Sunday Times Emancipation Magazine

Sunday Times August 2015

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Emancipation Magazine

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he African Cultural & Development Association (ACDA) notes that most Guyanese of African descent cannot tract their ancestral roots to a particular African nation. As such, each year the association celebrates one African country as part of its focus on educating Guyanese about a region that has played an important part in our history.

Additionally, to educate youths so that they can learn of and from these individuals, the association identifies historical figures and global personalities; Africans or those who contributed significantly to African society.

This year, ACDA honours the Republic of Niger (Niger). Locating in a landlocked West Africa Sahara region, Niger is four-fifths the size of Alaska. It is surrounded by Mali, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso. The Niger River, in the southwest, flows through the country's only fertile area.

Elsewhere the land is semiarid.

Prior to French colonisation, Niger played a valuable part in pre-history, especially considering the fact it was a part of four major empires

Michael Akindele

Marcus Garvey

the need to build Guyanese families through economic strength via entrepreneurship.

Global African leaders identified by ACDA and celebrated for Emancipation 2015 are Luzia, King Tutankhamen, Marcus Garvey, and Imhotep.

ping company known as the Black Star Line, a counterpart to a white-owned company called the White Star Line. Garvey started the shipping company in 1919 as a way to promote trade, but also to transport passengers to Africa. He believed it could also serve as an important and tangible sign of black success.

Rekindling past glory

The skeleton of Luzia, a young African woman, was found in Brazil in 1975.

Tests proved she lived in the region more than 12,000 years ago, before any other group known to date came through the Bering Strait.

King Tutankhamen, usually referred to as King Tut,

Entrepreneurship

The global African youth innovators and entrepreneurs celebrated for Emancipation 2015 are Anesi and Osine Ikhianosime, Winifred Selby and Michael Akindele.

Anesi and Osine

Anesi and Osine Ikhianosime

and kingdoms: the Songhai Empire (600–1591); the Hausa kingdoms (mid 14th century – 1808); the Mali Empire (1230-1600); and the Kanem-Bornu Empire (early 9th century – 1900).

Niger is a country with a very rich history and culture, and ACDA proudly showcases this for the 2015 Emancipation celebrations.

ACDA’s theme for Emancipation 2015 is “Rekindling Our Past Glory through Youth Innovation”.

The sub-theme is “Building Strong Families through Entrepreneurship”.

The association explains that it has chosen these themes in recognition of the importance in youths knowing their history and the legacy of their ancestors who have been on this Earth for three million years as manifested by the skeleton of Lucy (Dinkenesh), and

is known as the “Boy King”.

His tomb revealed the richness and creativity of ancient Egypt. The pyramids of this period highlight the technology, mathematics, science and engineering skills of African people.

Imhotep, born in Egypt in 2649 BC, was a black African and the world’s first multi-genius. He was the world’s first recognised physician, an architect (built the world’s first stone pyramid), an astronomer, philosopher, poet and scribe. He was worshipped as a god for more than two centuries after he died.

Marcus Garvey, at age 28, founded the United Negro Improvement Association just over 100 years ago in 1914. At his Madison Square Garden conference in 1921, there were 50,000 people. His most famous economic venture was a ship-

Ikhianosime, 13 and 15 years old respectively, are Nigerian brothers who built a mobile web browser alternative to Google Chrome.

The young problem solvers got tired of waiting for Google Chrome to load on their mobile phones and decided to do something about it. They decided to build a better mobile browser and called it Crocodile Browser Lite 3.0. It is currently live and ready for download in the Google Play store.

By the age of seven and nine, the duo knew they wanted to start their own technology company. Inspired by Microsoft Windows platform, they decided to name their company Doors. However, they later discovered that the name was taken and changed it to Blu Doors, which is still the name of the company today.

At the ages of 12 and 14,

Winifred Selby poses with a bamboo bike she designed with Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative

they decided to take on the task of learning how to code and taught themselves, using sites like Code Academy, Code Avenger and books like “Android for Game Development” and “Games for Dummies”.

They plan to create a better browser for low-end featured phones, one that is needed for the developing world. While Chrome and other browsers work great on high-end smart phones, the majority of the world is not using this technology and need a low-end option that still provides quick browser response, and this is what the young men did.

A young Ghanaian entrepreneur, Winifred Selby costarted the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative when she was just 15. The award-winning company makes bicycles out of bamboo and has caught the attention of global organisations. While at school, Selby discovered a number of things about Ghana, and the continent in general, that deeply upset her. She said: “I always say Africans are the richest… there are so many things we have and can add value to make a change. But Africans always seem to think they cannot do something extraordinary, but rather only people from foreign countries can.”

She also realised there was demand for an affordable mode of transport in her country after learning many students in Ghana have to walk miles to get to school. She found out that farmers faced a similar challenge and often had to walk great distances carrying heavy loads to get produce to markets, due to a lack of transportation in agricultural areas. Additionally, there is the high unemployment level and the reality that Ghana needs many more growing businesses and entrepreneurs to provide much needed jobs. All of these things frustrated Selby, and

she desperately wanted to be part of as many solutions as possible.

She said: “I was 15, a student, and didn’t have any money. I can’t make cars – they are too expensive. But I kept thinking what I could do to add value to bring a change in Africa? And then I realised what to do because I [remembered] my country is blessed with many things.”

One is bamboo, which Ghana has an abundance of.

And it wasn’t long before she – with the help of two older students, Bernice Dapaah and Kwame Kyei – discovered they could convert the bamboo into sturdy, shock-

20, was named a 2014 Anzisha Prize finalist, an award for African entrepreneurs between 15 and 22 years old who use entrepreneurship to solve problems in their communities. She has also been recognised as a 2014 Set Africa Fellow, and WEF Global Shaper.

Michael Akindele, a 30-year-old Nigerian phone entrepreneur, has been making great strides in the mobile device market — even challenging tech giants such as Apple. The company, SOLO Phone, was started in 2012 and Akindele serves as director and co-founder. The company is aimed at deliver-

Death mask of King Tutankhamen

resistant bicycle frames.

And so the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative was born.

Five years later the company employs around a dozen people fulltime, produces between 60 and 100 bicycles a month, and has provided hundreds with a form of transport. The bikes have found a large export market and received some international recognition.

In November 2013, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon took a spin on one of Selby’s bikes at the Warsaw Climate Change Conference.

Selby, who just turned

ing mobile solutions, services, and platforms to consumers all at a reasonable price.

The company’s smart phones are priced at US$150 and have up to 20 million free songs licensed by Sony, Universal, and Warner.

Its latest release is an app named Video-On-Demand, available to all Nigerians with an Android device and makes available Nollywood and Hollywood movies.

SOLO Phone can definitely challenge other giants within the market, Akindele believes. (Information provided by ACDA)

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Mocha Arcadia villager excels against the odds to prove Guyanese resilience

ecently admitted to the Bar in Fiji, Guyanese Andrew Liverpool is a young academic who is determined to be successful in everything he pursues.

Liverpool, 25, grew up in the village of Mocha Arcadia located on the outskirts of East Bank Demerara. He was raised by his mother, a single parent who is now a chef, and his grandmother, a proprietor of a well-known bar and grocery store in Mocha.

Liverpool was a former student of the Headstart Nursery, Winfer Gardens Primary, North Ruimveldt Multilateral School, St Joseph’s High and President’s College, and one who performed exceptionally well throughout his years at these institutions.

However, the highlight of his high school academic life was when he was regarded as the first from his community to have had attended President’s College, placing among the top five at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations, where he gained best Sociology and History student for that year.

Regarding his university and graduate days, Liverpool was afforded the opportunity of gaining a place to read for his Bachelor of Laws in 2009. After he completed and obtained his law degree in 2012, Liverpool was accepted in 2014 to do his Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at the University of Fiji, which he recently completed with a 4.0 GPA – a perfect score.

He is now said to be the first from Mocha to have obtained a Bachelor of Law and the first to have been admitted to the Bar and become a barrister and solicitor – what we call an attorney- at-law.

A career in law

In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Liverpool revealed that the reason he was prompted to pursue law stemmed from his “activism in youth development and the yearning to see opportunities granted and a voice being given not only for the underprivileged but also for the misguided.” “[Through] advocacy, youths can be able to express not only opinions but innovative ideas to make realistic changes to our society, which, as a consequence, would foster development in building a much more modern state that can meet the demands of an ever changing global village,” he declared.

“It is with this in mind

that I saw law as not only an avenue to be informed and be paid through a well established clientele, but as an avenue to achieve the goal of providing a voice for youths in particular. Especially coming from a community as mine where not much attention in the past was given to youth development, and limited inspiration provided from the lack of role models sparked my flame to rise above the negativity and impact, inspire and motivate those who I can along the way until my objective is achieved. It is interesting to note that to a further extent the other factor can be linked to the notion of genetic traits. My father as well, who is a US-based Guyanese, had also studied law and gained his Masters in Law at the Harvard University, so I would contend that it is a mixture of the two above mentioned factors which had propelled me to pursue law,” Liverpool noted.

Overcoming challenges

There were challenges in pursuing his studies, but Liverpool rose above them all. One such challenge was financial. Liverpool disclosed that being in a single-parent household was challenging financially, but with support from his grandmother he was able to “breathe somewhat a bit lighter”.

“I can vividly remember having to break the news to my mother of gaining entry into the Law Department at the University of Guyana.

Her expression, even though seemed very elated and overjoyed, was very worried for she would now have to start tailoring herself to prepare for the financial demands of maintaining not only me and my sister, but now my sister – and a law student – as funny as it sounds. The first challenge I had was after beginning classes, my grandmother had sacrificed and bought a laptop for me to perform at the rate that she knew I could. It all seemed to be going well until two weeks after bandits broke into our home and stole the very same laptop and all the other items I got as gifts for my sustenance as a student. The foreseen challenges started to roll in: from having to visit a friend’s home and stay till the wee hours of the morning, to staying at an internet café until the proprietor would tell me he’s about to close and I have to leave, to having to walk whether in the rain or sun to get whatever I needed to get done due to lack of finances to catch a vehicle. However, this never

Andrew Liverpool (left) at the High Court of Fiji, on the day he was admitted to the bar

stopped me but fuelled me to cross the finish line as I did in 2012,” he recalled.

Liverpool remained in Guyana due to lack of funding to attend law school, nevertheless, he was afforded the opportunity to work with reputable law firms locally. In the latter half of 2013, he was employed at the National Insurance Scheme as a data entry clerk for the night shift, working from 11pm to 7am.

However, he found a different outlook to life since he was able to meet many others who were either doing their masters or second degree, and that inspired him to fight for his dreams.

Moving to Fiji

It was also a motivation to once again refocus his energies in gaining admissions into law school. He was accepted to the University of Fiji – this time he had managed to obtain finances from a fellow villager who saw the passion Liverpool possessed to make not only his community proud, but his country as well.

After completing his studies at the University of Fiji, Liverpool managed to gain two job offers from two senior and well-respected law firms in Fiji. Currently, he is employed as a barrister and solicitor at the M.A. Khan Esq. Barristers and Solicitors

Law Firm in Fiji.

Liverpool partly credits his Guyanese heritage for his success and believes that Guyanese excel wherever they are.

“It matters not what field we are placed in or what job is given to us. We value hard work and respect the process that is required to get to where we need to be in order to attain whatever respective goals we have in mind; and it is in that vein, I would contend that we are a people of pride, perseverance, integrity and most of all humility, and that’s what make us stand above the rest. For this reason I intend not only to give back through being a living inspiration, but to go back into my community and build a charitable foundation in the future that would enable underprivileged youths to access life learning skills in tailoring, catering, masonry and other skills that would enable them to make a meaningful contribution to the development of not only the community of Mocha Arcadia but Guyana in the end,” Liverpool declared.

Love of the arts

Other than being an applauded attorney, Liverpool is passionate about the arts.

He is a member of the Guyana Theatre Guild, Merundoi Guyana Inc and many other organisations regarding the arts. He has had the opportunity of participating and performing in many shows such as the “Link Show” (25 and 26), “Masacura Man”, “Hassa Curry” and many others. Liverpool also co-produced the comedy show “Ah

Different Kinda Ting” with Kwasi Edmondson in 2012, which was created to give young actors the chance to have their talents exposed and respected as well. “[Do] not let your circumstances define, influence or prohibit you from attaining greatness. The road is a very difficult one but once you can build a mindset to overcome and develop the confidence to believe in your ability, with the right attitude your journey will become a bit easier, work would be a bit lighter and success will be inevitable,” Liverpool advises Guyanese youths.

The attorney-at-law plans to eventually enter politics, having been a former national youth parliamentarian, a former runner-up for the University of Guyana Law Society presidency and runner-up for the Caribbean Youth Environmental Network presidency.

For now, he is working diligently to be a notable barrister and in the near future be able to sit on the bench and preside as a magistrate or judge.

Liverpool would like to thank his mother and grandmother Amanda Williams and Julie Seckle respectively; very close friends, teachers and law lecturers, and the countless other persons who assisted in whatever way they could have to make his dream a reality.

“I would also like to thank God and all the other Guyanese residing in Fiji that made the journey a bit easier,” he expressed.

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A village purchased by free Africans

Danielstown Community Centre

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hen the Slave Trade developed, supported by slave agents and slave masters, once free African men, women and children were captured and distributed over much of the world as slaves.

Many arrived in Guyana, then known as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice and later British Guiana.

Each had their quota of Africans enslaved on the various sugar and cotton plantations. Essequibo, whose roadways extended from Plantation Aurora to

Plantation Chandler, had 34 sugar mills, some of which shut down before 1800.

Danielstown, a small village sandwiched between Plantation Fear Not and Coffee Grove, was also abandoned by slave owners before the British took over in 1810. By 1833, news of freedom from slavery as proclaimed by the British parliament to end slavery in all colonial territories was well received by slaves in the colonies.

In Essequibo, a march from Devonshire Castle to La Belle Alliance resulted in

the death of Damon in 1834.

Between the period 18341838, like Victoria and other plantations, free slaves saved their hard-earned monies and bought over the plantation now known as Danielstown.

nial agent. It was finally renamed Danielstown village.

Both Plantations Fear Not and Coffee Grove were desolate, covered in dense forest and lowlands; Danielstown then preferred to use the facilities of Coffee Grove koker for drainage.

There was also an agreement by the Dutch where the ‘Sea Signal’ for oceangoing punts was erected on the northern side of Coffee Grove: a huge iron structure visible from sea.

Unfortunately, after a while, the need for wood caused the Danielstown foreshore to become deforested. It was said that the sea sand kept the beach intact.

slavery came in 1838, many semi-skilled villagers were already employed in existing sugar plantations as boiler-men, sugar boilers, captains, carpenters and security.

During the century, many prominent families made the village their residence; they include the Gomes, Reberios, Creavalles, Evans, Bunburys, Draydons, Brittons, Johns, Williams, Khans, Ally, Sandae, Verwaynes, Stoblys, Johnsons, Grosvenors, Barkers, and many more.

Some of these families’ names continue to live on.

Danielstown was also a rescue raft for the few inhabitants who lived between

kets. Africans were the first rice planters in Guyana.

The traditional items for sale would include cassava bread, starch, tamarind, sugar cake, mauby, ginger, beer pepper pot, black pudding, pumpkin pone, corn bread, handicraft, straw hats etc.

With the local government system promoted in 1847, the village become prominent and was affiliated to the Essequibo Union of Local Authority and has representation on the Guyana Association of Local Authority.

The closure of Hampton Court Sugar estate and Anna Regina in the late 1920s did not impact on the

Danielstown after Emancipation

By 1838 the community of Danielstown was already organized into a committee to manage the sustainability and development of the village, where the name Daniels was taken from a village “father” by the colo-

Danielstown Post Office

The stability and leadership role in Danielstown caused the colonial governor to install a police outpost in Danielstown, though this no longer exists. The village also had a famous ‘Kaiteur Hall’, which was used by the remaining plantocracy at weekends for socializing.

The village development included a local foundry that made metal bars and car wheels; it also included an abattoir, and many artisans.

Even though the end of

Bush Lot and Dartmouth since the collapse of several small sugar plantations in early 1850. There was no road from Dartmouth to the Pomeroon River prior to 1908, and the areas between Perth and Walton Hall were not inhabited. The villagers of Danielstown were therefore the main vendors for the Hampton Court Estate traditional Friday market.

Most Africans believed in cultivating their lands, reaping their crops, and selling them at the mar-

village when it rose to more leadership level, giving support to other depressed communities. Today many of the Africans who came out of slavery have left a rich legacy since they bought several villages on the Essequibo Coast.

As a result, all Essequibians salute their hard work and struggle – not only on Emancipation Day, but also every day, as we pass the various villages purchased by former slaves.

(Indrawattie Natram)

Nursery school in Danielstown

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Akelia Dey, a CPCE graduate, will be empowering young ladies in the Sophia community through her project

Jade Primo will make available free eye care services to residents of Plaisance and Linden

Vonette Peters, a medical student at Georgetown American University, will be designing and constructing a safe swing for children with disabilities

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he Miss Emancipation pageant, launched in 2012, is being celebrated this year under the theme “The Decade For People Of African Descent”. The pageant’s mission is to strive to showcase the beauty of African culture and to promote humanitarian work.

Miss Emancipation 2015 was launched July 11 at the Museum of African Heritage.

Local beauties Akelia Dey, Jade Primo, Jalicia Thompson, Zineoby Ward, Vonette Peters, Deon Alleyne and Keisha Jackson are vying for this year’s title.

“This year, the delegates will be executing a community project that ranges from refurbishing a bridge in Sophia to designing a safe swing for children who are physically challenged,” said president of the Miss Emancipation committee, Dr. Melissa Varswyk.

The delegates, during their introduction at the launch, further outlined each project they have undertaken.

Miss Emancipation community development project 2015

Miss Emancipation community development project 2015 (30 per cent of the competition) requires delegates to design and execute a community-based project based on the aims and objectives outlined by the pageant’s committee. The project holds the largest single score card for the competition and the winner will automatically become a finalist.

Deon Allen, a tourism student, will promote the economic growth and development of Plaisance village

The aim of the project is to design and execute a community development initiative that will directly impact the lives of residents, especially women and children. The objectives for this project is centred on, but not limited to the following: improving education access to students in the community; promoting literacy; promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics); increasing awareness of health lifestyle and practices; improving health and sanitation; improving access to food and clean water; promoting economic stability within the community, and improving and promoting agriculture economics.

The project targets underprivileged communities and communities with a large percentage of single-parent household.

Points will be awarded to delegates who showed compassion and dedication towards execution of the project; fulfilled the aim objectives of the project; showed unique characteristics; whose projects showed long term benefits to the community, and the delegates who demonstrated that they will follow through with the project beyond the show.

African gala

The other anticipated feature of the Miss Emancipation pageant is the show, which is hosted during the month of August. It is incorporated in the national calendar of

activities for Emancipation month.

“The Miss Emancipation show is a highly anticipated occasion that takes the form of an African gala. It is one of the few occasions in which Guyanese adorn themselves in their African attire, showcasing the richness of the culture. The main aim of the show is to showcase the beauty of the African culture while promoting community development and edifying our patrons on our African heritage, our challenges and solutions,” Varswyk said in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine.

The show takes the format of an introduction segment, where delegates make their introduction adorned in uniformed African attire, reciting a self-created spoken word intro on the Emancipation team of the year; business wear segment, where delegates showcase their various options of African styles that is fitting for the working environment; project presentation, where delegates would be given the opportunity to present their project, and answer questions relating to their projects; evening gown segment, where delegates showcase the rich beauty of the African culture through their choice in African lace designs, and question and answer segment. Delegates would have participated in three-month (May to August) culture awareness and leadership development classes, workshops and seminars.

Jalicia Thompson, a biology student at UG, will promote STEM in the Linden community

Keisha Jackson, a civil engineer student at UG, will be refurbishing a bridge in Sophia

Zineoby Ward, who holds a diploma in Project Management, will promote a ‘grow more’ campaign in Golden Grove village

The questions asked in the question and answer segment are to assess the knowledge gained during those courses.

This year’s show would be hosted at the National Cultural Centre on August 14 at 8pm.

The Miss Emancipation pageant provides opportunities for its delegates to make a difference in underprivileged communities and develop themselves academically. Onica Rose, Miss Emancipation 2014, a Grade 12 law student at Bishops’ High School, was awarded a full scholarship to pursue her law degree at the University of Guyana.

For more information on the pageant visit Miss Emancipation on Facebook. (Photos by Obrey James)

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The Shaping of Guyanese Literature

Emancipation, Empowerment and Stocktaking The Village Movement – an enduring entrepreneurial masterpiece

By Petamber Persaud

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he Village Movement: Local Government Elections, Village Councils, Decentralization, The First Village, The First Villages The Village Movement: The Bound Yard, The Free Yard, The Extra Nuclear Housing Scheme The Village Movement: The Squatting Areas, Housing Schemes, The New Dispensation, New Housing Policies, Local Government Elections

The Village Movement

Emancipation released and re-harnessed the dormant resources of a previously oppressed people.

The oppressed were deprived of proper housing, education, job opportunities, without which the family as a unit could not function effectively.

Boys play a traditional game of cricket on a street in Victoria Village

So the family couldn’t contribute fully and meaningfully to the social and economical development of the country.

This resulted in the creation of a vicious cycle of poverty on one hand and grievous loss to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the other hand.

With the establishment of villages, people were able to

build strong family units upon which further development took place, enabling them collectively, to strive, to plan, to achieve. What was achieved then formed a formidable foundation on which a better country could be built.

Very often, the pioneering efforts of people and the foundation laid then is overlooked because the bigger resulting

picture covers and overshadows all else.

A clear example of the above is seen in the establishment of the first village by newly emancipated Africans.

The book, “History of Victoria Village”, written by William N. Arno, tells the inspiring story of how a group of recently emancipated Africans pooled their resources togeth-

er in order to make an unprecedented purchase of a sizable village on the East Coast of Demerara, British Guiana.

The purchase was one aspect of that inspiring story. The other aspect was that those ‘intrepid’ ex-slaves were able draft rules and regulations to preserve their investment.

There were twenty articles in that agreement “for the good regulation and general benefit of said estate.” This agreement tells us that the ex-slaves knew what they wanted out of the investment. Two of the first things they wanted were a church and a school house,“which shall be used and devoted to the purposes of Religion as a School House and Church where our children may be taught to read their Bibles and learn their several duties, and where we may ...offer up to Almighty God our humble prayers and thanks for the mercies we have received and the benefits we are enjoying.”

Education and church worship were given premium priority in their scheme of plan.

According to the book, in November 1839, eighty three persons, including two women, bought what was then

the sophisticated twenty-point agreement for the establishment, upkeep and maintenance of the village; notes on public meetings on the way forward; a historical review of the community centre aided self-help project, and a beautifully worded petition to His Excellency Sir Gordon James Lethem in 1944, seeking a “Community Centre and a Recreation Ground for our youths”, among other facilities.

In that petition, the villagers marketed the village well: ‘(o)ver a period of years, the village developed into one of the most thriving communities of the Colony, so much so that it came to be known as the “Sweet Auburn” of the Coast and Sanatorium of British Guiana on account of its excellent health conditions.”

“History of Victoria Village”

by William N. Arno is a slim book but it is replete with inspirational stories for modern Guyana; an eye-opener reminding us that we have lost that community spirit on which our ancestors were able to overcome numerous challenges, reminding us that we have abandoned the act of cherishing what we have and

Proud villagers in Guyana and the diaspora celebrate Victoria Village with a newsletter devoted to village life and its people

Plantation Northbrook for the sum of 30 thousand guilders ($10, 284, 63c.). It is mentioned here and in other places that two women were involved in that transaction but the list of names revealed there were more than two females who were involved.

R. E. Cheeks (the then local government minister) described the advent of the book “at a time when the youthful nation is searching for its personality and is awake to the value of its own recorded past.”

“History of Victoria Village” is well supported by two appendices: in Appendix I, there is a list of the “Proprietors of Victoria Village, East Coast Demerara, August 21, 1854”;

to build on what we have.

The achievements of exslaves just after emancipation are extraordinary and truly inspirational. When will we learn!

“History of Victoria Village”

by William N. Arno was first published in 1966; reprinted by the Guyana Heritage Society 2000.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com What’s happening: The Guyana Annual Magazine 2014-2015 issue in now available at Guyenterprise Ltd., Lance Gibbs and Irving Streets, Tel # 226-9874 and from yours truly.

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n March 2014, it was widely reported that 15 Caribbean states sued former colonizers, including Britain, France and the Netherlands “for lingering harms that they attribute to the slave trade.”

The states in the Caribbean organization CARICOM, it was reported, have adopted a 10-point plan that seeks, among other things, an official apology, a cancelation of debts, and assistance for cultural and educational institutions.

However, the action has since prompted British media especially to claim the region is out to get billions of dollars from European taxpayers who played no part in the system.

Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles, who chaired the reparations task force charged with framing the 10 demands, in an interview with the UK newspaper The Guardian, dismissed the suggestion that money was the main objective.

“Contrary to the British media, we are not exclusively concerned with financial transactions, we are concerned more with justice for the people who continue to suffer harm at so many lev-

Guyana's Reparations Committee Chairman, Dr Eric Phillips. The committee was established to prepare a report on the areas of indigenous genocide and African slavery and linkages from past discrimination to present-day inequality. It was also tasked with defining modern-day equality and its existence, and illustrating policies adopted by the European countries to influence this process

Sculpture of Cuffy, leader of the 1763 Berbice slave rebellion, atop the 1763 monument

els of social life,” he told the news service.

Sir Hilary, in his article “Slavery Was a Long Time Ago”: Remembrance, Reconciliation and the Reparations Discourse in the Caribbean”, claims that English plantation owners, the clergy, political institutions and commercial stake-

holders engaged together in the slave trade by dehumanizing Africans as nonhuman.

Enslaved Africans were treated as property and from this, European nations, especially Britain, benefitted enormously and unjustly. Slavery and special laws provided the basis

for terror, assault, punishment, rape, exploitation and even forced reproduction, and ultimately death.

This has left an unsavoury legacy that has crippled the Caribbean countries’ ability to develop at an acceptable rate, he pointed out.

Advocates outside CARICOM have noted that in many parts of the region, the economic and social poverty being experienced are a lasting legacy of slavery.

The controversy surrounding the actions of Caricom has created an often bitter conversation not just among politicians and academics but the global public as well. The debate has also further illustrat-

Caricom Reparations Justice Program (CRJP): Ten Point Action Plan

1. Full formal apology The healing process for victims and the descendants of the enslaved and enslavers requires as a precondition the offer of a sincere formal apology by the governments of Europe. Some governments in refusing to offer an apology have issued in place Statements of Regrets.

Such statements do not acknowledge that crimes have been committed and represent a refusal to take responsibility for such crimes. Statements of regrets represent, furthermore, a reprehensi-

Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles

the largest forced migration in human history and has no parallel in terms of man’s inhumanity to man.

This trade in enchained bodies was a highly successful commercial business for the nations of Europe. The lives of millions of men, women and children were destroyed in search of profit. The descendants of these stolen people have a legal right to return to their homeland.

A Repatriation program must be established and all available channels of international law and diplomacy used to resettle those persons who wish to return.

A resettlement program should address such matters as citizenship and deploy available best practices in respect of community re-

The 15 CARICOM member states involved in the suit are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago

Main Street, Georgetown n.d.

A Yoruba dance ring in British Guiana n.d.

ed that racism still prevails around the world.

But what is the CARICOM Reparations tenpoint plan that has stirred so much debate and rancour?

The Institute of the Black World, which met with the various reparations commissions to discuss the issue of reparations so that a solution could be reached, explains.

ble response to the call for apology in that they suggest that victims and their descendants are not worthy of an apology. Only an explicit formal apology will suffice within the context of the CRJP. 2. Repatriation Over 10 million Africans were stolen from their homes and forcefully transported to the Caribbean as the enslaved chattel and property of Europeans. The transatlantic slave trade is

integration.

3. Indigenous peoples development program The governments of Europe committed genocide upon the native Caribbean population.

Military commanders were given official instructions by their governments to eliminate these communities and to remove those who survive pogroms from the region. continued on page 9

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he African Cultural & Development Association (ACDA) of Guyana is celebrating its 22nd anniversary this year. The association hosts an Emancipation Day Festival each year at the National Park on August 1, or “Freedom Day” as it is also known.

This year, ACDA would be celebrating its first Emancipation activities during the ‘International Decade for People of African Descent’, which began January 2015 and will end Dec. 31, 2024.

The association would also develop a theme based on African culture each year from which to educate and highlight African cultures. ACDA’s theme for Emancipation 2015 is “Rekindling Our Past Glory through Youth Innovation”. With a sub-theme, “Building Strong Families through Entrepreneurship”.

As is now tradition, ACDA also honours an African country every Emancipation Festival by building an educational booth outlining various features of that country.

This year, the country honoured is Niger, home of the first great Pan-African leader, Queen Nzingha.

Celebration at the National Park are considered the biggest cultural festival of the year, with many international and local performers.

The National Park becomes the hub for African culture, where educational booths feature ‘World of Africa’, ‘African Village Movement’, African hairstyles, African history, African music, African names and African inventions.

Each year too there are children’s parades and fun centres, where prizes are given out for Most Creative Costume/Float, Best Dressed Group Competition and Best Costume Display Competition. The children’s centre hosts folk games, face painting, storytelling, colouring and bouncy castles.

Fashion competitions hand out prizes for Best African Dressed Male, Best African Dressed Female, Best African Dressed Child and Best African Dressed Family.

In music, dance and poetry, prizes are awarded in various categories such as the group dance competition, rap & reggae competition, Shanto singing competition, drumming competition, Young and Gifted Performer (Male), Young and Gifted Performer (Female), and poetry competition.

Not to be left out, prizes are also awarded to cooks and eaters: the winners of a traditional metemgee cooking competition and cassava pone eating competition.

Sports activities also often include a five-mile freedom race, 75-ball circle tennis competition, eight-over softball cricket competition for area teams, eight-over tape ball cricket competition for area teams (males), five a-side and penalty shootout small goal football competition for area teams and under 13 years teams, five a-side small goal football match for females, domino competition for areas, 60 meters children’s race (boys and girls), 40 meters and 60 meters races for the blind, six-over cricket competition for the blind, five a-side small goal football matches for veterans, and ice-cream competition for the children and the blind.

If you missed this year, begin planning for your Emancipation 2016 outing.

Booth exhibiting African-inspired jewellery at the Park (Photo by Suresh V Kandaswamy)

Masqueraders entertain crowds

Exciting cultural displays (Photo by Amanda Richards)

Pets are also part of the festivities (Photo by Amanda Richards)

Dance to the beat of the drums

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ne of the greatest entrepreneurial acts by freed Africans in world history was the ‘Village Movement’, begun in 1839. Freed Africans combined their resources to buy villages so that they did not have to return to plantation life and cheap punitive labour.

For Emancipation 2015, ACDA honours the island of Wakenaam in Essequibo.

Wakenaam Island sits at the mouth of the Essequibo River. At 17.5 square miles, it is one of the largest islands in the river.

In 1690, after the French invaded Fort Island, the Dutch plantation owners moved to and settled on the island of Wakenaam.

The name Wakenaam is Dutch meaning, “waiting for a name”. A Dutchman started a plantation and named it Maria Johanna, which is thought to be the names of his twin daughters.

Then in 1716, the British took control of Wakenaam and Maria Johanna. In 1803 the plantation owner was one Hugenoltz. The plantation was later bought by a Mr. Boddart and Company in 1832 and then by Adam Ramkin

can still observe evidence of a Dutch occupation and the fact that slaves worked there. A unique Dutch sluice, after a century, still stands immaculate and spectacular. Every now and then, various types of Dutch bottles and coins are found in the ground. The island still contains old Dutch graves at various locations; there is also a Dutch-dug well.

Wakenaam has multiple villages including Good Success, San Souci, Melville, Eagles Rust, New Belle Plaine, Sarah, Caledonia, Zeelandia, Meerzorg, Fredericksburg and Maria Johanna.

The main economic activity of Wakenaam is agricultural (cash crops), poultry and coconut oil.

(Information provided by ACDA. Photos by Marco Basir)

One of the streets in Wakenaam

in 1851. The plantation was later surveyed by Henry Rainford and 88 house lots were laid out, most of them to accommodate the workers.

The colonial government took control of the plantation because of bankruptcy and later sold it to a company in April 1871 whose shareholders were predominantly former slaves. The sale price

was $700.

Due to a major disagreement among shareholders as to what was the best way to develop the land, there were many disagreements. Ultimately, the plantation was taken over by the Partition Ordinance in 1914. In 1921, a village was created and a tax system was introduced.

Any visitor to Maria Johnson

Wakenaam seashore

From page 7

Genocide and land appropriation went hand in hand. A community of over 3,000,000 in 1700 has been reduced to less than 30,000 in 2000. Survivors remain traumatized, landless, and are the most marginalized social group within the region.

The University of the West Indies offers an Indigenous Peoples Scholarship in a desperate effort at rehabilitation. It is woefully insufficient. A Development Plan is required to rehabilitate this community.

4. Cultural institutions European nations have invested in the development of community institutions such as museums and research centres in order to prepare their citizens for an understanding of these Crimes Against Humanity (CAH).

These facilities serve to reinforce within the consciousness of their citizens an understanding of their role in history as rulers and change agents.

There are no such institutions in the Caribbean where the CAH were committed. Caribbean schoolteachers and researchers do not have the same opportunity.

Descendants of these CAH continue to suffer the disdain of having no relevant institutional systems through which their experience can be scientifically told.

This crisis must be remedies within the CJRP. 5. Public health crisis The African descended population in the Caribbean has the highest incidence in the world of chronic diseases in the forms of hypertension and type two diabetes.

This pandemic is the direct result of the nutritional experience, physical and emotional brutality, and overall stress profiles associated with slavery, genocide, and apartheid. Over 10 million Africans were imported into the Caribbean during the 400 years of

slavery.

At the end of slavery in the late 19th century less than 2 million remained. The chronic health condition of Caribbean blacks now constitutes the greatest financial risk to sustainability in the region.

Arresting this pandemic requires the injection of science, technology, and capital beyond the capacity of the region.

Europe has a responsibility to participate in the alleviation of this heath disaster. The CRJP addresses this issue and calls upon the governments of Europe to take responsibility for this tragic human legacy of slavery and colonisation.

6. Illiteracy eradication At the end of the European colonial period in most parts of the Caribbean, the British in particular left the black and indigenous communities in a general state of illiteracy. Some 70 percent of blacks in British colonies were functionally illiterate in the 1960s when nation states began to appear.

Jamaica, the largest such community, was home to the largest number of such citizens.

Widespread illiteracy has subverted the development efforts of these nation states and represents a drag upon social and economic advancement.

Caribbean governments allocate more than 70 percent of public expenditure to health and education in an effort to uproot the legacies of slavery and colonization. European governments have a responsibility to participate in this effort within the context of the CRJP. 7. African knowledge program The forced separation of Africans from their homeland has resulted in cultural and social alienation from identity and existential belonging. Denied the

right in law to life, and divorced by space from the source of historic self, Africans have craved the right to return and knowledge of the route to roots.

A program of action is required to build ‘bridges of belonging’.

Such projects as school exchanges and culture tours, community artistic and performance programs, entrepreneurial and religious en-

Caribbean.

Only a reparatory justice approach to truth and educational exposure can begin the process of healing and repair. Such an engagement will call into being, for example, the need for greater Caribbean integration designed to enable the coming together of the fragmented community.

9. Technology transfer

Monument to slaves in Zanzibar

gagements, as well as political interaction, are required in order to neutralize the void created by slave voyages.

Such actions will serve to build knowledge networks that are necessary for community rehabilitation.

8. Psychological rehabilitation For over 400 years Africans and their descendants were classified in law as non-human, chattel, property, and real estate. They were denied recognition as members of the human family by laws derived from the parliaments and palaces of Europe.

This history has inflicted massive psychological trauma upon African descendant populations.

This much is evident daily in the

For 400 years the trade and production policies of Europe could be summed up in the British slogan: “not a nail is to be made in the colonies”.

The Caribbean was denied participation in Europe’s industrialization process, and was confined to the role of producer and exporter of raw materials. This system was designed to extract maximum value from the region and to enable maximum wealth accumulation in Europe.

The effectiveness of this policy meant that the Caribbean entered its nation building phase as a technologically and scientifically ill-equipped- backward space within the postmodern world economy.

Generations of Caribbean youth, as a consequence, have

been denied membership and access to the science and technology culture that is the world’s youth patrimony. Technology transfer and science sharing for development must be a part of the CRJP. 10. Debt cancellation Caribbean governments that emerged from slavery and colonialism have inherited the massive crisis of community poverty and institutional unpreparedness for development. These governments still daily engage in the business of cleaning up the colonial mess in order to prepare for development.

The pressure of development has driven governments to carry the burden of public employment and social policies designed to confront colonial legacies. This process has resulted in states accumulating unsustainable levels of public debt that now constitute their fiscal entrapment.

This debt cycle properly belongs to the imperial governments who have made no sustained attempt to deal with debilitating colonial legacies. Support for the payment of domestic debt and cancellation of international debt are necessary reparatory actions.

Justice

The plan, states the Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) outlines the path to reconciliation, truth, and justice for victims and their descendants. It asserts that victims and descendants of these CAH have a legal right to reparatory justice, and that those who committed these crimes, and who have been enriched by the proceeds of these crimes, have a reparatory case to answer.

Should the countries refuse to accede to the requests made in the letters or to engage in dialogue, Caricom will then approach the International Court of Justice for intervention in the matter.

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Giving a stylistic twist to Emancipation Day cultural outfits, designer Sonia Noel’s collection, First Resort, offers a wide range of designs for an iconic look.

Chic men’s shirts and fashionable hats, accessories and dresses for women, Noel offers trendy ensembles for anyone who wants to be distinct.

The designer believes that “we all have our individual personal style, which should not prevent us from making a fashion statement”.

For more information, contact the designer on 226-3099.

L iya Kebede is an Ethiopian-born model, maternal health advocate, clothing designer, and actress.

Forbes identified her as “the eleventhhighest-paid top model in the world” in 2007. She has appeared three times on the cover of U.S. Vogue.

After completing studies in Ethiopia, she migrated to New York to pursue a modeling career. She has remarked that the modeling industry in Ethiopia is quite different from the catwalks on which she is now ubiquitous because in Ethiopia she had to provide her own shoes for each runway show. Kebede

has served as WHO's Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health since 2005. In 2013, she was named one of Glamour's Women of the Year for her philanthropic work through her Liya Kebede Foundation. Her most notable movie part was in “Desert Flower” (2009), a German biographical film, in which Kebede played the lead role.

“Desert Flower” tells of the journey of Waris Dirie (played by Kebede) from a nomadic pastoralist background in Somalia to a new life and career in the West as a fashion model and activist against female circumcision.

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Emancipation Magazine Nick Gordon begs Bobby Brown to attend Bobbi Kristina's funeral

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J

ay-Z is apparently fed up with the problems Tidal has been facing since day one. According to a new report by HitsDailyDouble, the rap mogul is trying to leave the company which he co-owns with a string of A-listers like Madonna, Rihanna, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and more.

The site suggests that Hova has lost millions because the money he expected to earn from Tidal never came in. He's now trying to get out of his investment in the streaming company before he loses more.

Tidal has never been a big hit since it was launched back in March, originally to rival Spotify, although it has offered several exclusive contents. Following numerous criticisms directed at Tidal over its high price point, its co-owner including Jay-Z, Jack White and Madonna spoke out in defense of the service.

"It's important that people understand we didn't create Tidal, we didn't put this together, we didn't all join forces because we're broke and we want more money. The idea is we want to support other artists and we want people to understand this is our heart, this is our work, and we want people

to recognize that and we want other artists to have a chance," Madge said earlier this month.

Another problem Tidal is currently facing is a $50 million lawsuit filed against the company by Cash Money. The label sued them after another Tidal co-owner Lil Wayne, who's been feuding with Birdman over the delay of "Tha Carter V", dropped his "Free Weezy Album" exclusively on the service. (AceShowbiz)

ick Gordon desperately wants to attend Bobbi Kristina Brown's funeral. He reportedly has reached out to Bobby Brown, asking to be allowed to pay final respect to his girlfriend after he was banned from coming to the burial.

"I loved Krissi with all my heart and I am destroyed that she is gone and I need to say goodbye," he said in an email. He also begged Krissy's aunt Pat Houston, "I'm begging you both to please put your differences aside and allow me this chance." He added, "Krissi loved me very much and she would want me there."

Bobbi Kristina Brown died in hospice care on July

26 at the age of 22. She never fully recovered after she was found unconscious face down in a bathtub in her Georgia home back in late January several days before the third anniversa-

ry of her mother Whitney Houston's death.

Kristina will be laid to rest on Monday in New Jersey at Fairview Cemetery where her mother was buried. (AceShowbiz)

Lupita Nyong'o to make New York stage debut

L

upita Nyong'o will make her New York Stage debut in Public Theater's Off-Broadway production of "Eclipsed".

Written by "The Walking Dead" star Danai Gurira, the play is set during the Liberian Civil War. Lupita will play "The Girl", who disrupts the fragile community of vulnerable women when she becomes one of the wives of a rebel officer.

Public's artistic director, Oskar Eustis, says in a statement, "Danai Gurira has written a brilliant play, ripped from the headlines, that looks at the terrible conflicts in post-colonial Africa with an eye that is both incisive and deeply compassionate. A feminist reading of the Liberian Civil War, a war that was ended by women, 'Eclipsed' is both heartbreaking and profoundly life-affirming. We are delighted to welcome the extraordinary Lupita Nyong'o to the Public in this vitally

important play."

According to the press release, "Eclipse" reveals "distinct women who must discover their own means of survival in this deeply felt portrait of women finding and testing their own strength in a hostile world of horrors not of their own making."

Helmed by South African-born director Liesl Tommy, "Eclipsed" begins previews on September 29 and officially opens from October 14 to November 8.

(AceShowbiz)

M

ariah Carey is set to sit behind the lens and play a role in an upcoming holiday movie for Hallmark Channel. It will be the singer's directorial debut and her first acting role since her performance in "Lee Daniels' The Butler" in 2013.

Titled "Mariah Carey's Christmas Project", the scripted project will start shooting in October. It is expected to screen in December as part of Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas lineup. Other details including the storyline are still scarce.

Just a few days ago, it was also announced by

the Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce that Mariah Carey would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Directors Lee Daniels and Brett Ratner along with Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid are scheduled to speak at the ceremony on August 5.

(AceShowbiz)

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ajid Michel, known popularly as Shaker, is a Ghanaian actor. He was born in Cantonments, a suburb of the Ghanaian capital Accra. In secondary school, Michel was actively involved in theater and was a member of the school’s drama club. He went on to pursue a modeling and acting career. In 2012, Michel won Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards. He starred in the television series “Things We Do For Love”, acquiring his nickname Shaker on the set. In 2014 he co-starred in “30 Days in Atlanta”, for which he was listed by the Nigerian Cinema Exhibition Coalition as one of the highest box office grosser of 2014.

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espite having only 14 cinemas in a country of 170 million people, Nigeria's film industry, dubbed "Nollywood", churns out as many as 50 films a week. Many are released straight to DVD and sold cheaply on the streets.

When it comes to sheer volume, the US$5bn film industry makes more films than the US and is only rivaled by India, the world's biggest movie industry.

Nollywood tries to answer that question and more with those who know the industry best - Nigeria's filmmakers, actors and actresses, directors, producers and film critics.

All of them come up with different reasons for the secret behind the popularity of Nigeria's low-budget, selfstyled movie industry: originality; "stories that people can relate to"; plots that satisfy a cultural fascination with

K

Some of Nollywood’s best actors and actresses

African "magic"; and films that draw from "that African thing about us - which is that we love to tell stories."

Nollywood also tries to pin down the origins of the industry - including the contributions of the founders of Nigerian film, Hubert Ogunde and Adeyemi Afolayan (also known as Ade

Love) and their 1970s travelling cinema; to the collapse of the film industry and its rebirth as Nollywood in the mid-1990s, based on cheap VHS technology; and the part played by the 1992 film “Living in Bondage”, which established this new Nigerian way of making films.

"From the ashes of that

rose a film industry that was not as technical as that colonial one, but it had a more sustainable platform that involved selling DVDs and going straight to video and gathering your friends and telling your story and putting it on tape and making money out of it," explains director Obi Emeloyne. (Al Jazeera)

unle Afolayan has just inked a new deal as the ambassador for Air France.

He shared the news with his fans saying, “It’s all about hard work and God. I have just been appointed as the ambassador for Airfrance and the deal covers several projects of mutual benefits. Thank you to all my my family, friends and fans from r your support so far. Ire lojo gbogbo.”

Kunle Afolayan, as well as other Nollywood stars, are currently getting ready

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report surfaced that Emma, the wife of Emeka Ike, a popular Nollywood actor, had filed for divorce.

Emma had asked the Lagos Island customary court to dissolve their 12-year-old marriage, saying she could no longer bear being tortured. Emeka Ike failed to show up at the hearing.

N

ollywood queen and reality TV star, Omotola Jalade, revealed her relationship with her colleagues in the movie industry.

She said: “I don’t have close friends in Nollywood.

Everybody is my colleague.

Maybe it is because I live very far way from so many people in the industry.

Secondly, I’m not very good at visiting people. I don’t have that kind of luxury.”

When asked if her daughter will get married at a young age, Omotola said: “I don’t care much about it.

I don’t even want to think about that because I got married early. What I always tell people is that all fingers are not equal. The fact that I got married early does not mean that my own child will get married ear-

for the Africa International Film Festival. (Bella Naija)

According to his counsel, Abdul’Hakeem Labi-Lawal, Emeka was not in court because he was ill.

Labi-Lawal begged the court to give Emeka six months to see if there was a possibility of settlement between the couple, adding that the actor was still in love with his wife.

In his ruling, the court’s president, Chief Awos Awosola, said the court could only grant two weeks.

“I am expecting Emeka Ike in this court if he really wants settlement,” Chief Awos Awosola stated.

The matter was adjourned until August 12.

Emma said she was not interested in the marriage anymore and wonders why her husband wanted reconciliation after two years she left her matrimonial home.

(Naij)

ly. My mother didn’t marry early. So it is not hereditary.

But if my daughter wants to get married early and I like the guy and If I see that he is responsible enough, why not?”

She went on to say: “If I hadn’t been married earlier, I probably would not be by now. I don’t know if any other man would have been able to handle me the way my husband has done. It is not because I am a bad person. I am actually a very strong woman. At a point, you might become so confused and wonder if any man will ever love you for who you are. But, if you are not a very grounded person, you too can contribute to your own problems. I consider myself to be lucky to remain married.” (Information Nigeria)

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Emancipation Magazine Star of the week

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elson Mandela's tireless campaign for civil rights and peace was heightened by the sophisticated and proud sartorial manner in which he presented himself.

While the former president of South Africa certainly wore plenty of custommade suits, it was his traditional Madiba shirts that comprised his distinguished and celebrated signature style.

The bold and colourful printed shirts, named after Mandela's African clan, became synonymous with the icon after he first debuted the look at South Africa's first democratic Parliament in May 1994.

What Mandela has accomplished for South Africa- and for the world as a whole - was so staggering that it might seem insulting to put it in the context of style. But

it would be just as insulting to ignore it," Zandile Blay told The Huffington Post.

Mandela's fashion-forward flair combined with his revered political legacy not only influenced others to adopt his eyecatching style (even to this day) but also inspired entire clothing collections.

"We can't forget the essence of his struggle was affirming that the black African was just as much of a man as his white brother," Blay said. "Mandela's words and actions did this succinctly, but it was a wardrobe--as dignified and elegant and powerful as the man who wore them--which carried that message across visually."

Mandela died at age 95, but his enduring legacy and his incomparable style are still being celebrated. (Huffington Post)

T

he beautiful Jade Primo grew up in Plaisancevillage, East Coast of Demerara.

She is presently a third year student at the University of Guyana pursing a degree in Optometry.

The 20-year-old is also a dance teacher at WIST Dance Ministry Int. and at her local church. When she is not teaching dance or studying, Jade enjoys singing and reading. Currently, Jade is vying for the Miss Emancipation 2015 crown and is working towards copping the title. For more information on Jade and the pageant, visit Miss Emancipation on Facebook.

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Emancipation Magazine "Dancers" (2012)

"Cry Freedom"

Guyanese artist Ivor Thom with one of his sculptures

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uyanese Ivor Thom is a celebrated artist who enjoys creating beautiful art inspired by historical events and personal experiences, with hopes they serve as reminders of our valuable heritage for upcoming generations.

The artist was born and grew up in of Victoria village, East Coast Demerara.

In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Thom stated that since childhood he developed a passion for art and the value

them away. As I got older I realised that what my mother did was her way of telling me that whatever I do is valuable and I shouldn’t just discard of my work,” Thom reminisced.

Thom also remembered that while working on a Madhia/Annai road project in the 1970s chopping trees down – he was about 14 years old at that time – he came across a piece of wood and was moved to carve a face on it.

“At that time, to me it

as an artist. From then on I started working with clay and other art medium. What also motivated me to practice my art is experiencing appreciation by others for my art work.

As a member of the National Service, I was at the Papaya Centre, and former President Burnham was visiting. We wanted to

The 1823 Demerara rebellion monument located at Carifesta Avenue

In Canada, Thom developed profoundly as an artist. He learnt the lost-wax casting technique. A method used to cast metal. Thom also worked in many art foundries and was able to do so in every section of a foundry, after becoming very skilled in his area of art.

Locally, Thom is popularly known for his 1988 Damon

Sculpture depicting an African drummer

of it taught by his mother.

“One thing I remember as a child is that whenever I draw something, I would discard of them; but my mother would pick them up and put

was a masterpiece, but looking back it seems like nothing at all. However, when I did it, a lot of people were fascinated with it, and that encouraged me to develop One of the artist's sculptures showing a slave in chains trying to free himself by hitting it with a rock

"Mrs. Atlas" (2009)

get him a gift but we couldn’t travel out. Everyone encouraged me to do something and so I volunteered to carve a piece for him. Seeing how people appreciated my art really motivated me to keep on practicing and to develop myself as an artist,” reflected Thom.

This motivated Thom to enrol at the Burrowes School of Art. In 1979 he graduated and went to Cuba to continue art study, and spent four years there. When he returned, Thom went back to the National Service where he served until 1990. He then migrated to Canada and then to the U.S.A, all the while continuing to create artistic pieces.

monument sculpture.

He was awarded the Medal of Service for his contribution to art in Guyana and was also given numerous medals and certificates for his work, locally and internationally.

Speaking on what inspires him, Thom disclosed, “Something within me compels me. Sometimes I may have an experience, whether good or bad, and I want to share it. I found that if I can’t really share this in words I do so in art. I post my experiences either in drawing or sculpture. My art is conceptualised by my experiences, a story, or something that has influenced me. I’m inspired by life.”

For Thom, art makes him “feel alive”, and so he “dances and sings” while he is creating his pieces. He pointed out that he is most comfortable when he is into his art, and even forgets to eat sometimes.

His sculptures are full of life and reflect his deepest thoughts. One recurring theme in his work is slavery.

He explains, “I listen to a lot of stories about slavery, and saw movies, and I don’t think there’s anything else as cruel as slavery.

And as I said, when something bothers or influences me, I want to express that in art. Someone had asked me why most of my art pieces are based on slavery and why I’m not changing from that. I believe that we need to free ourselves not just from physical slavery but also from mental slavery. My art serves that pur"Middle Passage"

pose of a reminder to do so and so I won’t desist from that.”

One of Thom’s most notable works is the1823 Demerara rebellion monument, completed in 2013 and located on Carifesta Avenue.

Thom’s piece won a competition held by the then culture, youth and sport ministry. The winning entry also gave birth to an art foundry at the Burrowes School of Art. “A lot of what I learnt about my work is from reading books, which I still do. So my advice to young artists is to read and keep practicing every day because that’s the only way you’ll get better. I made a promise that I would do something with art every day – even if it’s just a small sketch and so I encourage young artists to do the same,” he advised.

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he second half of the seventeenth century saw the establishment of a plantation economy in Guyana based on African slave labour. The bulk of the African slaves were brought from Senegambia, Sierra Leone, the Windward Coast, Gold Coast and the Bight of Benin. They belonged to several tribes and several language groups.

According to Guyana. org, the general view held by the Dutch planters, and the English planters after them, was that the African

the fifteenth century, when Portuguese missionaries came to the coasts of Africa.

Some slaves, therefore, brought Christian beliefs with them when they were thrust into slavery. In addition to Christianity and a wide variety of polytheistic religions, a significant portion of the continent were for centuries under Islamic influence.

It may be useful to note that some of the slaves, particularly these who came from the Fula-speaking area of Senegambia, were

most likely converted to Islam when that religion penetrated West Africa from the north by way of the Sahara Desert. But Islam among Africans did not long survive the Middle Passage and the plantation system.

The practice of the planters of separating tribesmen from one another, and of discouraging the assembling of slaves for any purpose whatsoever, was not calculated to allow Islam to survive.

Again, the small number of African Muslims that came to Guyana lacked the leadership of Imams and the possession of the Qu'ran.

Then, too, the plantation life did not lend itself for long prayers at fixed times, worship on a set day, fasting at prescribed periods, or feasting on holidays which did not coincide with those observed by the plantocracy.

As such, the plantation, which was geared exclusively to sugar production, gave

Crucifix, early 17th century, Democratic Republic of Congo; Kongo peoples Brass; H. 10 in.

(25.4 cm). According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, considered an emblem of spiritual authority and power, the Christian cross was integrated into Kongo ancestral cults and burial rituals, and was believed to contain magical protective properties.

In Kongo culture, crosses were believed to intervene in matters ranging from illness and fertility to rainfall

Man from the Fulani tribe in Africa today (Photo: Jeremy Weate)

slaves did not hold to a system of beliefs that could be described as a religion. At best – so the members of the plantocracy and the church that served them felt – their beliefs amounted to nothing more than heathenish superstition.

Not a few of them, perhaps, felt that the Africans were incapable of religious sentiment. But the Africans held religious beliefs derived from their homeland.

Enslaved men and women kept the rites, rituals, and cosmologies of Africa alive through stories, healing arts, song, and other forms of cultural expression.

Writing for PBS on the slave religious experience, Kimberly Sambol-Tosco stated that Africans and African descendants working in the early modern Atlantic commercial system were exposed to the world of European Christianity as early as

Muslims.

Toby, a Muslim slave

In chapter 28 of “The Guyana Story”: Religion of the slaves, it is said that a young Hausa-speaking Muslim slave named Toby, from Hanover in Berbice, debated religious questions with the Rev. John Wray, the Congregational missionary in Berbice in the early nineteenth century.

Wray's successor in Berbice, Rev. Howe, was very impressed with Toby's intelligence and his desire to acquire knowledge, that after converting him to Christianity, he arranged for the young man to go to England for further training by the London Missionary Society. He was granted his freedom and his name was changed to Thomas Lewis. In 1836, he returned to Berbice as a catechist-teacher.

Toby's ancestors were

Pottery piece depicting three people seated representing the Igbo deity Ifejioku

no scope for the development of Islam as the Senegambian village did.

But if the Islam that came with African slaves did not survive the conditions of slavery, the name "Fulah" came to be used as a descriptive of indentured Indian Muslims and their descendants. The blacks who labelled them Fulahs clearly knew Fula-speaking Africans who were Muslims.

Indigenous African religious beliefs

On the other hand, indigenous African religious beliefs, which became la-

belled as "obeah", survived the difficulties of estate life in Guyana. But these beliefs underwent significant changes although they remained clearly "African" in structure. Three factors were mainly responsible for these changes.

In the first place, African religious ideas were capable of modification in response to the new circumstance of estate life. Secondly, the practice of African religion was frowned upon by estate authorities. This meant that the religion could only be practised secretly and irregularly.

The result has been that some aspects of African religious practices withered away while others lost their nationality and language and became garbled.

Thirdly, the exposure to Christianity led not only to the conversion of Blacks to that religion, but also to the overlapping of African and Christian beliefs.

While in Jamaica, af-

ter 1760, it became an offence punishable by death for slaves to practise obeah, it is not clear if the same situation existed in Guyana.

Nevertheless, the slaves did not lack "religious" leaders who, however, were not as well trained or as carefully chosen as the priests who served the African villages and compounds.

The policy of the plantocracy of separating African tribesmen from one another (as far as this was practicable) also affected the development of African religion in Guyana, since that religion traditionally had a strong link with the tribe.

Chairman of the Guyana Reparations Committee, Eric Phillips, noted in one newspaper interview that slavery disconnected Africans from their beliefs and their own gods.

“African gods,” he said, “were taken away; Hindu gods were not taken away, and Chinese gods were not taken away.”

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Recipes from Niger The name is derived from macaroni. It is usually made by blending normal spaghetti and “C” type macaroni. A bit of curry powder or tomato sauce may be added. It may then be served with deguidegui (tomato stew) or eaten by itself.

Ingredients

This stew is a traditional dish of Niger.

Ingredients For the dumplings 250g plain flour 10g dried yeast 1tbsp oil Salt For the stew 600g mutton 150g tomato puree

500g packet of spaghetti 1 tsp. chili powder 5 tbsp. cooking oil Salt and pepper

Method

Bring two litres of water to the boil in a large pot.

Once the water is boiling, add the oil and chili powder.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper for more flavour, reduce the heat and stir.

Break the spaghetti in half.

Add the spaghetti to the water. Follow the package directions for cooking times. To keep the pasta from sticking, stir during the first minute or two of cooking.

Take the pasta out of the water, strain and serve instantly.

Method

Dissolve the yeast in 75ml warm water in a bowl and then mix in 15g of flour to make a smooth paste. Cover the bowl and put in a warm place to prove for at least an hour.

Add the rest of the flour, oil and flour, then add more water until the mixture turns into a firm dough. Kneed for about 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, then divide into balls about 4 cm across, place on a greased tray, cover and put in a warm place for another hour.

Heat some oil in a large pan and fry the mutton for 5 minutes, until it starts

3 onions 2 Garlic Cloves 4 tomatoes 6 dried dates 2tsp cumin 2tsp cinnamon 2tsp aniseed 2 bay leaves 2 red chilies Salt and pepper to brown. Then add the onions and fry for a further 5 minutes until they start to colour.

Add the cumin, cinnamon, aniseed and garlic, letting them cover the meat, and cook for 2 -3 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes, dates and tomato puree, cooking for another 5 minutes.

Add 1l of water, the chilies and bay leaves, season and then bring to a simmer.

Cover and cook for 1 hour.

Place the dumplings on the top of the stew and cook for another 30 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and then serve.

Jollof rice is found throughout West Africa, including Niger, and is thought to be the origin of jambalaya. Serve with fried plantains and a crisp green salad. (BBC)

Ingredients Dounguouri soko is cooked without spices. Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate and sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda) with small amounts of sodium chloride and sodium sulphate.

Ingredients

2 lb. lamb, cut into chunks 1 lb. white beans 4 onions, chopped 2 green bell peppers, ground 2 red bell peppers, ground 5 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced 3 garlic cloves 1 cup vegetable or

peanut oil 2 tbsp. tomato paste 1 tsp. natron (or baking soda) Salt Pepper 2 cups water Mayonnaise

For the rice 1 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil 2 large onions, sliced 2 x 400g/14oz cans plum tomatoes 1 red pepper, diced 4 tbsp. tomato purée ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper or chilli powder

1 tsp. curry powder 1 bay leaf Sprig fresh thyme 1 stock cube 225g/8oz long-grain or basmati rice Salt and freshly ground black pepper To serve 2 plantains, cut into slices and deep fried Green leaf salad

Method

Soak the beans in water overnight and rinse thoroughly.

Mix natron and white beans and boil 45 minutes in plenty of water in a pressure cooker preferably.

Rinse with hot water and drain. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil, and brown the meat over medium heat.

Add the onions and chopped peppers and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and water.

Pour the beans. Cook 30 minutes over medium heat, and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat.

When cooked, increase the heat to reduce the sauce if it is too liquid.

This dish should be accompanied by mayonnaise.

Method

For the rice, heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onions over a gentle heat until translucent.

Stir in the canned tomatoes, red pepper and tomato purée, then season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and the cayenne or chilli.

Add the curry powder, bay leaf and thyme, then pour in 550ml/19fl oz. of water and crumble in the stock cube.

Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20–30 minutes.

Rinse the rice well to remove excess starch, then add it to the tomato mixture.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 25–30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve the jollof with fried plantains and a crisp green salad.

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childbirth, and the needs of their young children to be fed, cleaned, loved, and integrated spiritually and socially into the human community, all brought them into conflict with the demands of the owners and managers of the plantations on which they worked.

Miscarriages, maternity and early childhood deaths were common. Enslaved women's experience of pregnancy, birth and motherhood was marked by ill-

A

timate with their owners – more so than other enslaved individuals.

If they ever resisted any intimate advance, they might be subjected to incredibly harsh punishments such as beatings or rape, notes the Atlanta Black Star.

Additionally, many owners usually took no responsibility or ownership of the children they had with these women. Mistresses often beat enslaved women for having sex with their hus-

was a woman assumed to be even more promiscuous than other enslaved black women.

These “jezebels” were often subjected to sexual abuse multiple times throughout the day. The white men insisted that it was the enslaved woman’s fault for being so promiscuous.

In addition, the Star states, The “mammy” stereotype is also perpetuated throughout mainstream media today. “Mammies” were enslaved women who

Women cultivating a village garden, Central Africa. University of Virginia Library (PBS)

t the start of the Atlantic Slave Trade it has been said that slaves were mostly male Africans. However, when the Dutch first began bringing female slaves, it is claimed that it was for the male slaves’ “company”.

There was one female slave for every two males.

Labour

One source notes that as skilled labour such as carpentry and blacksmithing were found only among male slaves, the “pool” of male agriculture or field slaves was reduced. Female slaves, who were not only easily available but also cheaper, were forced to work in the fields.

According to the article “The role of women in slave communities” by Victoria Chihos, many European observers saw African women as rugged and animal-like because they were physically capable of doing the same work in the fields as their male counterparts.

White female servants were not capable of performing the same tasks and so the "robustness of form" of black females was negatively compared to European women.

Jennifer Hallam, in her article “The Slave Experience: Men, Women and Gender” notes the irony of equality among field slaves as men and women worked side by side, though on larger plantations work was often divided along gender lines.

She adds that in Africa, attending to crops and working with hoes was “specifically identified with woman's work in West Africa”.

On smaller estates, black male slaves faced a plantation life that disregarded African tradition, forcing males to do “female domestic duties”, thereby “emascu-

lating” them.

However, the African female, Chihos states, was ascribed not only economic responsibilities when purchased as a slave; often, sexual duties and childbearing were of primary importance to the plantocracy.

Motherhood

Hallam, who holds a doctorate in the History of Art from the University of Pennsylvania, points out that in Africa, a woman's primary social role was that of mother. In slavery, this aspect of African womanhood was debased.

Whereas childbirth in Africa was a rite of passage for women that earned them

increased respect, within the plantation system it was often seen as an economic advantage for the master, who multiplied his labour force through slave pregnancy.

The female slave was, moreover, faced with the prospect of being forced into sexual relationships for the purposes of reproduction.

Diana Paton of Newcastle University writes that in the Caribbean before abolitionism, slaveholders showed little interest in women as mothers.

Women's inability to maintain the pace of work required by plantation managers during pregnancy, their need for recovery time after

Nicki Minaj at the 2015 Grammy Awards. She has often been criticised for encouraging the jezebel stereotype

Aunt Jemima ad. The original Aunt Jemima, Nancy Green, was born into slavery in 1834, so the look was indicative of the time health and death, pain and grief. The everyday loss of children was one of the hidden traumas of slavery.

Sexuality

The slave owner's exploitation of the black woman's sexuality was one of the most significant factors differentiating the experience of slavery for males and females.

Throughout the period of slavery, white society believed black women to be innately lustful beings.

Chihos too writes that throughout the slave trade, black women often were represented and observed through the sexually repressed European perspective that viewed them as immoral and promiscuous.

Against the European woman’s apparent prudishness, the perception of the African woman as hypersexual made her both the object of white man's abhorrence and his fantasy.

Within the bonds of slavery, masters often felt it their right to engage in sexual activity with black women.

There is significant evidence of numerous affairs between white men and black women,leading to a large mulatto population.

“House slaves”, those who cooked and cleaned in their owners’ homes, were sometimes expected to incredibly affectionate and in-

bands while the husband was never held accountable.

Legacy

According to Atlanta Black Star, the sexual exploitation of enslaved women has led to the creation of Jezebel stereotypes in mainstream media even today.

Many academics describe hip-hop stars like Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim as jezebel stereotypes.

A Jezebel during slavery

worked in their master’s homes.

Perhaps one of the most famous examples, it adds, is Aunt Jemima. The popular image became the face of The Quaker Oats Company, and features a dark-skinned, heavyset black woman wearing an apron and a bandana – a description that was commonly used for enslaved women who worked in the house instead of out in the fields.

Harriet Jones with daughter and granddaughter. Harriet Jones, then 93, was born a slave in North Carolina, USA (gutenburg.org)

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I am the world's greatest traveller.

I have been transported by camel, dog sled, bicycle, train, steamship, automobile/car, airplane, airship, and rocket. I have pictures of people and places from around the world.

What am I? see solution on page 23

see solution on page 23

see solution on page 23

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Emancipation Magazine GEOZONE

Creature Corner

A

T

he wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) is a member of the antelope family. Also called a gnu, it can weigh 265 to 600 lbs, and stands 50 to 58 ins. at the shoulder.

Wildebeest can be found in the plains and acacia savannas of Eastern Africa. They are continually on the move on open woodlands and open grassy plains, seeking fresh supplies of grass and water.

There are several wildebeest species. Those forming the large herds of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem of Kenya and Tanzania are known as the western whitebearded wildebeest, while the eastern white-bearded species inhabit Kenya and Tanzania east of the Gregory Rift.

The brindled, or blue, specie occurs south of the Zambezi River.

Wildebeest are prey for lions, cheetahs, hunting dogs and hyenas, while habitat fragmentation poses their greatest human threat.

frica is a very large and diverse part of the world.

According to the world atlas.com, there are 54 countries in Africa.

More than 700 languages are spoken just within the African continent. Many of which are closely related, yet considered distinct and unique.

The sizes of the nations are also very diverse. The largest country is Sudan, some 2,505,813 square kilometres. The smallest nation is Seychelles, a small cluster of islands on the east coast, consisting of 455 square kilometres.

Africa is often viewed as a place of deserts, savannas, and animals. In reality, Africa contains a large portion of the population of the world – some 1.1 billion in 2013. It is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent.

AARDVARK BABOON BUFFALO CHEETAH ELEPHANT HIPPOPOTAMUS HYENA LION LEOPARD WARTHOG WILDEBEEST ZEBRA

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A

frica is the second-largest continent in the world. Among its one billion inhabitants, more than 1,000 languages are spoken, and there is a considerable variety of ethnic religions.

In most African cultures, history and beliefs have been explained and passed on through oral traditions and storytelling.

Many narratives deal with common concepts such as life after death or the birth of the universe, but they also include belief in magic, ancestor spirits, celestial beings, and an assortment of unusual legends that pertain to its animals.

Far from being seen as relics from the past, these stories still form an integral part of many Africans’ daily lives and are a testimony to their principles and beliefs.

African myths and legends Huveane

In many African stories, Huveane is the first man, while in others he is portrayed as a conniving deity. For the Basotho and Bavenda peoples of Lesotho, South Africa, he is their creator. After the creation of the earth and the heavens, Huveane wanted to enjoy some peace and quiet while proudly admiring his handiwork. Unfortunately, that was about the same time that humans taught themselves about the birds and the bees. This was great for them, but all the noise was too loud for Huveane. In an unusual fashion, Huveane ascended into the heavens by driving pegs into it and climbing to the top. As he climbed he removed each peg so that no human would ever follow him.

Kaang

The Hippopotamus

The Khoi or San, also called the Bushmen, are the nomads of Africa. They are experts at finding water, and their advice is often sought out due to their precognitive dreams and divining capabilities. According to their beliefs, the supreme god Kaang created the world but sent death and destruction after experiencing too much disobedience and antagonism. Even though he lives in the sky, his invisible spirit still resides in all living things.

Biloko

This remarkable African mammal is usually featured as a goddess in African legends. Worshiped in ancient Egypt as Tawaret, the goddess of fertility and childbirth, she was essentially regarded as a protective and caring deity. In Mozambique, the Ronga people tell the legend of a mother who left her child with Mother Hippo for safekeeping as the child’s life was threatened by an envious rival. Every night, Mother Hippo would emerge with the child so that it could suckle from its mother.

On the other hand, male hippopotami are usually seen as shape-shifting beasts. According to the legend of the hero Fara Maka, one such beast ate all the crops in the fields. The hero threw all his spears and sent black hounds against it, but the monster continued eating and could only be subdued and killed after a spell was placed on it by the hero’s wife.

The Biloko are diabolical dwarflike entities believed to roam the nethermost regions of the rainforest in central Zaire. According to the legends, these beings are restless ancestor spirits who still harbour resentment toward the living. They zealously guard the forest and its living creatures from the hollow trees in which they hide. Women lose consciousness at the sight of them and only the most daring hunters enter these forests and survive. Apart from their hideous appearance—no hair, long sharp claws, and sharp-toothed mouths that can open wide enough to swallow a human being whole—they also have a tendency to bewitch and eat all those who come under their spell.

The Zambezi River God

Anansi The legendary Zambezi River God, or Nyaminyami, is a dragon-like creature believed to command all life in and on the mighty Zambezi River, the fourth-largest river system on the continent. According to one fable, the Kariba Dam project (started in 1956) shattered the peaceful existence of the Batonga people who had lived in the Zambezi Valley for hundreds of years.

Asked to relocate, the Batonga were certain that Nyaminyami wouldn’t allow the dam to be built. Barely The exploits of Anansi, West Africa’s great trickster-god, are described in hundreds a year after the project began, a severe of folktales. Usually in the form of a spider, his stories mainly deal with his attempts flood struck, killing several workers and at fooling humans into stealing or doing something immoral that would benefit him in destroying the partially built dam. For some way. These attempts normally fail miserably, teaching the listeners various life three days, relatives waited in vain for lessons. One tale tells of his attempt to hoard the entire world’s wisdom into a pot for human remains to be recovered. Finally, himself. When he succeeded, he attempted to hide the pot at the top of a tree where the elders of the tribe explained that only nobody could find it. He tied the pot in front of him and tried to climb the tree, but a sacrifice would appease Nyaminyami’s progress was slow as he kept sliding and losing his grip. His son, who had followed displeasure. At this, a calf was slaughtered him, finally asked him why he didn’t tie the pot to his back so that he could climb more and placed in the water. The next day, the easily. As he realized his son’s ingenuity, the pot slipped and fell to the ground. The bodies of the workers were found in its wisdom fell out and a sudden rainstorm washed it into the river and from there to the place. The dam was finished in 1977. waters of the ocean, so that everyone in the world now owns a little bit of it.

The Magic of the Lovedu Rain Queens To the Lovedu people of Mpumalanga, South Africa, the Rain Queen is a fundamental part of their culture and history. Called Mudjadji, the queen is said to be a living incarnation of the rain goddess. As she is the embodiment of rain, even her state of mind is said to influence the weather. The Mudjadji is also believed to be able to send storms to destroy the Lovedu’s enemies or gentle rain to nurture their friends. Every year, the Rain Queen’s powers are displayed at the Ga-Modjadji settlement during the rainmaking ceremony. The queens are all expected to commit suicide by poison at the age of 60. On that day, all of the queen’s rainmaking ingredients, prized objects, and incantations kept secret throughout her reign are passed on to her successor.

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Hair has become a political issue across Africa.

Chemical relaxers, which straighten hair, have been popular for years. But while the look is seen by some as professional, others call it un-African.

There's a move away from relaxing hair - a journey the BBC's Pumza Fihlani has made.

S

undays were salon days when I was young. From the age of 10, my mother would plait or relax my hair for school.

She spent three hours on each of her three daughters' heads.My middle sister has a sensitive scalp and was the first to rush for the wash basin.She'd be crying funeral tears by the time she was done.

The chemical sodium hydroxide is put on the hair to break down its protein causing it to become straight.

This can be a painful process that sometimes leaves you with a burnt scalp.

Although African hair is versatile, with endless hairstyles to choose from, Africa has been flooded with relaxers to smooth that stubborn kink.

But people are starting to turn away from relaxers.

“From dreadlocks, weaves and relaxed hair,”BBC's Pumza Fihlani says, “my sisters and I wear our hair with pride”

“I'm not trying to be white.” Columnist Kuli Roberts says her hair is only an accessory, it does not define her

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has touched on some of the restrictions it brings."Relaxing your hair is like being in prison," she wrote. "You're caged in.

Your hair rules you."

"You're always battling to make your hair do what it wasn't meant to do."

Natural hair supporters go one step further to say natural hair is a nod to being a real African.

South African hair blogger Milisuthando Bongela says black hair has been treated with disdain for years because black people have been made to be a

problem.

For centuries black women around the world were discriminated against because of their skin, hair and culture. White attributes - including straight hair were seen as superior.

There are still remnants of that to this day.When a black woman graces our screens she is usually wearing either a weave or has bone-straight, relaxed hair.

But believing that all women who relax their hair or wear weaves do so because they are trying to be white would be simplistic.

It doesn't take into consideration the social pres-

sures.

Until recently many South African schools and work places favoured relaxed hair because other styles weren't seen as the "professional look".

Later in life, some women worry that they will be passed over for promotions and relationships if they keep their hair natural.

That's because there is still a stigma around natural hair. Its harshest critics consider it to be unkempt.

Even the Kenyan Oscarwinning actress Lupita Nyong'o told the BBC that when she decided to stop relaxing her hair and cut it all off, what grew back "wasn't that bad after all".

I don't ever recall my mother saying long straight hair made us prettier, or making any of us feel our bushy natural hair was unsightly. For her, relaxing it meant less time getting us ready in the mornings.It was simply convenient.

It takes time and effort to look after natural hair.

Now I spend anything up to five hours in the salon, a twice-a-month ritual. Each visit can cost up to 1,500 rand (US$120; £75), depending on what I get done.

Ms Adichie also points out that many people choose

to relax their hair because they don't know how to care for natural hair.

Fify Loewen, a photographer from Gaborone, Botswana, notes, “There’s a perception that natural hair is unkempt hair. A bit of education needs to be done here. I know that natural hair can look neat too.

People started asking me how I did my hair so I started a Facebook group. Over 1,000 people have joined."

Loewen also found that she couldn't even buy the products for natural hair in her country.

I would like to be seen as more than my hair.

I refuse to be reduced to a type because of my hair; boxed into the category of "beautiful because she has long hair", "successful because she has long hair", perhaps even "married because she has long hair".

And what is it about straightening my hair that communicates that I have abandoned my roots?

While I love my new hairstyle - I don't think I'm any more African now than I was before the chop.

As columnist Kuli Roberts says, "…we need to stop putting black women in a box".

She has been scrutinised

over her choice to wear weaves - questions that are never directed at people from other races.

Some say hair is one of the most contentious issues in black society.

South African columnist Danielle Bowler goes as far as to say in Eyewitness News that "while some women might not choose their hairstyle based on an overt political decision, the choices available to us are themselves inescapably political".

She also notes that hair can be divisive.The debate is often "reduced to a simplistic antagonistic relationship between weaves and natural hair" she says.

Whether I weave it, relax it or braid it I'd like to live in a world where the choice of how to express myself - in hair and everything in between - is mine.

As for my sisters; the youngest now has long dreadlocks, my middle sister - who still isn't a fan of combing - rocks a weave most of the time and I have short, colour-treated afro hair.

We are the perfect representation of choice in modern South Africa - and in the end, choice and the freedom to express it, is what those before us fought for.(Source: BBC News World Africa)

The Philonoist

Wild Africa Q: What does the term Africa’s ‘Big Five’ mean?

Fify Loewen: My natural hair journey

CROSSWORD Brain Teaser Answer I am only a postage stamp.

SUDOKU

T

he term 'Big Five' refers to five of the world greatest wild animals that are found in Africa – the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros.

Originally a term used by big game hunters in the past, it referred to the ferocity of each of these five animals when they were shot and cornered. At the time it was (and for some still is) considered an accomplishment to “bag” one of these huge beasts.

Conservation awareness today has shifted the term’s perception from guns to cameras, and suggests the beauty and majesty of Africa's still-wild natural destinations.

It is now a marketing term used often by safari tour operators, believing that most tourists’ ideas of being on a safari include seeing all five.

Incidentally, the hippo and giraffe are “bigger”, and the former more aggressive than the five (the hippo is responsible for more human fatalities in Africa than any other large animal).

Perhaps the hippo was less accessible for early game hunters and shooting the graceful and gentle giraffe was not considered a feat by trophy hunters to take home and brag about.

However, game hunting of the big five is still carried out today. In South Africa and Zimbabwe, for instance, big game hunting, as it is also called, is allowed and termed ‘Big Five Hunting Safaris”.

One website notes, “While many of the antelope species like kudu, wildebeest and eland can be quite large, none can turn the tables on the hunter so quickly and so completely as the members of the Big Five. The resulting rush of adrenalin is the very essence of that which brings so many hunters to Africa.”

It also offers advice about what gun and bullets can be used for each animal, and displays photos of hunt kills – a practice that creates controversy among conservationists and proponents of big game hunting.

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Archie

ARIES

Financial changes are (March 21- imminent. Putting in extra JULY 26) hours to complete a job will pay off. Someone will propose a positive suggestion that will influence your future.

Get involved. The wider TAURUS your spectrum, the more op(April 20portunities will come your May 20) way. Business or personal partnerships will come about through participation in group events or activities.

Honesty is important, GEMINI (May 21- but diplomacy is a necessiJune 20) ty. Disparaging or critical remarks can be hurtful to others and damaging to your reputation. Think before you speak.

You will receive an intriguing offer from someone (JULY 26you meet at a social engageJuly 22) ment. If you welcome change and offer a positive attitude, you will come out on top.

CANCER

Your finances show signs LEO (July 23- of improvement, but don't let Aug. 22) your generous nature leave you cash-poor. Smart money handling can help you secure a healthy, stress-free future.

Dilbert

Take matters as they VIRGO come. Changes in your per(Aug. 23sonal life will confuse you, Sept. 22) but in the end, you will be in a better position. Let go of the past.

Put your energy into getLIBRA ting ahead. Your reputation (Sept. 23Oct. 23) is helping you gain ground, and a new, exciting opportunity will surface. Don't hesitate. It's important to keep the momentum going.

Peanuts

Get back to basics. If SCORPIO things seem to be veering out (Oct. 24Nov. 22) of control, slow down and do your best to assess the situation. Acting on impulse will lead to regret down the line.

Don't give in to presSAGITTARIUS sure or emotional blackmail.

(Nov. 23Someone will try to lead you Dec. 21) into a dubious situation that goes against your judgment.

Listen to those who have stood by you in the past.

Calvin and Hobbes

If you plan a trip or event CAPRICORN that includes your favorite (Dec. 22people or activities, you will Jan. 19) gain popularity as well as confidence. Don't be reluctant to show off what you have to offer.

Focus and determination AQUARIUS (Jan. 20- will help you increase your inFeb. 19) come. Embark on a new business venture. You have what it takes to succeed. Don't waste time hoping for someone else to lead the way.

PISCES Take a deep breath and (Feb. 20- calm down. Your oversensitivMarch 20) ity will cost you if you speak or act rashly. Don't blame others for your actions, or you will end up being criticized.