – or how and when they died. Rose was instrumental in smuggling out those messages.

At some point, the prisoners were given soap by one of those officers and Rose had an idea. She asked her friends to keep the soap boxes intact and give them to her, 15 boxes in total. She started to write on them about her experiences in prison in excruciating detail. She chronicled death, burials and torture. She recounted the officers who came to see the prisoners. And she described the abuse, the torture, the beatings, the sexual assault and the deprivation of food. After running out of soap boxes, she continued to write on scraps of cigarette paper and anything else she could find. Despite all warnings of the consequences these notes would yield not only for her but for all the women in her cell, she was determined to leave evidence of the inhumane treatment she and her fellow prisoners had to endure. For one year she kept on writing in secret, hiding even from her friends.

In 1986 Rose was due to be released but word about her documentation reached Habré. Her writings were immediately confiscated and she was transferred back to Cell C. She was executed on May 15th at the age of 33 years old, and buried in a mass grave known as Plain of the Dead.

In 1990, Habré was overthrown by the former President, Idriss Déby, but it wasn’t until 2016 that he was sentenced to life in prison for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during his rule in a charge led by the victims of his regime. Among the documents that sealed his conviction, found in the abandoned DDS headquarters, were files on Rose Lokissim. There was proof that in the two years she was imprisoned, Rose had never faltered, never given in on her position, instead she was vocal about it and considered a true threat by the secret police, even as she was in prison. The files also contained her final words:

“If I die, it will be for my country and family.

History will talk about me and I will be thanked for my services to the Chadian nation.”

Sources

http://historyheroines.com/2020/02/21/rose-lokissim/

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/05/talking-rose-150521103155485.html

http://en.rfi.fr/africa/20150421-talking-about-rose-story-one-womans-struggle-against-brutal-dictatorship-chads-hisse

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