SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

The Greatest Obstacle to Enlightenment
Enlightenment - what is that?
A beggar had been sitting by the side of a road for over thirty years. One day a stranger walked by. "Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap. "I have nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What's that you are sitting on?" "Nothing," replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember." "Ever looked inside?" asked the stranger. "No," said the beggar. "What's the point? There's nothing in there." "Have a look inside," insisted the stranger. The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.
I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even closer: inside yourself.
"But I am not a beggar," I can hear you say.
Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it, are beggars, even if they have great material wealth. They are looking outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation, security, or love, while they have a treasure within that not only includes all those things but is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.
The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some super-human accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is simply your natural state of felt oneness with Being. It is a state of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible, something that, almost paradoxically, is essentially you and yet is much greater than you. It is finding your true nature beyond name and form. The inability to feel this connectedness gives rise to the illusion of separation, from yourself and from the world around you. You then perceive yourself, consciously or unconsciously, as an isolated fragment. Fear arises, and conflict within and without becomes the norm.
I love the Buddha's simple definition of enlightenment as "the end of suffering." There is nothing superhuman in that, is there? Of course, as a definition, it is
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incomplete. It only tells you what enlightenment is not: no suffering. But what's left when there is no more suffering? The Buddha is silent on that, and his silence implies that you'll have to find out for yourself. He uses a negative definition so that the mind cannot make it into something to believe in or into a superhuman accomplishment, a goal that is impossible for you to attain. Despite this precaution, the majority of Buddhists still believe that enlightenment is for the Buddha, not for them, at least not in this lifetime.
You used the word Being. Can you explain what you mean by that?
Being is the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death. However, Being is not only beyond but also deep within every form as its innermost invisible and indestructible essence. This means that it is accessible to you now as your own deepest self, your true nature. But don't seek to grasp it with your mind. Don't try to understand it. You can know it only when the mind is still. When you are present, when your attention is fully and intensely in the Now, Being can be felt, but it can never be understood mentally. To regain awareness of Being and to abide in that state of "feeling-realization" is enlightenment.
When you say Being, are you talking about God? If you are, then why don't you say it?
The word God has become empty of meaning through thousands of years of misuse. I use it sometimes, but I do so sparingly. By misuse, I mean that people who have never even glimpsed the realm of the sacred, the infinite vastness behind that word, use it with great conviction, as if they knew what they are talking about. Or they argue against it, as if they knew what it is that they are denying. This misuse gives rise to absurd beliefs, assertions, and egoic delusions, such as "My or our God is the only true God, and your God is false," or Nietzsche's famous statement "God is dead."
The word God has become a closed concept. The moment the word is uttered, a mental image is created, no longer, perhaps, of an old man with a white beard, but still a mental representation of someone or something outside you, and, yes, almost inevitably a male someone or something.
Neither God nor Being nor any other word can define or explain the ineffable reality behind the word, so the only important question is whether the word is a help or a hindrance in enabling you to experience That toward which it points. Does it
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point beyond itself to that transcendental reality, or does it lend itself too easily to becoming no more than an idea in your head that you believe in, a mental idol?
The word Being explains nothing, but nor does God. Being, however, has the advantage that it is an open concept. It does not reduce the infinite invisible to a finite entity. It is impossible to form a mental image of it. Nobody can claim exclusive possession of Being. It is your very essence, and it is immediately accessible to you as the feeling of your own presence, the realization I am that is prior to I am this or I am that. So it is only a small step from the word Being to the experience of Being.
What is the greatest obstacle to experiencing this reality?
Identification with your mind, which causes thought to become compulsive. Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadful affliction, but we don't realize this because almost everybody is suffering from it, so it is considered normal. This incessant mental noise prevents you from finding that realm of inner stillness that is inseparable from Being. It also creates a false mind-made self that casts a shadow of fear and suffering. We will look at all that in more detail later.
The philosopher Descartes believed that he had found the most fundamental truth when he made his famous statement: "I think, therefore I am." He had, in fact, given expression to the most basic error: to equate thinking with Being and identity with thinking. The compulsive thinker, which means almost everyone, lives in a state of apparent separateness, in an insanely complex world of continuous problems and conflict, a world that reflects the ever-increasing fragmentation of the mind. Enlightenment is a state of wholeness, of being "at one" and therefore at peace. At one with life in its manifested aspect, the world, as well as with your deepest self and life unmanifested - at one with Being. Enlightenment is not only the end of suffering and of continuous conflict within and without, but also the end of the dreadful enslavement to incessant thinking. What an incredible liberation this is!
Identification with your mind creates an opaque screen of concepts, labels, images, words, judgments, and definitions that blocks all true relationship. It comes between you and yourself, between you and your fellow man and woman, between you and nature, between you and God. It is this screen of thought that creates the illusion of separateness, the illusion that there is you and a totally separate "other." You then forget the essential fact that, underneath the level of physical appearances and separate forms, you are one with all that is. By "forget," I mean that you can no longer feel this oneness as self-evident reality. You may believe it to be true, but you no longer know it to be true. A belief may be comforting. Only through your own experience, however, does it become liberating.
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Thinking has become a disease. Disease happens when things get out of balance. For example, there is nothing wrong with cells dividing and multiplying in the body, but when this process continues in disregard of the total organism, cells proliferate and we have disease.
Note: The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive. To put it more accurately, it is not so much that you use your mind wrongly - you usually don't use it at all. It uses you. This is the disease. You believe that you are your mind. This is the delusion. The instrument has taken you over.
I don't quite agree. It is true that I do a lot of aimless thinking, like most people, but I can still choose to use my mind to get and accomplish things, and I do that all the time.
Just because you can solve a crossword puzzle or build an atom bomb doesn't mean that you use your mind. Just as dogs love to chew bones, the mind loves to get its teeth into problems. That's why it does crossword puzzles and builds atom bombs. You have no interest in either. Let me ask you this: can you be free of your mind whenever you want to? Have you found the "off" button?
You mean stop thinking altogether? No, I can't, except maybe for a moment or two.
Then the mind is using you. You are unconsciously identified with it, so you don't even know that you are its slave. It's almost as if you were possessed without knowing it, and so you take the possessing entity to be yourself. The beginning of freedom is the realization that you are not the possessing entity - the thinker. Knowing this enables you to observe the entity. The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. You then begin to realize that there is a vast realm of intelligence beyond thought, that thought is only a tiny aspect of that intelligence. You also realize that all the things that truly matter - beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace - arise from beyond the mind. You begin to awaken.

Road Traffic Accidents in Kenya

Accidents in Kenya

Thursday, 17 June 2010 13:52

According to the 2009 World Health Organisation (WHO) global status report, Kenya recorded 3,760 traffic deaths, the highest in East Africa region.  At least 90% of the global fatalities from traffic accidents occur in low and middle income countries even though, only 46% of global vehicles are in these countries. Kenya has among the worst statistics globally (WHO Global status report, 2009).  By 2015, WHO predicts the increase of road deaths to rise from 1.2 to 1.8 million, and 2.4 million by 2030.

On 19th-20th November 2009, Russia, requested by United Nations General Assembly hosted the first global ministerial conference on road safety.  The conference invited United Nations to declare 2011-2020 a decade of action for road safety to stabilize and reduce the forecast level of global death by 2020.  No one needs to do more to address the large and growing road carnage impact than Kenya.

The WHO Global status report states that nearly half of those dying on the roads – 46% are vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists and riders of motorized two wheelers and their passengers.  We think this number is slightly higher in Kenya.  According to the Kenya Police statistics 8 pedestrians were reported killed within 24 hours on Monday 14th June 2010.  In May 2010, 144 pedestrians were killed and 189 were seriously injured.

Kenya is among the many developing countries that have no comprehensive and sufficient in scope safety laws relating to key risk factors.  In Kenya, what we see is knee jerk reactions to major accidents.   These risk factors include: Speed, Drink driving, Helmets and High visibility Attires, Seat belts and Child restraints.

Enforcement of laws relating to key risk factors for road traffic injuries is often lacking

Moving forward, WHO predicts global road safety fatalities to rise to 2.4 million per year by 2030. Considering the current trend, if we fail to act, it will translate to almost 8,000 deaths per year on our roads by 2030.  God forbid.
Pamoja road safety initiative works for zero deaths on kenyan roads. Road crashes are not road accidents. They are preventable and must be stopped.
 Munene Gachuru

WHOSE REPRESENTATIVES ARE THEY, ANYWAY?

We all seem to think that we have MPs as our representatives in the Nation Assembly, right? Wrong! some of them are said to be controlled by individuals or cartels that bankrolled their elections into parliament. Others have been compromised and cajoled by the government and interested lobby groups to vote in a way that is contrary to the expectations of majority of citizens. Yet others have come up with Bills that have been paid for, researched and written by their paymasters who may not be necessarily the public. This however is not new and is hardly the problem of third world nations but it cuts across the so called democratic world due to the venality of politicians. It could be minimized in countries where citizens are well informed and watchful but it can be harmful in countries like ours where many are ignorant, illiterate and poor.
The hot news in our country at the moment is how an alcoholic Regulations Bill (popularly known as the "Mututho Bill"), brought into parliament by Naivasha MP, John Mututho, is impacting on alcoholic beverage consumers. There have been reports in the press of how lowly and poor citizens have been arrested while drinking alcohol outside the regular hours and fined large sums of money or face long prison sentences in default. There was a particular case where some citizens were arrested at Sabina Joy Day and Night Club, a popular joint for the low income earners and ladies of the night, where a couple of then were taken to court and handed fines of nearly a million shillings! Now, we know that they will never afford those fines and the alternative is to keep them in the overcrowded jails and feed energetic young people freely without them contributing even  for as little as manual labor, while many citizens out there starve to death due to the current drought in the country. This is not to defend people who break the law but we are aware that the manufactures of the lethal drinks that have killed and blinded poor citizens are never caught because of their capacity to bribe their way out. So, whereas John Mututho is being heralded as the savior of the poor youth who have fallen into the trap of adulterated drinks, I think those who supported his Bill should also have looked at the harder part, that of providing employment to those idle people. That's is the crux of the matter. A busy working person, be they young or old will find it difficult to consume alcohol during working hours, with or without the Mututho Bill!
When the MP for Imenti Central, Gitobu Imanyara, introduced a private members Bill in the National Assembly earlier on to enable the country form a local tribunal to try the post election culprits, the other MPs boycotted parliament and those present, practically laughed the poor guy out of the House. Now that six senior individuals have been named and are likely to be tried at the Hague by the International Criminal court (ICC), which they dread, this has made them look for an alternative local court for trial, we should not be surprised if the MP becomes popular with his colleagues and is invited to every corner of the country  and garlanded as he presides over Harambees and other not so important private functions. This is also informed by the urgency in which he has dusted his old bill that he now wishes to re-introduce! Talk of Bills of convenience!
A local opinion poll organization, Infotrak reported that in an opinion poll it carried out recently, President Kibaki seems to score poorly as an MP. This was however quickly rebutted by his handlers at State House who disingenuously alluded that the president is a ceremonial MP is should not be rated as other MPS! Now, pray tell, how did they expect the people of Othaya to feel? Our MPs have time and time again defended their large salaries to such reasons as they use it to help the poor, attend marriage and funeral ceremonies in the village. I hope the MP for Othaya doesn't collect his MP's salary together with that of the presidency! In the same opinion poll, the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga,  scored highly as the MP for Langata which house the Kibera slum. So, has Odinga managed to clean up the slum and provide his constituents with decent housing overnight? You could say that's the responsibility of the government. But what role has he played over the years to remedy the situation?
The La Nina weather phenomena that was predicted by experts last year is here with us and it's reported that there has been total crop failure in many parts of the country. Livestock is reportedly dying in northern Kenya because of lack of both grazing pastures and water. What role did the MPs play to pass the relevant bills and pressurize the government to take proactive measures to mitigate against this phenomena? Some of these MPs are  now at this late hour ranting and asking the government to provide famine relief! Where on earth do they expect this relief food to come from if they didn't participate in the planning and acquisition of adequate strategic stocks for the country as expected of them? We are told that countries such as Australia have national strategic food reserves that can last them up to five years! If our MPs can't help with the necessary laws to ensure that nobody suffers from hunger and malnutrition, then we need to be concerned and ask ourselves whether they really represent our interests.

CORRUPTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Corruption Thwarts Development

MOLLY O SHEEHAN / Vital Signs / Worldwatch Institute 2003

Corruption—the misuse of public power for private benefit—is hard to measure because officials who take bribes try to hide such activity. Since Transparency International (TI), a Berlin-based nongovernmental organization, published its first global Corruption Perceptions Index in 1995, however, opinion surveys have become a widely used tool to gauge corruption.
The index combines 15 surveys from nine institutions that ask businesspeople, risk analysts, and residents about corruption among public officials and politicians. In 2002, the index covered 102 countries. Of these, 70 nations scored less than 5 out of a clean score of 10, and 35 scored less than 3.1 (See Table 1.)
The methodology of this index is evolving, making year-to-year comparisons difficult, but TI does point to a few countries where the perception of corruption seems to be changing.2 South Korea improved its score between 2001 and 2002, after an anti-corruption law established a commission to investigate high-ranking officials and set fines for bribery of up to $40,000, jail terms of up to 10 years, and a ban on subsequent employment of 5 years.3 In contrast, Argentina was perceived as being more corrupt in 2002—its economic crisis invited new scrutiny of government spending at the same time that investigations into abuses by former President Carlos Menem were under way.4
Corruption erodes people’s trust in government. In 1999, two thirds of 57,000 people polled in 60 countries by Gallup’s International Millennium Survey believed that their country was not governed by the will of the people.5 Similarly, the Open Society Institute found that three fourths of citizens in Central and Eastern Europe believed that most or all of their public officials were corrupt, while only 4 out of 10 children surveyed in Europe and Central Asia saw voting in elections as an effective way to improve conditions in their country.6
Corruption also appears to sap economic growth. In a path-breaking 1995 paper, economist Paulo Mauro showed that highly corrupt nations have a smaller share of their gross domestic product going into investment.7 Corruption raises the cost of business, deterring would-be investors.8 A study of transition economies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia found that gross domestic investment averaged 20 percent less in countries with high corruption compared with countries with medium levels of corruption.9
When bribes mean more than votes, a government fails its citizens, as money that could be used to provide needed public services is diverted to private bank accounts. A parliamentary committee in the Philippines calculated in 2002 that corruption costs that government some $1.9 billion annually—twice the size of the national education budget.10 The World Bank estimates the cost of corruption in Colombia at $2.6 billion a year.11
Further, corruption skews public spending toward the sectors where bribing is easier.12 Studies show that corruption shifts spending away from education, health, and maintenance of existing infrastructure and toward large public works construction and buildup of the military. 13 Indeed, surveying corporate executives, bank officials, and law firms in 15 emerging market economies in 2002, TI found that public works was the sector in which bribes were most often demanded, followed by defense.14
At the local level, petty bribes solicited by officials from citizens act as a regressive tax that falls most heavily on the poor. Urban Kenyans polled by the Kenya chapter of TI in early 2001, for example, reported paying some $104 in bribes each month, on an average monthly income of only $331.15
Corruption also corresponds to environmental harm. Researchers at Yale University’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy have designed an Environmental Sustainability Index that ranks nations by environmental performance. Of 67 quality-of-life variables included in the index, corruption was the one most highly correlated with poor environmental quality.16 One explanation for this link could be that officials in nations with high levels of corruption take bribes in return for not enforcing environmental laws.
Deforestation spurred by corruption is well documented, for instance. In Indonesia, a recent study found that many of the logging concessions, covering more than half of the nation’s total forest area, were awarded by former President Suharto to relatives and political allies, that at least 16 million hectares of natural forest were approved for conversion to plantations, in direct contradiction of existing laws, and that corrupt officials allowed illegal logging that accounted for some 65 percent of total supply in 2000.17
Public officials have also used concessions for mining and fuel extraction to liquidate a nation’s resources without passing the revenue on to citizens. In oil-rich Nigeria and Angola, public officials have used oil money for arms and for personal gain.18 In July 2002, the family of Nigeria’s former dictator Sani Abacha agreed to return some $1.2 billion that he took from Nigeria’s central bank.19
Construction of public works is another area in which corruption has the potential to harm the environment. In Japan, unnecessary and environmentally damaging bridges, dams, and roads have been built as a result of unethical ties between the construction industry and lawmakers. 20 The president of the upper house of Japan’s Diet resigned in April 2002 after allegations that his aide took a kickback from a construction company on a public works project.21
In a landmark case involving the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, both the briber and the person who was bribed were found guilty of corruption in 2002. A court in Lesotho fined the Canadian company that built a dam $2.2 million for bribing the chief executive of the project, who was sentenced to 18 years in jail; this was the first time a developing nation’s court convicted an international company for paying bribes.22
The Lesotho case reflects mounting international pressure to combat corruption. Since 1999, the World Bank has barred from development projects companies that are involved in corruption.23 A 1997 Anti-Bribery Convention by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) criminalizes the bribery of foreign public officials, primarily targeting companies from industrial nations that pay bribes for contracts in the developing world.24 The Asian Development Bank and OECD launched an anti-corruption initiative in the Asia Pacific region in 2001 that committed nations to developing anti-corruption action plans.25 The Organization of American States has begun to implement an Inter-American Convention against Corruption.26 And in 2002, the United Nations began negotiating a global treaty on corruption.27

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Table 1: Nations Perceived by Business People and Risk Analysts as Most Corrupt of 102 Surveyed, 2002

Corruption
Index Score1  Countries
1.0–1.9  Bangladesh, Nigeria, Angola, Madagascar,
  Paraguay, Indonesia, Kenya
2.0–2.3  Azerbaijan, Moldova, Uganda, Bolivia,
  Cameroon, Ecuador, Haiti, Kazakhstan
2.4–2.6  Georgia, Ukraine, Viet Nam, Albania,
  Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela,
  Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Zambia
2.7–2.9  Côte d’Ivoire, Honduras, India, Russia,
  Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Malawi,
  Uzbekistan

1 Index ranges from 0 (most corrupt) to 10 (least corrupt).
Source: Transparency International.

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All these new initiatives recognize that “it takes two to tango” in corruption: a bribe payer and a bribe taker.28 But most companies have yet to fear prosecution for paying bribes. A recent survey of managers of major firms operating in developing countries found that only 19 percent knew something about the 1997 OECD anti-bribery treaty.29 Peter Eigen, TI’s chairman, notes: “Only a level playing field—a world in which honest companies know that bribery doesn’t pay and that unscrupulous competitors will be punished—will bring about a lasting change in the behavior of international business.”30 To help level the playing field, his organization is working with companies such as BP, Shell, Tata, and General Electric to develop business principles for countering bribery.31
References

1. Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2002 (Berlin: 2002).

2. Transparency International, “Frequently Asked Questions about the TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2002,” at , viewed 3 February 2003.

3. Transparency International, Global Corruption Report (Berlin: 2003), p. 133.

4. Javier Corrales, “The Politics of Argentina’s Meltdown,” World Policy Journal, fall 2002, pp. 29–42.

5. Gallup International, “Governance and Democracy—The People’s View: A Global Opinion Poll,” Gallup International Millennium Survey, 1999, at , viewed 7 January 2003.

6. Peter S. Green, “Graft in Eastern Europe is Called Rampant,” New York Times, 7 November 2002; UNICEF survey of 40,000 children between the ages of 9 and 18 in 72 countries cited in UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2003 (New York: 2003).

7. Paulo Mauro, “Corruption and Growth,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 110 (1995), pp. 681–713.

8. Shang-Jin Wei, How Taxing is Corruption on International Investors? Working Paper No. 6030 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1997).

9.World Bank, Anticorruption in Transition: A Contribution to the Policy Debate (Washington, DC: 2000), p. 19.

10. Philippine Daily Inquirer, 6 March 2002, cited in Transparency International, “Mugabe Stands Out Among the Politically Corrupt, While Banks and Energy Sector Top Dirty Business Deals Uncovered in 2002,” press release (Berlin: 17 December 2002).

11. Transparency International, op. cit. note 3, p. 108, based on World Bank, Report on Governance, Institutional Performance and Corruption: Developing an Anti-Corruption Strategy for Colombia, 21 March 2002, and on .

12. George T. Abed and Sanjeev Gupta, eds., Governance, Corruption, and Economic Performance (Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2002).

13. Vito Tanzi and Hamid Davoodi, Corruption, Public Investment and Growth, Working Paper 97/139 (Washington, DC: IMF, 1997); Sanjeev Gupta, Hamid Davoodi, and Rosa Alonso-Terme, Does Corruption Affect Income Inequality and Poverty? Working Paper 98/76 (Washington, DC: IMF, 1998).

14. Transparency International, Bribe Payers Index 2002 (Berlin: 2002).

15. Transparency International–Kenya, Corruption in Kenya: Findings of an Urban Bribery Survey (Nairobi: undated).

16. Yale University, “Environmental Sustainability Index,” press release (New Haven, CT: 26 January 2001).

17. Charles Victor Barber et al., The State of the Forest: Indonesia (Washington, DC: World Resources Institute, 2002).

18. Neil Ford, “Oil: Ethics Vs. Profits,” African Business, November 2000, pp. 26–27.

19. Floyd Norris, “A Nigerian Miracle,” New York Times, 21 April 2002.

20. “Survey: Corruption, Construction, Conservatism,” Economist, 20 April 2002.

21. Asahi Shimbun, 23 April 2002, cited in Transparency International, op. cit. note 3, p. 130.

22. Bernard Simon, “World Business Briefing Africa: Lesotho: Bribery Penalty,” New York Times, 29 October 2002.

23.World Bank, “Listing of Ineligible Firms: Fraud and Corruption,” at , viewed 7 January 2003.

24. John Brademas and Fritz Heimann, “Tackling International Corruption: No Longer Taboo,” Foreign Affairs, September/October 1998, pp. 17–22.

25. Asian Development Bank, “Asian and Pacific Governments Adopt Regional Plan to Fight Corruption,” press release (Tokyo: 30 November 2001).

26. Organization of American States, “Enhancement of Probity in the Hemisphere and Follow-Up on the Inter-American Program for Cooperation in the Fight Against Corruption,” General Assembly Resolution, Washington, DC, 5 June 2000.

27. United Nations, General Assembly, “Revised Draft United Nations Convention Against Corruption,” New York, 24 September 2002.

28. Demetrios Argyriades, “International Anticorruption Campaigns: Whose Ethics?” in Gerald E. Caiden et al., eds., Where Corruption Lives (Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2001), pp. 217–26.

29. Transparency International, op. cit. note 14.

30. Peter Eigen, “Multinationals’ Bribery Goes Unpunished,” International Herald Tribune, 12 November 2002.

31. Ibid.

source: http://www.worldwatch.org/brain/media/pdf/pubs/vs/2003_corruption.pdf 5nov03

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CHRISTIANITY ON THE NATIVES

The Pacific

Hawaii

By the 1860s,

"in Hawai'i the Reverend Rufus Anderson surveyed the carnage that by then had reduced those islands' native population by 90 percent or more, and he declined to see it as tragedy; the expected total die-off of the Hawaiian population was only natural, this missionary said, somewhat equivalent to 'the amputation of diseased members of the body'."
-- American Holocaust, by D. Stannard

Link: The section titled Native Peoples at The Christian Heritage

Tahiti and other Islands of the Pacific

The following shows how first Tahiti, then the other islands, were converted by missionaries from England (Protestants): through genocide of its people, both physical and cultural.

Tahiti.
Let us see how missionaries - like a contagious disease infecting civilizations - annihilate native cultures, destroy the happiness of peoples, and depopulate countries even without actively killing them... (reading this account of missionary conquest for the first time left me almost speechless with anger:)

IN 1767 THE ENGLISH navigator Wallis discovered the island of Tahiti. His visit was rapidly followed by those of the French explorer de Bougainville, and Captain James Cook... All three captains were overwhelmed by their reception at the hands of the people of Tahiti, and by the gifts showered upon them... When Cook left Tahiti... he wrote in his journal: "I directed my course to the West and we took our final leave of these happy islands and the good people on them." Some years later he was to write: "It would have been far better for these poor people never to have known us."
Captain Bligh of the Bounty - that stern judge of men - was if possible more impressed...: "I left these happy islanders with much distress, for the utmost affection, regard and good fellowship was among us during our stay..." A few days later the famous mutiny on the Bounty took place, due to the determination of members of his crew not to return to England but to remain and settle on the islands where they had found so much happiness... A counter-attack by the religious orthodoxy of the day was inevitable. In 1795 the London Missionary Society was formed, its immediate attention focused upon the Pacific; two years later a convict ship bound for Australia put the first missionaries ashore on Tahiti. They, too, were overwhelmed by the warmth of their welcome...
The Tahitians built their houses, fed them, and provided them with servants galore, but after seven years not a convert had been made. Children called upon to line up and repeat over and over again this simple verse in Tahitian did so obligingly and with good grace,

No te iaha e ridi mei ei Jehove ia oe?
For what is Jehova angry with thee?
No te taata ino wou no to'u hamani ino
Because I am evil and do evil.

But another seven years of such attempted indoctrination produced no results, then suddenly the great breakthrough took place. The device which eventually established the unswerving missionary rule is described in a letter to home by one of the brethren, J.M.Orsmond. "All the missionaries were at that time salting pork and distilling spirits... Pomare (the local chief) had a large share..." Orsmond describes the compact by which Pomare, reduced to an alcoholic, would be backed in a war against the other island chiefs on the understanding that his victory would be followed by enforced conversion. Since Pomare was supplied with firearms to be used against his opponents clubs, victory was certain. "The whole nation", Orsmond wrote, "was converted in a day."
There followed a reign of terror. Persistent unbelievers were put to death and a penal code was drawn up by the missionaries and enforced by the mission police... it was declared illegal to adorn oneself with flowers, to sing (other than hymns), ...to surf or to dance... Within a quarter of a century the process by which the native culture of Tahiti had been extinguished was exported to every corner of the Pacific, reducing the islanders to the level of the working class of Victorian England.
...After their mass conversion it was hoped that the Tahitians might be induced to accept the benefits of civilization by putting them to [servile] work growing sugar cane... The enterprise failed, and Mr Orsmond, believing that "a too bountiful nature ... diminishes men's natural desire to work", ordered all the breadfruit trees to be cut down. By this time the population of Tahiti had been reduced by syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and influenza from the 200,000 estimated by Cook to 18,000. After thirty years of missionary rule, only 6,000 remained.
Their power base firmly established in Tahiti, the missionaries moved swiftly to the outer islands... The methods employed were the same as before. A local chieftain would be baptized, crowned king, presented with a portrait of Queen Victoria, introduced to the bottle, and left to the work of conversion...A moral code of such strictness was then enforced that a man walking with his arm round a woman at night was compelled to carry a lantern in his free hand. On the island of Raiatea a man who forecast the weather ... was treated as a witchdoctor and put to death.
By 1850 the conquest of the Pacific was complete...Once the lives of the Polynesian and Melanesian people had been intertwined with the processes of creation. They seemed under compulsion to decorate everything [such as] the enormously tall prows of their canoes into which they carved such intricate designs...The desire to produce beautiful things has gone...Island dances, reduced to grass-skirts and swaying hips, are for tourist consumption, and the islanders' songs seem lugubrious as if they have never freed themselves of the influence of the gloomy hymn-chanting...
[LM1-8]

[LM] N.Lewis, The Missionaries, New York: McGraw-Hill 1988.

From: Mission: Possible - If You are a Missionary, then Genocide is Your Profession page from The Christian Heritage
See also: Christian Missionaries - the South Pacific
In this way, Protestant missionaries had taken a form of Christian Inquisition to the Pacific Islands and ruthlessly destroyed its people with Christianity. Today, people of Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and other Islands of the Pacific, rigidly follow Christianity. In Vanuatu, the Evangelical preachers regularly harp on how their women should wear the "traditional" Island dress (invented after Christianity, when the prudish missionaries taught them to be ashamed of everything, prior to which they were not generally covered with clothes). The preachers rant about women wearing trousers, which they teach are caused by "the Devil working through the women". Because of their conversion, they are now little different from the Christians of Medieval Europe when it comes to such superstitious nonsense.

Missions and colonialism

Teurer Segen - Christliche Mission und Kolonialismus by Gert von Paczensky - translation of the book summary and book review at KirchenKritik:

Costly blessing - Christian mission and colonialism
What has been committed in the name of Christ
Gert von Paczensky Devout, good, gifting blessings, social work - such is the traditional image of Christian missionaries in the coloured world. But the appearance deceives. Missions were in league with colonialism, often even gruesomely so. They helped to destroy old cultures, to uproot people, to divide families and entire populations. They supported and approved of a system that let countless of millions in three continents be reduced to poverty, bringing them hunger and sickness. In the misdevelopment of Latin America, Africa and Asia - the major problem in the present - missionaries and Churches of all persuasions and confessions (denominations) were complicit. Gert von Paczensky exposes what has been done in the name of Christ, but also how many of his messengers had to pay for it with life and limb.
Review by www.kirchenkritik.de
What brilliant work! If the name of Paczensky did not shine on the front cover, one would immediately be tempted to attribute this monumental work to Karlheinz Deschner. This work lacks neither facts, nor references nor information handed down from the time of mission-work and colonialism.
Appalled, the reader will follow the interconnections and the interplay of both movements [missionary and colonial], whereby often the two cannot be separated from each other. It is established that the Church has to answer for the main share of the guilt in the impoverishment of the present 3rd world. Yes, one can even go so far and assert that without the Church everything would have turned out differently!
In light of this book, the numerous speeches of Pope John Paul II in impoverished countries appear hypocritical and cynical.
Moving historical literature at its best. Parts of it are not for weak nerves.

Note concerning the historical usage of In the name of Christ:
Today apologetic Christians excuse the historical use of this phrase, claiming that Christ's name was abused in the past to commit all the atrocities and crimes, and to cause misery.
However, when the phrase In the name of Christ was used in the past in its actual historical context, it was articulated by believing Christians in executing/carrying out the wishes of God and Christ (like "I baptise thee in the name of Christ"), and for claiming things like entire countries, continents and populations for Christ ("I conquer this country in the name of Christ and the King" or "this country and its people are consecrated in the name of Christ").
In other words, Christians back then were certain they were fulfilling the divine commission, and the phrase was used in the same way as Deus Volt (God wills it) or Bei Gott (by God/in the name of God) had been to bludgeon the heathen Europeans into conversion.

Catholics and Protestants

The reason why the Catholic Church was at the forefront of destroying the peoples and cultures of South America, Africa, and Asia, is because it is the most organised. Especially in the times of colonial expansion, the Vatican had the most organised Church. Though Protestant denominations were dominant in some colonising countries, like Britian and the Netherlands, many of the other countries that embarked on expansion were Catholic: Spain, Portugal, France.

C.B. Firth, in An Introduction to Indian Church History:

"... In a famous bull of 1493 Pope Alexander VI, to settle rivalry between Spain and Portugal, the two colonial powers of those days, drew a line down the map of the Atlantic Ocean south of the Azores Islands to form a boundary between their respective spheres of influence. All lands not already under Christian rule discovered or yet to be discovered to the west of the line, he assigned to Spain; those to the east, to Portugal. Along with this fantastique enactment went a command to the Spanish and Portuguese kings 'to send to the said lands and islands good men who fear God and are learned, skilled and expert, to instruct the inhabitants in the Catholic Faith and good morals'. Moreover, other foreigners were forbidden to enter those lands without licence from these kings. Whatever may be thought nowadays of such orders, the Spaniards and Portuguese were prepared to act on them; and not only in claiming and exercising, as far as they were able, rights of dominion and trade; they were seriously prepared to propagate Christianity."

Link
Nevertheless, the Portuguese also made headway in South America, whilst the French entered Asia as well. In North America, Protestant denominations were guilty of decimating the indigenous American population. In Africa, they were just as much to blame for the enslavement of the Africans and the fatal consequences for so many of them. In Asia, Protestant missionaries sometimes used different methods to ensure eventual conversion: they would publish pamphlets denouncing the heretical religions or, like the Catholics, set up many missionary schools to undermine local religious traditions or infiltrate Christian writings into indigenous belief systems. When they became impatient, Protestant missionaries condoned, supported or even advocated violence to their colonial governments against the unwilling Asian peoples. In the Pacific, Protestantism yet again showed its teeth and exterminated many indigenous people or reduced them to terrible states.
A fundamental difference between Protestantism and the Roman Church of the time was that whilst the Catholic Church, being so powerful, could command Catholic governments, Protestant denominations could generally only request their Protestant governments to cooperate. Another difference was that the Vatican had centuries more experience. Which is why today, one can see various non-Catholic denominations embark on the same activities that the Catholic Church had already pioneered in earlier times.
In conclusion, all Christian denominations are betting on the one thing they have observed throughout history: they can get away with conversion through violence, because humans have a short memory. Eventually, the descendants will be ignorant enough to start denying historical facts in defense of the very religion imposed on them.
It is because of this that there are a number of African and African-American people who say that Christianity wasn't to blame for slavery or that their denomination of Christianity is somehow immune. Then there are devoutly Christian Native American, Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan, Japanese people, who truly believe their ancestors converted voluntarily because they "realised" Christianity was the truth. Some might even know of the vast crimes perpetrated against their ancestors by Christianity, but in their mind, they are somehow able to keep Christianity and its criminal past separate. A truly unique enigma. In other instances, Christianity is shielded from the blame which is shifted onto European colonists, ignoring that it was the religion which the colonists fervently believed in which drove them to commit inhuman atrocities and to colonise other lands and people in the first place. Colonial Europe was a Christian Europe, as had been the Europe of the Conquistadors.
A most common excuse is that somehow the ugly past does not represent the ever-elusive true Christianity. Yet history is full of Christians who considered themselves followers of True Christianity. And these were by far the ones who committed the most heinous of crimes against the unconverted populations.
Finally, some converted people amongst nations conquered by Christian imperialism even resort to closing their eyes and ears to the facts of history and denying it. Perhaps they are unaware that by denial, the truth doesn't go away.
See also:

Cases of recent genocide perpetrated by missionaries and other Christians amongst various non-Christian people.

Genocide and cultural extermination going on in the present. Protestant denominations, including many of the newer Evangelical ones, have joined the Catholics in exterminating the remaining old non-Christian populations and cultures of the world.

Teurer Segen - Christliche Mission und Kolonialismus by Gert von Paczensky ("Costly blessing - Christian Mission and Colonialism")

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2000-2006

ISIOLO - THE LAS VEGAS OF KENYA

I still clearly remember with nostalgia my first visit to Isiolo Town in the ‘70s as a teenager at the invitation of a relative. We spent the evening leisurely strolling around town without any worries because there were no security problems to worry about those days. The night was tranquil with clear starry sky, warm and calm environment. It was a perfect manifestation of what one would wish as the ultimate atmosphere for retirement or even an ideal holiday destination for those from the temperate world including honeymooners looking for that special getaway! We spent our night lying outside on mats not because of lack of room inside but because it was more comfortable that way. Above all, I was allowed copious supplies of soda, a rare treat for a young rural boy! The only other comparable places that I have visited with similar night environments in this country are Lamu and Lodwar. Those early fond memories of Isiolo then made me recently start thinking of how such a town could be developed to a modern metropolis that would create employment for the citizens by offering residents and visitors a sample of  what is only available at the Riviera, Monaco, Sun City or even Las Vegas in the United States of America.

Isiolo Town lies on the equator, almost at the centre of our country and presents one of the best locations in this country for development of a modern city. It lies on open plains characterized by warm and clear sunny days which present the ideal environmental for growth of solar farms for electricity generation not only for the city but enough to feed the national grid. In case alternative energy source is required, wind power could be tapped to provide electricity. This is all green energy which conforms to the Kyoto Protocol and would be a viable investment for our local tycoons and international investors. Water for the city could be tapped from the springs emanating from Mount Kenya and supplemented from dams which could easily be constructed and filled from the surrounding hills and flood plains.  I hope the minister for energy, Kiraitu Murungi and his colleague in the water ministry, Charity Ngilu is reading this.

We have been told that the government has plans to construct a modern airport at Isiolo and I hope it’s not going to be a white elephant like the Eldoret one that has gained notoriety as a conduit for contraband goods with little benefit to the country and the immediate community. However, from the way senior government officials including political party heads and ministers have moved in to dispossess the local inhabitants of the land nearby, it’s likely that the airport could become a reality but fail short of serving the national good due to selfish and vested interests. There are various investment options that Isiolo uniquely presents but can only be realized through serious and meticulous planning and support from the government.

There is ample space to develop luxury homes and villas similar to what you find in Monaco and the Spanish and French Riviera. These homes could be ideal retirement homes for wealthy citizens from all over the world. Tourists could also use the facilities for holidays to relax and escape the harsh weather in their countries. The tourism minister, Najib Balala and the newly appointed Kenya Tourist Board Chairman, Michael Joseph, the former CEO of Safaricom and who incidentally has a home nearby may take this free advice for further exploitation.

Kenya is well known for Borana beef cattle that are reared in the ranches surrounding Isiolo and by the pastoralist communities. The cattle keepers among the Meru, Borana and Samburu could be facilitated through credit facilities, provision of water, quality feeds and veterinary services to produce quality beef for the domestic and export markets. Their efforts together with that of the ranches could allow our country to compete at the world stage with the green ox beef of Brazil. The minister for livestock development Mohamed Kuti comes from Isiolo and would be advised to take heed.

Meru is the prime producer of miraa (Catha endulis) in the world that has to be transported from Maua to Nairobi daily, a distance of 300 km, in pickup trucks at breakneck speeds on narrow roads. The construction of the Isiolo airport will cut down this distance tenfold and ensure the produce reaches the market at the prescribed time and also reduce the road traffic accidents that have claimed many lives over the years. The only small problem here is that almost all the international marketing of miraa is handled by members of the Somali community whose international trade is now on the radar screens of the Western powers for reasons best known to them. I hope the ministers for trade and agriculture, Amos Kimunya and Sally Kosgei respectively will take proactive measures so that we are not caught flat footed in case of restrictions or ban in miraa trade.

The area near Isiolo from the Meru side is well known for quality tea and coffee production. The airport will therefore open a viable gateway for export of these commodities. Horticulture and floriculture production could also be expanded due to the proximity of the airport. Small scale farming in green houses is another technology that awaits exploitation particularly for the farmers in the marginal area that surrounds Isiolo. The opening up of Isiolo by developing it to a modern city, tourist center with a modern airport will no doubt make it the Las Vegas of Kenya and a choice destination and home for all! But before that we need to overcome our sloppy planning and implementation records!

AMILCAR CABRAL - AFRICAN REVOLUTIONARY

Amilcar Cabral

By Ana Maria Cabral

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am honored by the invitation of the Smithsonian Institution to deliver this address at the Festival of American Folklife and begin by considering the delicate mission that brought me here: to present one of the most important aspects of Amilcar Cabral's thought and work, one that has justly left an indelible mark in the history of the popular struggle for freedom in Africa.

One cannot speak of Amilcar Cabral's understanding of culture without noting his social roots and his development, which allow us to better appreciate Cabral's personality and of the trajectory of his political engagement. Cabral was born in Bafata (1924) in the former Portuguese colony of Guinea Bissau. In a period particularly marked by colonization, he spent his childhood in Santiago and studied at Sao Vicente's high school in Cape Verde, enjoying privileges to which few Africans could aspire. He attended primary and secondary school until 1944, when he left for Portugal, where he studied and received a degree in Agronomy (1945-1955).

Judging from his youthful poems—especially Ilha and Segue o teu rumo irmao—and other student writings, it seems that culture was the first perspective that Cabral used to think about his epoch, the contradictions of colonial domination, and the conditions of peoples' lives. As an agronomist, he observed the relationship between the dominant and the dominated; this informed his analyses of exploited farmers in Guinea and Angola and of the dramatic consequences of persistent droughts in Cape Verde. 

These life experiences gave Cabral the cultural and political foundation that would allow him - rationally, successfully, and at the appropriate time - to mobilize a struggle for national liberation. These experiences marked him as a model for the men who assumed leadership in the independence process of the Portuguese colonies.

For Cabral, any theory of national emancipation must be materially based in the country's own particular reality. This fundamental realism was well expressed in the words of a communique he issued during the struggle for liberation, "Learning through life, learning through books, and learning through other people's experiences. Learning always!"; and also, "Each time we must be more capable of thinking-through our many problems, so as to act on more of them and to act on them well, so as to be able to think even better.¹" Of course, Amilcar Cabral was always loyal to that kind of approach to political realities.

On the topic of cultural resistance, Amilcar Cabral presented a thesis in Syracuse, New York, entitled, "National Liberation and Culture, " paying tribute to Eduardo Mondlane, who was assassinated in Dar es Salaam in February, 1969. In his thesis he asserts that "the great merit of the First President of Mozambique's Liberation Party (FRELIMO) was not merely his decision to fight for his people; rather it was his knowledge of how to integrate himself with the reality of his country, to identify himself with his people, and to enculturate himself through the struggle he waged with courage, intelligence, and determination." It is in the following sentence, however, that Cabral expresses the central idea of his political convictions:

History teaches us that certain circumstances make it very easy for foreign people to impose their dominion. But history also teaches us that no matter what the material aspects of that domination, it can only be preserved by a permanent and organized control of the dominated people's cultural life; otherwise it cannot be definitively implanted without killing a significant part of the population.2

For him, the river of culture never stops flowing among the popular masses—particularly the peasants—even though, like a traveller, it may slow its pace and change its course for its own protection. This truth is particularly evident in Cape Verde, where colonial power privileged the development of morna and coladera but repressed other cultural manifestations such as batuque and funana, considering them "less dignified." During the colonial period in Cape Verde, who can recall hearing on radio or any other official means of dissemination the finacon of Nha Nacia Gomi or Nha Bibina Cabral? 

By the time of independence, many youngsters did not know what funana was, even though this venerable tradition had survived in rural settings and in popular weddings, but did not otherwise have an opportunity to show its vitality. To everyone's surprise, these popular forms came from rural settings via radio stations, overcame social barriers and borders, and won the world.

One can cite another example, a subtle one, of cultural resistance—or better, of typical Cape Verdean construction of identity in a creole society—the traditional celebration that pays tribute to Sao Joao, a religious feast observed in several regions of the world, including here in America. A secular aspect of the festival is the cola Sao Joao, a dance which originated in the Cape Verdean islands of Sao Vicente, Santo Antao and Brava. In conjunction with the feast, celebrants dance in fields next to churches after believers' souls have been purified. While preserving church rituals, the people introduced new and profound cultural elements, surely so as to recognize their own distinct identity in an event that until then was alien.  

For this reason, I count the cultural practices associated with of Sao Joao to be a fortunate example of cultural resistance as Cabral understood it. The community's need to protect its symbols does not exclude the possibility of absorbing and integrating external elements. These may be considered alien for a certain time, but in the long run they may become part of a new cultural matrix that is open to the outside world, even while the community alertly preserves its own values for the survival of its identity.

Cape Verde has undergone a very interesting historical process. Originally a group of uninhabited islands, the archepelago's population resulted mostly from Portuguese exiles' intermarrying with black African slaves and their descendants. Cultural colonization progressively diluted itself in a biological and social mixing that, joined with factors less than favorable to the establishment of a strong metropolitan ruling class, soon imposed on Cape Verdean society a characteristic personality. These are evident everywhere: in linguistic re-creation, musical re-harmonization, ancestral traces in culinary customs, and the more common manifestations of of everyday life.

As I noted before, Cabral's thought bases itself in national and international reality and in a precise dialectical relationship one assumes oneself to be part of: one intervenes in that reality in a systematic way, aiming to change aspects of it considered negative, and learning through the analysis of that reality. Cabral was himself a living example of the cultural resistance he theorized, in the intimate relationship he maintained with his people's reality and in his deep knowledge of his enemy, the Portuguese colonial administration. He always distinguished the latter from the Portuguese people, with whom he maintained solidarity in a deep, humanistic way.

Amilcar Cabral was very secure among his people, the farmers who followed him. He confronted some aspects of Cape Verdean or Guinean tradition lucidly and without reservation: he fought superstitions, taboos, and other elements he regarded as consequences of unequal economic development, an inability to control nature, and a magical interpretation of reality.³

Mario de Andrade, an internationally-known Angolan intellectual with a deep knowledge of Cabral's work, has commented on this problematic and on its most remarkable characteristic, its ceaseless engagement of reality. Of the way Cabral seized reality and continually returned to it to adjust it and to give it new contours de Andrade said: "He understood the essence of the magical mentality with which the African spirit is impregnated and the ambivalence of beliefs. A teacher, he frequently encouraged a militant reflection on negative cultural influences arising from regressive features from the past (superstitions, taboos, rites and practices) and on the harmonious integration of traditional values as a function of modern progress."⁴

In an interview with Manuel Alegre, Portuguese poet exiled at the time in Algeria, Cabral spoke about the history of Portugal, of navigation, discovery, and of Portuguese-ness (Luziadas) saying, "...that he could not understand how a society which had always fought for independence could allow a colonial administration to deny other people that same right. He emphasized that the Portuguese should not allow Salazar (the long-ruling dictator overthrown by Cabral's movement) to appropriate their history and deform it in order to justify a genocidal colonial war. He emphasized that with his policy, Salazar was jeopardizing the future and destroying the past. He concluded by affirming that as an African struggling against Portuguese colonialism to free his land, he was ready, if asked, to take up arms along side Portuguese people in Portugal."⁵

Manuel Allegre, emphasizing the effect of Cabral's words among young people, especially those who had been inducted into the colonial Army, affirmed years later that "several youngsters already enlisted made the decision that same night to desert." Cabral knew how to address the cultural and historical identity of the Portuguese people. He reminded the Portuguese that they had their own history and culture and that they must look to them for inspiration if they were to attain their own destiny and freedom. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I think that the careful collection of our national cultural reality—as apprehended and expressed overseas or in Cape Verde itself, and as defended by Cabral—would inform current choices of directions for progress. Cabral identified history and culture as essential elements in successful development planning. His thought and his living example provide a clear message to all of us Cape Verdeans, male and female, emigrated or not, who want to contribute to the evolution of a more fair humanity. 

By providing Cape Verdeans living in America the possibility of becoming familiar with cultural expressions of Cape Verdeans living in Cape Verde, the Smithsonian Institution has encouraged us and given us the possibility once more to realize the illuminating power of Cabral's ideas. He is being remembered in the organization of this Festival, and it is in this way that men become immortal.

For Cape Verdeans subject to the hard conditions of their wasted native land, emigration was an existential drama that forced them to adjust to new realities. Emigration challenged their integrity as human beings who have an already established culture; it continually raised the question of their identity, sometimes in very unfriendly surroundings. 

What would we see if we were to apply Cabral's thoughts to the analysis of the Cape Verdean universe as it exists today? At present, large communities live abroad—such as this one in America, which, in a very Cape Verdean way, has welcomed us to this immense country. From one perspective, Cape Verdean culture has encountered cultures here whose overwhelming expressive capacity unavoidably grafts its values onto our own. But from another perspective, it may also be possible that through immigration Cape Verdean culture has actively adapted itself to the general framework of American society, profiting from its humanism.

The second alternative is the kind that more frequently emerged from contact between Cape Verdean cultures and those of countries where the diaspora has placed them. Emigration, encounters with other cultures, long distances from the homeland, and prolonged absences from nation and family did not result in the loss of Capeverdian-ness. It has remained untouched, thanks to the cultural practices deeply rooted in the men and women who venture to explore other lands.

Cultural resistance, the intrinsic virtue of any people, as Cabral would say, confirms the second idea, which implies that elements of the cultural matrix Cape Verdeans have created exist in the different Cape Verdean communities spread throughout the world. In this regard it is interesting to note that there are aspects of the Cape Verdean national language preserved through cultural resistance in some diaspora communities that are no longer commonly used in the islands.

Capeverdian-ness expresses itself in America as well as in Cape Verde. Cultural resistance has also occurred here. Its shape has been determined, no doubt, by elements completely different from those which shaped such resistance in the islands. And it has been strengthened by the processes of integration in a multicultural society—as is, par excellence, that of North America. 

At this point I appeal to our experts in the social sciences—anthropologists, sociologists, writers and other intellectuals. I beg them to help us understand and appreciate what each of our communities has produced. With this help, we will be better able to work together in harmony, melting the differences and rejections always present in human projects. With this help, we will be able to make progress while steadfastly defending our values. Cabral would be proud to stand before this fountain of cultures; and he would certainly provide a living example, drawing closer to hear the pleading voice that issues from this chamber of the Nation's heart.

Much work lies before our social investigators. We must admit that an inventory has not been made of our patrimony and of everything the Cape Verdean Americans have done to enrich our culture. Which new elements have been introduced into the family and what is the importance of Cape Verdean integration in American society? What is the present situation of Cape Verdean American women? What are the influences of American society on the Cape Verdean family regarding children's education? To what degree is the community influenced by its milieu? What new values have been introduced into the matrix of Cape Verdean culture? What contribution have Cape Verdean American intellectuals made to science, economy, and politics? At what level are Cape Verdean artists integrated into their milieu? What do their works express? How do we classify the products of their artistic labor?

Finally, there are countless queries and data that would lead us to better understanding and enriching our world if we only had a communication system as adequate as this unparalleled cultural event, Smithsonian's Folklife Festival. In light of that knowledge, we would reencounter one another at the common nucleus of our culture and would create open relationships with other cultures. Ponder, if you will, the scope and importance of such a project, keeping in mind the contribution of our communities from Europe, Africa, Asia, South America - that is, from the seven sectors of the world : think how much this would mean for "Capeverdian-ness."

Cape Verde itself is part of a great continent, from which we are only physically distant: most reliable evidence shows us that Africa is a strong presence in our cultural patrimony. So at this juncture when, thanks to the Smithsonian Institution, we are facing that important part ourselves, we must express our particular respect to valorous Africa, for which Amilcar Cabral struggled and gave his life. How wonderful that the Smithsonian Institution has given us the opportunity to revive these most genuine expressions of our Capeverdeaness.

My hope is that Cabral's example will live on in the future generations who continue the struggle for liberation and human progress.

"We must always remember that people do not fight for ideals or for the things on other people's minds. People fight for practical things: for peace, for living better in peace, and for their children's future. Liberty, fraternity and equality continue to be empty words for people if they do not mean a real improvement in the conditions of their lives" (A. Cabral. Semin rio de quadros, Conakry, 1969).

Thank you very much.

TIME TO GRADUATE

With the passage of time, human beings are expected to grow older and supposedly wiser due to their experiences. Similarly, now that our country is 48 years old, were it to be compared to a human being, it would have now come of age, wiser, gray hairs and all! Therefore, what we did as a nation in the '60s and '70s should be considered kid-stuff and left behind. Under normal circumstances, we should now be referred adoringly in the Kiswahili term, "Mzee"(plural - Wazee), a reverend term reserved for a mature and responsible elder in our communities. However, we now seem to use the term a tad too liberally whereby we now apply it  even to young wealthy thieves and other social miscreants without any regard to their character. I think it's time we graduated as a nation from the present situation, where we tend  to treat our leaders with kids gloves even when involved in malpractices, just because of their wealth and social status, and demanded that they be above reproach like Caesar's wife.
Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo named six Kenyans as the key perpetrators of crimes against humanity visited on citizens during the post election violence of 2007/8. Among those mentioned are senior government officials and politicians who despite the magnitude of the crimes that they are accused of, are lucky to be feted and given their right of way while keeping their plum jobs becaise as a country, we are still saddled in the "innocent age" of kids which makes us glorify individuals due to their wealth and social status without necessarily interrogating their character. Similarly, three MPs have also been recently mentioned in parliament as key illicit drugs kingpins in the country and as usual, they continue to move about their business as lawmakers and the country looks upon them to even come up with new laws to curb proliferation of illegal drug trade in the country! What irony? It's utter balderdash! I however, know that some people may rush to defend these leaders in the name of our laws that presupposes one is not guilty until proven so in a court of law. But aren't we all aware that the law in this country is more often used to catch the village chicken thief who can't  either afford to hire the lawyers or bribe the courts and never applied to the big boys?
This country has many political parties but we are aware that their registration and regulation is not enforced to the necessary levels of compliance. This could  be the reason why not many citizens are bothered whether they exist or not. This is however a very dangerous trend that needs to be checked because it's the political parties that sponsor candidates who eventually become our law makers. This is even going to be more critical with the new constitution because the majority party will be expected to produce the president who will eventually form the government. There is talk that some political parties are bankrolled by drug barons, which means that, were it to be true, there is a possibility of citizens, out of ignorance and through bribery, voting in such a party that forms the government. God forbid, we don't fall prey to such easy cash in 2012 and end up with a government of drug peddlers!
For ages, politicians are known for smooth talk and incorrigible lies. The 37th President of the United States of America (1969-1974), Richard Nixon, dared anybody with credible information that could indict him during the investigation of the Watergate scandal to come forward and take his seat as he claimed he was innocent and clean. However, the law did eventually catch up with him and he was impeached leading to his vacating his seat as the president. Four and half years ago, the President of Israel, Moshe Katsav was accused of rape which he vehemently refused to accept but was dishonorably asked to vacate his office as the number one citizen. The accuser has now been vindicated after the court found him guilty of rape on 30th December 2010. This shows that political leaders even at the highest level can be vain liars and they should always be held with contempt until they exonerate themselves of the malfeasance. Therefore, it's high time we hold the same principle on our leaders regardless of the stage of their trial process. It's time for us to come of age and "vuka" to a new era of  political maturity and accountability.