Mandela, Thank You and Farewell

In rememberence of the passing of a man who symbolised freedom, triumph and hope, I reproduce here, the lyrics of the protest song by Special AKA. The lyrics by Jerry Dammers written at a time when Mandela was incarcirated formed part of the movement to end apartheid. Another 6 years were to pass before Nelson Mandela was to emerge from his political imprisonment. 

I remember the televising of Nelson Mandela's walk to freedom and in the months to follow the images of black South Africans lining up to for miles when they were granted the right to vote for the first time. Mandela, who became President, may not have closed the opportunity gaps between white and black South Africans, but he will be remembered for his belief in the fight for equality and the hope and possibility of redress and reconciliation.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013). Sir, we love you.

Nelson Mandela

(Jerry Dammers/Special AKA)

Free Nelson Mandela
Free free
Free free free Nelson Mandela

Free Nelson Mandela

21* years in captivity
Shoes too small to fit his feet
His body abused, but his mind is still free
Are you so blind that you cannot see

Free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela

Visited the causes at the AMC
Only one man in a large army
Are you so blind that you cannot see
Are you so deaf that you cannot hear him

Free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela

21* tears in captivity
Are you so blind that you cannot see
Are you so deaf that you cannot hear him
Are you so dumb that you cannot speak

Free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela

*27 years, in fact

Tweet and Rule

Twitter: I'm not a regular tweeter and nor do I avidly follow the tweets of the rich and supposedly famous-and-interesting. I sometimes tweet stories of interest and I occasionally get a notice that someone would like to follow my tweets. This usually prompts me to go back and see who might be interested, and though I can claim to be on Twitter so as not to sound disconnected, this is about as active as I am :). Perhaps at some point I may join up more of my various on-line activities though my current logic is that I don't want my entire life lived on-line. There have to be some elements to life that can be lived non-digitally. 

... And so perhaps there are moments like now when people like Diane Abbot may wish that too. I guess an MP's life is lived pretty much in the public domain and their choices and their words occupy a public space that makes what they say common property. The furore over Ms Abbot's tweet today, may be over blown and way out of proportion given the more important story of Stephen Lawrence but somehow it is now a big enough news story to have led to a formal apology. So what exactly did Diane Abbot tweet and what has led to this row? Well, apparently, the words ''White people love playing 'divide & rule'" have not gone down well by some media watchers and her fellow Labour politicians. Ms Abbot's party leader, the rather nondescript gentleman Ed Miliband, is reportedly outraged and has issued her a warning.

Perhaps in PC Britain, it is difficult to make a statement like she did and get away with it, but if she is speaking from a from a European colonial historical perspective, is she wrong to say this? And is she being vilified for the guilt that others feel? When it is clear that for too long the police response and the subsequent investigation into Stephen Lawrence's death has been mired with accusations of institutional racism, symptoms of confusion and embarrassment are likely to hang heavily in the public mood. Did Diane Abbot overlook the sensitivities of this or is there a ring of historical truth to her words? Did the timing of her tweet and the guilt and incompetence around the Stephen Lawrence case come together to hit a genuinely public raw nerve? 

Read more about Stephen Lawrence.

Multiculturalism: A Prime Minister Speaks

Nothing really changes. It seems that some people are never pleased, and others will pander to fashionable hysteria. It is the same today as it was yesterday as it was the day before and when I was growing up. Too many of us still need a fall guy; some-one to shift the blame onto; a bogeyman caricature; an enemy to help define ourselves.

Europe's uneasy relationship with the Islamic world is rooted in history and David Cameron speaks with rather common voice:

Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong.

We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values. So when a white person holds objectionable views – racism, for example – we rightly condemn them. But when equally unacceptable views or practices have come from someone who isn't white, we've been too cautious, frankly even fearful, to stand up to them.

Europe needs to wake up to what is happening in our own countries. We need to be absolutely clear on where the origins of these terrorist attacks lie – and that is the existence of an ideology, Islamist extremism.

At the furthest end includes those who back terrorism to promote their ultimate goal: an entire Islamist realm, governed by an interpretation of shariah.

Move along the spectrum, and you find people who may reject violence, but who accept various parts of the extremist world-view including real hostility towards western democracy and liberal values.

If we are to defeat this threat, he says, its time to turn the page on on the failed policies of the past. So first, instead of ignoring this extremist ideology, we as governments and societies have got to confront it in all its forms.

David Cameron's speech follows on the heals of Angela Merkel's "Multiculturalism Has Failed" speech in October of last year. So the man at the top of the ladder in British politics, the Queen's representative and the first man of Britain, also knocks "multiculturalism". Frankly, I don't think that Britain in anyway leads on the matter and the failure of multiculturalism must have much to do with Germany and Britain both having allowed downward signalling ghettos to exist - enclaves within their systems where migrants and their kin are forced into the outer edges of mainstream society. Add to that relative poverty and low opportunity and failure stares you right back.

Many, many societies, have people of different racial types, religious views, languages, shades and opinions and whilst no place is perfect, "multiculturalism" is probably not even a word in those places. People just soldier on with their work, their daily routines and get on with providing safety and security for their families. Multiculturalism exists in a day-in, day-out basis. It just is.

Has multiculturalism in Europe failed? Well since Europe is still riding on a past nostalgia, I'm not surprised at these kinds of speeches. It's a "blame" game, nothing else. I don't eulogise most politicians in the slightest, so fortunately I can dismiss Cameron's attempt at courting popular prejudice. For most politicians, even national leaders, I find believing that they can possibly speak without agenda, something of a challenge. But just so that Cameron is reminded - he is no Barack Obama. Barack "Hussein" Obama. You know, the African-American President with a Muslim family. But then again, Britain is no America - where immigrants, Muslims included, are the key components of the contemporary American melting pot.

Cameron and Merkel ...? Hang on to yesteryear. Stay in your little pasts.

The Art Of Manipulation

Propaganda. It's an art.

But it doesn't mean that it's any less conniving.

When I hear about some Mullahs on a UK Foreign Office tour of London it rouses my curiosity. The Mullahs are taken on-board the London Eye, where they recline, feet up, Afghan style and are treated especially well. I'm very happy for them and glad for once that Pashtoons are treated hospitably.

This does shape the visitors' opinions and when they hear of British Muslims for the first time, they learn that Muslims make up a part of the working social fabric of British society. The Mullahs are impressed. In southern Afghanistan, where there is poverty, it is perhaps not known so well that there are well-fed Muslims living in Europe. The Mullahs learn just enough to come away with the impression that British Muslims are well accommodated within British Society - free to worship and pursue their lives, and return with a message to Afghanistan that European and American forces in their country are good and are there to help.

The Foreign Office likes these types of Muslims when it serves their purposes.

But then, why do I, also Pashtoon and desiring to build bridges, not swallow this so easily?

A Very Different Reality

Perhaps, this is because it feels manipulative. I suspect that there is a deeper reason for allowing visiting Mullahs to come to Britain, especially at a time when many Brits probably feel saturated by the global Islamic presence. London is great; it's a city with lots to offer and remains one of my favourite places. Unlike the Mullahs, however, when I am in London, I have to push my way through the crowds and there is no special treatment. So a whistle-stop tour in a dynamic city as part of an official visit can create a rather superficial impression - this isn't the UK society that most Muslims that I know, are exposed to.

Consider the history - during my formative years, I came across a deep institutionalised prejudice that still shapes my thinking. This prejudice, which is built into the bricks and mortar of the social institutions we deal with daily, has still not gone away. The reality is that non-European migrants and their indigenous-born children have been at the centre of many discussions in the UK and not all favourable.

A 'Modern' Hysteria

I know what racism looks like; subtle racism, as well as overt and I know how unpleasant and damaging this can be. I am also aware that racism is primarily about ethnicity and that religious hatred is in truth, is a different thing. But look how they have come together.


The modern wave of post 9-11 anti-Muslim hysteria is traced back to an earlier time and I am deeply concious of how Muslims are continuously scapegoated for many of today's social ills. The UK is typical of its sisters in Western Europe in that Muslims have been ghettoised in the large parts to particular urban areas, often run down; where "white flight" is made up of that combination of racial prejudice and religious intolerance.

Divisions and Spoils

And then there is Afghanistan, where the military campaign is the physical front of the ideological racial and religious divide that I speak of.

President Hamid Karzai, speaks of it too, in an ever increasingly louder voice. If the Mullahs who visited London speak favourably of the military campaign in Afghanistan, then perhaps, this once, I can be forgiven for being a sceptic. There are, after all, many genuine concerns over the effectiveness of the foreign military presence, their behaviours and their governments' intentions.

Afghanistan is in need and no society is perfect. But I think it is particularly unfair to take people from a fatigued, war-torn society where a foreign military campaign is eyed with distrust and where development of social infrastructure is - lets face it - hardly without condition - to become the voice of that failing campaign. Favouring some hand picked Mullahs like this is highly manipulative and the British tactic of patronage and favouritism is how a small island nation managed to colonise half the planet.

Create the divisions and exploit the spoils.

It is an art. Though no less dishonourable.

The Colour of Blood

I have a friend* who has a done a most wonderful thing. A month ago he added to his family by travelling to Africa and adopting an orphaned child.

There will always be the argument about taking children out of their cultures - but there can never wholly be an absolute right or an absolute wrong when what stares you back in the face is a two month old child, severely undernourished, sick and weak. What choice do we make when faced with this dilemma?

Perhaps the 'ideal' solution is to move to the country so that a child can be raised amongst their own cultural kind, but it is never that easy - conflict zones have their own dangers and people often make the choice to move to places where opportunities and resources are more plentiful.

Anyway, here in the UAE, there are the usual immigration rules. The child was allowed in, but yesterday, the now three month old child had to leave the country to make a border crossing to revalidate his visa. Three months old. This would not be the case had the child been a British, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand national.

Intercontinental adoptions aside, one day, I hope, that extra privileges are not determined by things like colour of skin, passport or national identity. After all, African, Asian or white European cut the surface and then observe underneath - we all have the same colour of blood.

*he is a Pashtoon, point of fact

Avatar

War or Peace?

I would rather avoid jumping onto a bandwagon, and there are greater things to be pre-occupied about, but the film Avatar by James Cameron, is, I must confess, one, that on seeing the 3D version, I am, overall, impressed with. I'm not sure about 'white' man sympathy for native people mind - Hollywood doesn't seem to be able to quite get over this tired cliché .

Apart from the spectacle of 3D images and surround sound etc., the story - about a people's resistance to an invading force - is one that on an emotional level, is both ethical and one that I find myself having some empathy for.

The message here is very much pro-people and pro-independence. I'm all for it.

Who is Boo Radley?

Literary classics are classics because they've made a certain mark, but, usually I confess to not always enjoying the books that the world, in some form or other, seems to follow. (Perhaps this is changing, but) ordinarily, I've tended to avoid the crowd telling me what I should think. This book, therefore, presents itself as something of a surprise discovery.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a modern literary classic. I never did read the book at school, had never read a review and knew little of the classical film that it was turned into. All of which is a relief because the book would have had a different set of attachments altogether. I happened to pick up the book, quite by accident, at a bookstore here in Abu Dhabi last year. I began reading it before summer, but forgot to pack it when I travelled. I then resumed the remainder of the book on my return.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a real warm story of growing up in Alabama in the 1930s, seen from the perspective of a (white) child. The moral of the story? Never be too quick to judge ... you never know a person until you've walked in their shoes. The children in the book, Scout and Jem have an inspirational father in the shape of Atticus Finch who remains a level headed character throughout - he stands up there as a fine role model for both his children and his community. The racial tensions are captured by Harper and dealt with sensitively - Tom Robinson, the (black) man on trial becomes a fall guy, though as Atticus points out, not the first in America's history.

Boo Radley, is an interesting character - he lives only doors away - the children's imagination about him only adds to the rumours of his isolation. Harper Lee never wrote much beyond this book after it was published in 1960, and whilst Boo Radley turns out to be a hero in the end, he is never seen again by Scout and Jem never gets to thank him. We never, as a result get to know him and continues to remain a mystery that Harper, never quite solves for us.

Favourite quotes?
1. "Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts."
2. "Atticus had said it was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in, not about what you were interested in."

Don't Let Your Eyes Deceive You

... continued from last posting ...

It is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us

My concern with the whole Geneva Conference on racism is how many countries boycotted the event - Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and the United States. It's perhaps naive to think that there aren't occasions where people are forced into a boycott, but to not participate raises a concern about commitment to the premise of human equality. If we are divided because racism exists, then other struggles for equality - gender, cultural identity, religion and class will never happen. As someone anonymous once remarked: "There is only one race - the human race". The boycotting countries have a certain something in common - politically they are perceived as "white" and most yield influences that could have been exercised positively in the fight against racism.

I don't know of any society where there isn't some guilt or that hasn't had to deal with some kind of internal issues with race and racism, but there are historical examples of where entire social systems have been built on racial exploitation and legal division. These have tended to be in places where Europeans have held power, either as colonialists or in the post-colonial world. You'll find many European expats here in the Gulf enjoying a very privileged lifestyle, not accessible to the poor South Asian labour force.

Here from where I sit in the Arab world, there is a political perception of the Iran which is unique to the Arabs - reactions to Iran coming from Europe and the West are different. The subtleties of this are often not understood, but exploited into a "them and us" situation which is essentially anti-Iran, anti-Ahmedinejad and ultimately anti-Muslim. Isn't it precisely this very attitude that leads us towards the racism that we should be challenging? Iran - whilst not perfect, is what the West-leaning Gulf isn't; it's actually a multi-party system where universal suffrage exists for all people over 15. According to my last check, the current Leader of Britain, Mr Gordon Brown, was not elected by the populace and governments in the Gulf are almost completely made up of ruling families.

The conference may have been a sham, but that was due to other forces of distrust. Many may conclude that much of the non-participation was about a cynical desire to preserve the global racial inequality status quo and not just because Iran was there.

“In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.” Janet Jackson, Rythmn Nation 1814

In Complete Darkness We Are All The Same

Spectrum of Diversity

According to Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840), there are five colour typologies for humans: white people, black people, yellow people, red people and brown people. This is of course, a very rigid definition. It says nothing about culture, language, migration and social identify and is a definition that most rightly minded people would question today. Blumenbach was a proponent of "Scientific Racism" - a kind of pseudo-Science used to justify racism. Think American Slavery, Nazism and Apartheid to name a few. Thank goodness it's not the 17th century today...

... but, have we really moved on? Just look at the world today. We are still divided, even if not always by colour (whatever that is). Earlier this week, Penta Inspectors reporting back to the Education Council descended their presence on Al Shawamekh, our coveted boys' school here in Bani Yas. They did what lots of inspectors do, sat and pontificated, snooped around, interviewed people, did the obligatory lesson obs, drank tea with each other and so. Penta fulfill a role as an Ofsted-type inspectorate and would claim to be staffed by people who will have had some school leadership in the UK etc. Most, I figure are here in Abu Dhabi to enjoy the sun and splash around in a pool.

Al Shawamekh is a middle school for boys, and typical of government schools here is staffed entirely by teachers from across the Arab world - Egypt, Palestine, Jordon, Syria, Yemen, the Sudan and the Emirates. One of the inspectors was a remarkably rude and obnoxious person who asked me if I was the ICT teacher after witnessing a little disturbance outside a class. He wouldn't have asked me if I was white because he made the assumption that Advisors in school were likley to be "Western" and since I don't follow the "look" (racially speaking of course), the disorderly class was seen to be as a result of the nearest brown adult. Suffice to say, I was glad to see the back of this rude and racist man when he went.

Race is one of those things that we must be extremely sensitive to, so I followed with interest some of the goings on at the Durban Review: World Conference Against Racism in Geneva, Switzerland this week. Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was one of the most high profile speakers and not surprisingly, he upset a few people with his ideas this week. It didn't start off well - there were hecklers at the very beginning who threw items at him and the European Union reps walked out at the beginning of his speech. We see Ahmedinejad through a largely one-sided political frame, and so it's understandable why many folk would be annoyed at his utterances. He's a maverick to some, an enemy to others, and respected by those who respect him.

continued in next posting ...

“In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.” Janet Jackson, Rhythmn Nation 1814