FW: 'Time-tested Friends'. Who are they?
Self-Help News
Editorial Notes
The below e-mail is a another example demonstrating the Afrika and Diaspora Institute (Adi) drive to give progressive pointers to assist us in narrowing differences of opinions among us, which are major hindrances to our way forward.
Many of us continued to be being enveloped by dormancy. We speak a great deal, but our creative minds and actions failed to keep pace with our rhetoric. In that state of immobility, some of us became automatons, repeating pre-programmed thoughts of our ancestors’ and even our enemies’, and being, or shown to being, incapable of adjusting to, and resolving contemporary human crises.
As a result, consensus and collective actions are suspended, unable to maintain momentum in confronting common challenges and achieving gains in our contest to realise practical, concrete, meaningful and lasting outcomes,.
In effect, Adi is asking, ‘who are our allies?’ ‘Where is the evidence of our unity and sacrifices for the Cause we professed?’ The answer to that can only be demonstrated in our actions – historical and contemporary.
And those of us who might be able to produce hard evidence of our progressive actions – what difference are we making on the ground? What further actions must we take to be more consensus and productive ?
To others, will we be continuing in our automaton modes?
Editorial Collective
SELF-HELP NEWS – “Giving Voice to the Voiceless.”
From: Afrika and Diaspora Institute [mailto:a...@ubol.com]
Sent: 28 February 2016 22:40
To: selfhe...@ubol.com
Cc: 'Afrika and Diaspora Institute' <a...@ubol.com>
Subject: 'Time-tested Friends'. Who are they?
Greetings All
Some readers might well asked – ‘what is meant by the term Time-tested Friends?’.
Time-tested Friends are those who embrace, as a way of ‘sacred’ aspirations, which are found wherever Humanity is found. Those among us who did not, are not, and, if they engaged in the subjugations, exploitations and caricaturing of people and, specifically, Afrikan people, had apologised and made and making amends for theirs’ and their Ancestors’ wrong deeds. Afrikans, who are defined by their indigenous DNA, those at home and those abroad.
We have demanded, demanding, fought and fighting strong and hard for the realisations of our collective demands, locally, regionally, nationally and globally, that is, Afrikan unity, self-defence, security, self-determination, heritage retrieval, peace, prosperity and well-being.
And we are equally aware that, in the final analysis, the bigger and wider issues are about attributes - Truth, Justice and Right Actions. There is a commonality, universally recognised by the aware, that these attributes are found within all races and gender. It is not alien or even difficult for true freedom fighters – mind liberators, to embrace globally, in whatever discipline and their ethnic compositions, in which they are engaged.
No amount of theologies or ideologies are able to truly deny these fundamental truths. We gained from collective courage, strengths, and victories in our recognition of these truths, as we retain our own individually and culturally sensitive leaderships for accurate interpretations of our needs. Yet we synergised these with others for the greater good.
Prejudices, racism, xenophobia, class, tribal and theological separations, fuelled and driven by lusts, wealth, power, desires to conquer others, often distorted these attributes. Invariably, Afrikans are caught up in the turbulences of these distortions. As a result, many of us are blinded by our own pains and sufferings which permit us only to see ‘colour race and even gender’ and not the bigger and wider picture. Our enemies used this ‘single focus’ to kettle, contain or corral our minds into religious, ideological and even gender pens.
There they managed and manipulated our minds over many generations. Any feasible united strategy developed by the corralled to break free is quickly stamped on and defused. First by briberies, where corruption failed, assassinations, and when all failed, the armed services are sent in to reinforce status quo.
We need allies in our fight for change. We must be courageous, skilful and effective in finding these outside of our narrow confines of thoughts and deeds. We must learn to recognise our Time-tested Friends, who are willing and able to join our fight for truth, justice and right actions, overtly and covertly, because, based on their historical and consistent stance on principles, Afrikan fight is also theirs, and theirs ours. In this type of fight, we are never alone. We just need to know how to identify our allies. Probably they already identified us.
Multi-nationals, imperialist players became what they are globally because they built alliances with others of like minds across the world for mutual benefits. Today, they are reaping the fruits of their labour. If we are to achieve a level playing field, Global Afrika must understand this type of geo-political chess games, free from emotions and sentimentalities. Global Afrika has a great deal of brain power, much left idle for some time, which must now be brought on-line, readied to put into service for our collective benefits. Productive consensus among ourselves must be our password.
Not all indigenous DNA identified Afrikans are fighting, and will fight, on the side of Truth, Justice and Right Actions. Afrikans are not homogenous in thoughts and deeds. Not all those who look like us are necessarily our friends and allies. This, too, must be clearly understood.
It is not inevitable that those who seem to be on the top today and abusing their powers, will always be there tomorrow.
In getting to know one another better, let us re-evaluate our strategies for change, assessing relevance to address our Afrikan collective needs of the twenty first century.
Above all, ensuring always that the four self-help SWEP Principles are factored in all our plans. That is, Share, Warn, Encourage and Protect, in times of plenty and times of scarcity, rejecting mendacity, larceny and slothfulness.
Afrika and Diaspora Institute (Adi)