THE PANGS OF MANHOOD

The pain of manhood is that
Although we may not
Admit it.
We man are first in knowing
The torture
The uncertainty
The heart wrecking
Soul wrenching pain
That is this thing
Called love.

These thorns are painful
But for the sake of this rose they
Protect,
This,
My fragile heart will endure them.
They do what they must
And I’ll do the same

Good night my love
May your heart always be content, Always at peace:
Secure in knowing that mine longs To hold and cradle no other. Sweet dreams dear duckling.
While you sleep and dream of beast I dare not know
I’ll be busy dreaming away all your nightmares for you.

So dictates the pangs of manhood.

Life is hard but it sure is worth living.

Why we will continue dying at sea leaving Africa for Europe.

Africa, the dying continent.
Did you know that according numbers released by the BBC, 4886 people fleeing Africa into Europe have died at sea this year alone.
We may cite wars and all other issues as the ‘becauses’ but that would be running away from the basic truth.
African’s tend to be more inclined to choosing and supporting bad leaders into power. Leaders who tend to value their own agendas than those the people they must help enrich, protect and inspire.
There are many examples of these sort of leaders, I need only to mention a country and the ugly head will just show itself.
The main reason Africans choose run away is war. It has left entire villages empty. The second one, often cause for the first, is poor economic inclusion policies. Many of the farm lands taken off European hands now belong to government linked families who fail to make them produce. The companies left by the Europeans have died down and the infrastructure is broken. Communication between those governing the continet’s countries and the people within the boarders is just one sided in favour of the state but as is evident in Eritrea, it is brutal.
Countries such as Swaziland are stable. But their stability is too dependent on the leader’s character than any thing else. The institutions that look out for the people and protect them from abusive, often heartless powerful individuals are lacking. In Swaziland, a chief has power to not only tax a perceived wrong doer in cattle but he can even demolish your home(the kaShali demolitions). Living in Swaziland’s rural area’s, termed Swazi nation land, means you are bound by Swazi law to participate in kuhlehla, a form of taxation that involves working for your local chief. That is keeping the traditional aspects of his homestead, umphakatsi, up to standard. Those who have money to spare let their money do the work. Those of us who can not afford losing money this way are forced to work.
In this, Swaziland and Kwazulu, in South Africa are the same. We cough out money for all sorts of things even those which traditionally, the chief sees to himself. A Sibiya chief solicited public funds just so he may pay the pride price of some unknown lady. Zimbabwe’s long time president-elected by Zimbabweans- all on his own destroyed Zim’s economy and forced many a brilliant Zimbabweans into being domestic workers and criminals in South Africa while Swaziland is all too happy Swazis can run to nowhere since South Africa has locked its doors to even us who have South African blood.
The migrant crises being felt by Europe is far from relaxing. The waves upon waves of Africans leaving for better life in a well managed peaceful and nurturing country in Europe will go on ever increasing. South Africa’s leaving the ICC will not help in any way because corrupt leaders on the continent will exit ICC and go on doing evils without accountability. Unlike South Africa, many of my people do not have South Africa’s chapter nine institutions protecting them. Instead, countries such as Swaziland possess a constitution that is biased in favour of protecting those in power rather than the people. We the ants are left being trampled over by the very folks who must protect us in principle.
As mentioned, the main reason 4886 people have died at sea trying to reach Europe is war. But in truth war is only a symptom. The primary root is wealth distribution failure. If Africans go on electing bad people into power, we Africans will continue dying on our way to Europe. Life is hard but it sure is worth living.

The Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Cocktail served to Africa: How good are GMOs?

“
African people are very welcoming towards the use of GMOs”
(Genetically Modified Organisms), at least that’s what you would think would be brave enough to come visit southern Africa in spring, my world’s farming season. The truth is, judging by the vast numbers of GMO foods and resources my government-RSA- has allowed to get into the country at least since 2007, you would most probably agree with the above quite ‘made up’ statement.

What are GMOs?
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. In layman terms; these are organisms that are either genetically engineered (made, enhanced, advanced or meddled with) by man.
Examples of GMOs include but are by no means limited to BT maize, soya beans, cotton and even some of broiler chicken mostly sold packaged from leading westernized food retailers.

Why do GMOs enjoy such fame?
Well as it is with everything else famous, GMOs are famous for mainly three reasons;
They are promoted by people through lobbying and mass media advertising The advertisers say they are they are the future of the world, essentially Africa and Asia because they have the most tangible promise to end world hunger.
The haters (criticizers) are making a lot of noise arguing that these foods are quite simply a Frankenstein monster. Just that it still very much in the closet while beautiful miss world is out there saying she not even closer to Frankenstein’s beauty.

Who benefits from the sale of GMOs?
Ok, the most relevant answer to the above question is “not the poor and needy people” these GMOs are meant to help but I guess you already knew the answer.

What do our governments say about GMOs?
You asked so here is their say “The regulations governing the use of GM crops in South Africa’ were robust and rigorous and that from the public health point, the risk assessment and risk management of the GM maize was adequately addressed.” Dr Aaron Motsoledi, Minister of Health-South Africa.

“It’s time for action and not talking. We need to be decisive and move forward, rather than taking years debating issues of science and technology, because issues such as biotechnology and nanotechnology are being debated for too many years,”
Zimbabwe’s Minister for Science and Technology Professor Heneri Dzinotyiweyi

2007—Former President, Thabo Mbeki: “As we all know, biotechnology can and must play a key role in addressing many of the challenges facing the African continent in particular and the developing world as a whole. This branch of knowledge is making and will make a critical contribution in terms of addressing contemporary and future needs in such areas as health, food and energy security, especially in the wake of major global challenges that include climate”

(AfricaBio, August 2013)

Now that we have that cleared, let us look at GMOs just a little more closser than some would like us to.
The answer to what GMOs are is, I think, adequately given by my little explanation above. To dig a bit deeper, I shall attempt to give a bit more detailed and unloved answers by answering the above two questions left not so well answered.

Why do GMOs enjoy so much fame?
As I stated earlier GMOs enjoy so much fame because of people. GMOs have some of the world’s biggest people making sure they get it exposed to people.
The truth is GMOs are genetically, made, modified and enhanced products that enjoy so much fame because huge sums of investments have been invested to create a vacuum that is by its nature actually artificial.
Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, Louise Dreyfus and many other big corporations have ever since dead was a baby, made sure that they create the need for GMOs, protect them and sell them in great quantities to a world of people so well that the people see no alternative to sorting out the need to eradicate hunger.
To achieve this aim, much effort has been put to research food patterns and put means in place to enforce free trade agreements that secure GMOs position as a food source for the billions of people and countless masses of farm animals. Here is a little example of what I mean: In 2007 Cargill
imported over 500 000 metric tones of maize from Argentina into South Africa while Louis Dreyfus imported almost 300 000 metric tones. Other international grain traders involved in this trade include Atlas Trading and Shipping and Seaboard, who together brought over 300 000 metric tones of GM grains into the country.3 A South African key player in the animal feed industry, Meadowfeeds, was also engaged in brisk trading during 2007 – importing about 250 000 metric tonnes4 of GMOs to produce “a variety of specialized diets and custom feed mixes for the poultry, dairy, ostriches and swine industries”.5 (Haidee Swanby GMO South Africa, 2008)

The advertisers of GMOs say GMOs are the future of Agriculture because they will help eradicate food insecurity. AfricaBio for example wrote that “2013 is the 15th year that GM crops are being planted in South Africa. Since their introduction 15 years ago, GM crops have made a significant impact on South Africa’s agriculture, farmers – emergent and commercial – food security, sustainability, climate change and food safety, with meaningful economic benefits to
producers”(AfricaBio, August 2013)
Another major advantage of GMOs is that the farming techniques used to produce them are more stringently regulated than are the techniques used in natural, traditional farming. As such they increase yield because they are better equipped at surviving weeds and other problems the usual variants at times fail to address. For example, soon enough (2017) we will have a GMO kind of maize that will be resistant to the drought problem southern Africa, India and even USA state of California is currently facing.

Ever heard of food fortification? The most wide spread and widely known food fortification is practiced in the salt industry where iodine, a crucial element to adequate functioning of the endocrine system, is added to salt to ensure its availability to the billions of poor Africans and Asians who would otherwise not get it.
It was so successful that most of my peers who would have otherwise suffered stunted growth are now as tall as I am. Because of this success, it is advocated that if we would fortify the world’s stable food crops we would end the effects of malnutrition so prevalent in mainly Asia and Africa. Pursuing this all important goal, research was commissioned and the 1990s saw the birth of Vitamin A fortified rice, a golden crop that would eliminate the problem of sight lose and death because of malnutrition. It is argued that the applications advantages of such crops are endless, GMO crops such as BT Maize for instance are:
Resistant to unwanted microbes (pests) that hurt crops
Ceres, a potato farming area in South Africa is said to be troubled by potato tuber mouth. Microbe resistant BT potatoes can be introduced to such areas to combat PTM and increase yield.
Some argue that GMOs reduce the costs of production since they have born-ready mechanisms to combat pests.
Drought resistant maize for instance will, it is promised, reduce need for water and therefore reduce water born costs related to farming maize.
Developing countries such as is the case with many African countries benefit greatly because of GM crops. Mid way to the end of the first decade saw developing countries growing GM crops gains ranging from $2 billion( India alone) to $5 billion( RSA, Argentina and others) per year(Martin Qaim, Benefits of Genetically Modified Crops-and the Cost of Inefficient Regulation April 2010)
The y reduce the need for labour because they allow the use of herbicides to kill weed.

Reading just the above few benefits, it is easy to see why GMOs appeal to many farmers in South Africa. But before you get carried away, here is what them critics, hatters of GMO based food sources say:

South Africans consume maize in a very different way to Americans and Europeans. In the North, maize makes up a negligible part of diets and is eaten in a highly processed form, such as corn oil or syrup. In contrast, many South Africans do not feel that they have eaten a meal unless it included “pap” (maize meal porridge). As a staple for the majority of South Africans, it is often a first
food for infants during weaning and is generally eaten by the majority of the South
African population in a minimally processed form daily (maize cobs, samp, maize meal). However, no controlled feeding studies have been carried out to assess the
immune response and allergenic potential59 of GM maize. In a country that has one
of the highest rates of full-blown AIDS in the world, and where the government is championing high quality nutrition, it is perplexing that the staple food of the
people is allowed to be compromised. (GMOs in South Africa Review 2008) The statement above was ACB’s response to Syngenta’s application made to the South African Government to import MIR 604xGA21 into South Africa.
I chose this one as an example because it high lights the very real implications that could befall a country that allow the use of GM crops as a food base for its citizens. Below are some few pointers that some major critics of GMO food crops say about GMOs.

-GMOs sold by Monsanto are sold (at almost no expressed choice to the farmer) paired with Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer cocktail. -The cocktail has resulted in the spread of a kind of super weed which is very resistant to the weed killer.
-The Roundup herbicide used in the farming of GMO crops is made using the chemical glypohsate as the core ingredient.
-Research has shown that glyphosate and GMOs may result in
complications in human health. This is because studies such as the Seralini et al study show serious health complications in rats due to their being fed GMO feeds grown using Roundup as the crop weed killer.(Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology)
-Dr Huber, a researcher on the use of Roundup has found that it is responsible for;
1. Imparement of plant growth
2. Decreased availability and usability of plant nutrients by plants 3. Some plants on which Roundup has been used experience the Sudden Death Syndrome

-A study conducted in Argentina found that in Soy bean farming areas residents experienced pre-mature birth, some birth defects, and some cancers, still births, in-ability to have children and still births (Chemical Research in Toxicology).
-In 2009 the American Academy of Environmental Medicine issued a position paper on GMO plants stating that “animal studies indicate serious health risk associated with GM food consumption. These risks include infertility, immune deregulation, acceleration of aging, immune deregulation” and many other problems (Target China page111).

I personally do not think ACB was wrong to assert the ban of GMOs, nor was Russia and to some degree even China and South Africa.
At face value GMOs are good but once you sink your teeth into them, your teeth will crack and your gums bleed because you will end up confused.
There is much tangible evidence that outline the need and the benefits of GMO crops as a food base, even more so when it comes to South Africa, the African continent and Asia. Research such as the Seralini rat and GMO food study offer a horrid glimps of what could happen should we continue to eat GMOs and make Agri-business pockets fat. On the other hand…the stomach is a very tricky child. You cannot always succeed to help him avoid sweets and even though it is for his own good not to eat sweets, he will end up eating them in the end because he cannot help it.

With that in mind it is only fair to acknowledge that not every one on this GMO gravy train is evil. Some are more evil than others but some are actually advancing good intentions and trying to feed people born in countries where miss information and lies have resulted in the adoption of GMOs.
It is up to countries such as mine (South Africa) to ensure that their countries protect not only their own people but their neighbors’ as well.

Like any other thing under the sun, America and its allies are not all good. Sometimes they will advance a mistake only to find out too late that what they were advancing was a mistake.
Besides, must we always follow the Oval Office’s lead? Africa is not just a continent full of mouths to feed. It is the home of thinkers, innovators, inventors and leaders. It is mother natures’ s play ground let us keep it that way otherwise we will have nothing proudly ours.
Proudly African!

Sources
Target China
Africa Centre for Biosafety
AfricaBio

{Additions to be added latter}
Photo of rat subject from Seralini’s research on GMOs taken from Target China Photo of RounUp affected field taken by Gift Sibiya

The Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Cocktail served to Africa: How good are GMOs?

“
African people are very welcoming towards the use of GMOs”
(Genetically Modified Organisms), at least that’s what you would think would be brave enough to come visit southern Africa in spring, my world’s farming season. The truth is, judging by the vast numbers of GMO foods and resources my government-RSA- has allowed to get into the country at least since 2007, you would most probably agree with the above quite ‘made up’ statement.

What are GMOs?
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. In layman terms; these are organisms that are either genetically engineered (made, enhanced, advanced or meddled with) by man.
Examples of GMOs include but are by no means limited to BT maize, soya beans, cotton and even some of broiler chicken mostly sold packaged from leading westernized food retailers.

Why do GMOs enjoy such fame?
Well as it is with everything else famous, GMOs are famous for mainly three reasons;
They are promoted by people through lobbying and mass media advertising The advertisers say they are they are the future of the world, essentially Africa and Asia because they have the most tangible promise to end world hunger.
The haters (criticizers) are making a lot of noise arguing that these foods are quite simply a Frankenstein monster. Just that it still very much in the closet while beautiful miss world is out there saying she not even closer to Frankenstein’s beauty.

Who benefits from the sale of GMOs?
Ok, the most relevant answer to the above question is “not the poor and needy people” these GMOs are meant to help but I guess you already knew the answer.

What do our governments say about GMOs?
You asked so here is their say “The regulations governing the use of GM crops in South Africa’ were robust and rigorous and that from the public health point, the risk assessment and risk management of the GM maize was adequately addressed.” Dr Aaron Motsoledi, Minister of Health-South Africa.

“It’s time for action and not talking. We need to be decisive and move forward, rather than taking years debating issues of science and technology, because issues such as biotechnology and nanotechnology are being debated for too many years,”
Zimbabwe’s Minister for Science and Technology Professor Heneri Dzinotyiweyi

2007—Former President, Thabo Mbeki: “As we all know, biotechnology can and must play a key role in addressing many of the challenges facing the African continent in particular and the developing world as a whole. This branch of knowledge is making and will make a critical contribution in terms of addressing contemporary and future needs in such areas as health, food and energy security, especially in the wake of major global challenges that include climate”

(AfricaBio, August 2013)

Now that we have that cleared, let us look at GMOs just a little more closser than some would like us to.
The answer to what GMOs are is, I think, adequately given by my little explanation above. To dig a bit deeper, I shall attempt to give a bit more detailed and unloved answers by answering the above two questions left not so well answered.

Why do GMOs enjoy so much fame?
As I stated earlier GMOs enjoy so much fame because of people. GMOs have some of the world’s biggest people making sure they get it exposed to people.
The truth is GMOs are genetically, made, modified and enhanced products that enjoy so much fame because huge sums of investments have been invested to create a vacuum that is by its nature actually artificial.
Monsanto, Cargill, ADM, Louise Dreyfus and many other big corporations have ever since dead was a baby, made sure that they create the need for GMOs, protect them and sell them in great quantities to a world of people so well that the people see no alternative to sorting out the need to eradicate hunger.
To achieve this aim, much effort has been put to research food patterns and put means in place to enforce free trade agreements that secure GMOs position as a food source for the billions of people and countless masses of farm animals. Here is a little example of what I mean: In 2007 Cargill
imported over 500 000 metric tones of maize from Argentina into South Africa while Louis Dreyfus imported almost 300 000 metric tones. Other international grain traders involved in this trade include Atlas Trading and Shipping and Seaboard, who together brought over 300 000 metric tones of GM grains into the country.3 A South African key player in the animal feed industry, Meadowfeeds, was also engaged in brisk trading during 2007 – importing about 250 000 metric tonnes4 of GMOs to produce “a variety of specialized diets and custom feed mixes for the poultry, dairy, ostriches and swine industries”.5 (Haidee Swanby GMO South Africa, 2008)

The advertisers of GMOs say GMOs are the future of Agriculture because they will help eradicate food insecurity. AfricaBio for example wrote that “2013 is the 15th year that GM crops are being planted in South Africa. Since their introduction 15 years ago, GM crops have made a significant impact on South Africa’s agriculture, farmers – emergent and commercial – food security, sustainability, climate change and food safety, with meaningful economic benefits to
producers”(AfricaBio, August 2013)
Another major advantage of GMOs is that the farming techniques used to produce them are more stringently regulated than are the techniques used in natural, traditional farming. As such they increase yield because they are better equipped at surviving weeds and other problems the usual variants at times fail to address. For example, soon enough (2017) we will have a GMO kind of maize that will be resistant to the drought problem southern Africa, India and even USA state of California is currently facing.

Ever heard of food fortification? The most wide spread and widely known food fortification is practiced in the salt industry where iodine, a crucial element to adequate functioning of the endocrine system, is added to salt to ensure its availability to the billions of poor Africans and Asians who would otherwise not get it.
It was so successful that most of my peers who would have otherwise suffered stunted growth are now as tall as I am. Because of this success, it is advocated that if we would fortify the world’s stable food crops we would end the effects of malnutrition so prevalent in mainly Asia and Africa. Pursuing this all important goal, research was commissioned and the 1990s saw the birth of Vitamin A fortified rice, a golden crop that would eliminate the problem of sight lose and death because of malnutrition. It is argued that the applications advantages of such crops are endless, GMO crops such as BT Maize for instance are:
Resistant to unwanted microbes (pests) that hurt crops
Ceres, a potato farming area in South Africa is said to be troubled by potato tuber mouth. Microbe resistant BT potatoes can be introduced to such areas to combat PTM and increase yield.
Some argue that GMOs reduce the costs of production since they have born-ready mechanisms to combat pests.
Drought resistant maize for instance will, it is promised, reduce need for water and therefore reduce water born costs related to farming maize.
Developing countries such as is the case with many African countries benefit greatly because of GM crops. Mid way to the end of the first decade saw developing countries growing GM crops gains ranging from $2 billion( India alone) to $5 billion( RSA, Argentina and others) per year(Martin Qaim, Benefits of Genetically Modified Crops-and the Cost of Inefficient Regulation April 2010)
The y reduce the need for labour because they allow the use of herbicides to kill weed.

Reading just the above few benefits, it is easy to see why GMOs appeal to many farmers in South Africa. But before you get carried away, here is what them critics, hatters of GMO based food sources say:

South Africans consume maize in a very different way to Americans and Europeans. In the North, maize makes up a negligible part of diets and is eaten in a highly processed form, such as corn oil or syrup. In contrast, many South Africans do not feel that they have eaten a meal unless it included “pap” (maize meal porridge). As a staple for the majority of South Africans, it is often a first
food for infants during weaning and is generally eaten by the majority of the South
African population in a minimally processed form daily (maize cobs, samp, maize meal). However, no controlled feeding studies have been carried out to assess the
immune response and allergenic potential59 of GM maize. In a country that has one
of the highest rates of full-blown AIDS in the world, and where the government is championing high quality nutrition, it is perplexing that the staple food of the
people is allowed to be compromised. (GMOs in South Africa Review 2008) The statement above was ACB’s response to Syngenta’s application made to the South African Government to import MIR 604xGA21 into South Africa.
I chose this one as an example because it high lights the very real implications that could befall a country that allow the use of GM crops as a food base for its citizens. Below are some few pointers that some major critics of GMO food crops say about GMOs.

-GMOs sold by Monsanto are sold (at almost no expressed choice to the farmer) paired with Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer cocktail. -The cocktail has resulted in the spread of a kind of super weed which is very resistant to the weed killer.
-The Roundup herbicide used in the farming of GMO crops is made using the chemical glypohsate as the core ingredient.
-Research has shown that glyphosate and GMOs may result in
complications in human health. This is because studies such as the Seralini et al study show serious health complications in rats due to their being fed GMO feeds grown using Roundup as the crop weed killer.(Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology)
-Dr Huber, a researcher on the use of Roundup has found that it is responsible for;
1. Imparement of plant growth
2. Decreased availability and usability of plant nutrients by plants 3. Some plants on which Roundup has been used experience the Sudden Death Syndrome

-A study conducted in Argentina found that in Soy bean farming areas residents experienced pre-mature birth, some birth defects, and some cancers, still births, in-ability to have children and still births (Chemical Research in Toxicology).
-In 2009 the American Academy of Environmental Medicine issued a position paper on GMO plants stating that “animal studies indicate serious health risk associated with GM food consumption. These risks include infertility, immune deregulation, acceleration of aging, immune deregulation” and many other problems (Target China page111).

I personally do not think ACB was wrong to assert the ban of GMOs, nor was Russia and to some degree even China and South Africa.
At face value GMOs are good but once you sink your teeth into them, your teeth will crack and your gums bleed because you will end up confused.
There is much tangible evidence that outline the need and the benefits of GMO crops as a food base, even more so when it comes to South Africa, the African continent and Asia. Research such as the Seralini rat and GMO food study offer a horrid glimps of what could happen should we continue to eat GMOs and make Agri-business pockets fat. On the other hand…the stomach is a very tricky child. You cannot always succeed to help him avoid sweets and even though it is for his own good not to eat sweets, he will end up eating them in the end because he cannot help it.

With that in mind it is only fair to acknowledge that not every one on this GMO gravy train is evil. Some are more evil than others but some are actually advancing good intentions and trying to feed people born in countries where miss information and lies have resulted in the adoption of GMOs.
It is up to countries such as mine (South Africa) to ensure that their countries protect not only their own people but their neighbors’ as well.

Like any other thing under the sun, America and its allies are not all good. Sometimes they will advance a mistake only to find out too late that what they were advancing was a mistake.
Besides, must we always follow the Oval Office’s lead? Africa is not just a continent full of mouths to feed. It is the home of thinkers, innovators, inventors and leaders. It is mother natures’ s play ground let us keep it that way otherwise we will have nothing proudly ours.
Proudly African!

Sources
Target China
Africa Centre for Biosafety
AfricaBio

{Additions to be added latter}
Photo of rat subject from Seralini’s research on GMOs taken from Target China Photo of RounUp affected field taken by Gift Sibiya

My History did not start with Mandela, Rhodes and Jan Van Rebiek: A reminder To all those who think me Black a monkey

IMG-20151226-WA001Bandura’s social learning theory dictates that man is but what man’s society permits him to be. Some will say he is rather a social reductionist, his theory, approach to the study of this animal called man’s behavioure will be viewed as rather to narrowed by the social parameters Bandura tended to use.
I however hold with those who think him a pioneer in the study of this creature that is man.

I live in South Africa: a country so packed tops with racist eyed people that some of them seem a lost cause in our effort to remind the people of this lovely but historically horrid land that ‘we once were of the same father and mother. That no matter how deeply perversely some of us might wish and build it to be so; we will always be of the same father and mother.
In our family there exist no monkey, baboon, bonobo, chimpanzee or orangutan. WE are man, always were and always will be.
Truth be told we are tired of this song. But thanks Captain Penny Sparrow we are yet again forced sing it again. Like the monkeys she called us-as did her grannies-we once again chatter, howling and waving our sorry white digits up as monkeys in trees pointing out-along with the wrongs of the past-the wrongs of the present and the little insignificant wrong she has done us Black South Africans today: Calling us “their/them” herself “we” and us “monkeys”.
To many who are not aware, the use of these words will indeed seem insignificant and indeed be. IF for instance, I chose to remain in my country of birth (Swaziland) I would surely have not noted how pregnant Penny Sparrow’s little facebook post actually is, let alone her interview with News24.
She even went as far as actually saying what she sees (black on black skin) when at the beach is a shame. Defend her all you like but this lady has actually revealed what she and others in her social circle think. What they do.

My history does not start with Mandela,Rhodes and Jan Van Rebie

But there is another side to this story. A side I think will again be left not really addressed. You see if you be so bold as to surf the internet, go to the library and dig for old books or just simply sit with granny and listen, you will find that there is a missing element in today’s world history. An element that is so vital that its being absent has crippled how today’s people perceive each other.
This element is the history of the black man. His origins, his progress and his influence over today’s world. Sure we know about segregation, apartheid and slavery but do we ALL know about old Ham and Egypt, do we know about Canaan and his people, do we know who Cush was and his connection with not only Ethiopia but with the Jews, Christianity education, Religion, commerce, Africa and the rest of the world? Do we for example ALL know that Spain was once upon a time ruled by BLACK Africans(under the banner of Islam), and that this Africans were not just brutes of war but were learned Cushites, from modern day Ethiopia, Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and many other countries that bear the people who are today called monkeys.

Not many Southern African Blacks know their history beyond the boarder of modern day South Africa. All we know is Mandela, Gatja, Verwoerd, The Cape of Good Hope, Jan Van Rebiek , Anglo-Boere war, Imfencane ,the great world wars and dear old and dead Naledi.
I mean not to belittle any of the above but what I am going on about is the fact that;
• Jan Van Rebiek(1652) is not the first white person to reach the Cape, let alone reach India by sea and come back actually alive and well. Vasco da Gama accomplished the feat way earlier (1492) and lived to tell the tale of an Islamic town in modern day Mozambique.
• It is a lie (if not just mere speculation) that there were no Bantu peoples living here but only the Khoi and the San when the settlers came. In Mozambique da Gama encountered not only Muslims but Bantu language speakers as well. The Muslim of Arabian decent easily married into the Bantu of that place. Da Gama and Dias have this fact in their reports.
• If you be bold enough and go beyond AD1000, you would learn that racism and slavery has been present ever since man learnt to rule the other.
• Mass enslavement as we know it was caused by the need for cheap-all day labor in the Americas. This was most frequent in the AD1500s.
• Da Gama found an already existing economy in Mozambique. An Economy run by the Swahili, Malala and Arabs already trading in gold from from the Monomatapa kingdom in what is Zimbabwe today. Can monkeys create and maintain and economy?
• We can hate the Afrikaner all we want but they never started slavery-that is in its grandest of scales. The Portuguese who were brought here by Da Gama and the Crown of Portugal did this.
• England was the first country to actually end slavery.
• During the Anglo-Boere war, Afrikaners were oppressed by the English just as much as any African if not worse.
• Afrikaans in a African language in part and Germanic language in its roots. It is made of Dutch roots, Malay, Portuguese, San-Khoi and much Bantu languages than many would like it to be.
• Some historians are really of the view that we are all from South Africa, this is where we evolved;be it you are Euro-Asian or simply African.
• For those of us who have been misled, Noah’s curse was never directed to Cush. It was directed to Ham’s youngest of sons, Canaan. Those sons of Canaan who today live are not affected by the curse because Christ’s Ransom cleaned it off. Besides, Jah only allowed such to be effective only up to the fourth generation. Both Cush and Canaan’s sons are way past that mark.
The Afrikaner might have been the face of apartheid but they were not alone. Britain and the East India Company are to blame. The Foreign Office in the UK was responsible for much of what is South Africa today. Through the hands of entrepreneurs like Cecil Rhodes, the empire managed to grow its influence over much of what is today called Africa. One source puts it this way: His treatment of Africans was equally contradictory, he often talked about them in a highly derogatory manner and virtually pioneered the ‘Apartheid’ system of separating the Africans working in his mines from the outside world. Yet, he also seems to have taken an uncommon interest in their cultures and language and had a respect and understanding for Africans that would have seemed remarkably liberal for his era.
Rhodes left a will that was to create one of the most successful educational endowments of all time; The Rhodes Scholarships. These were open to any of the Teutonic peoples; Britons, Germans and Americans. And had the express purpose of enabling the academic elites of these countries to mingle and understand one another better in an attempt to create an Anglo-Saxon empire across the world. Even in his death, Rhodes’ dreams were bigger and more comprehensive than most other peoples’.
The above piece of information is not common knowledge to many who live in South Africa. The problem with it however, is that it not written in a manner that proves Britain and Cecil (the arm in South Africa) are to blame for what latter became institutionalized apartheid. To address this, I went over to my of late favorite resource and found this;
“I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race. Just fancy those parts that are at present inhabited by the most despicable specimen of human being, what an alteration there would be in them if they were brought under Anglo-Saxon influence…if there be a God, I think that what he would like me to do is paint as much of the map of Africa British Red as possible…” – See more at: http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/cecil-john-rhodes#sthash.JMtA2q2z.dpuf

Many of us who live not just in South Africa but who live in Southern Africa, are white or are black are very much of the opinion that it was of the Afrikaner/Boere ambition that Apartheid was conceived, born and latter matured into what it was in the 1950s. Yes Jan Smats spread it but the truth is that the tree that fell in 1994 was planted and left to root a very long time ago. When Cecil-and not Van Rebiek- went into parliament (then in the Cape Town) and sowed the White Super Race dream into the hearts of the people who were present in his 100 minutes presentation of the Glen Grey Act. This was and is the foundation of every Southern African’s life and trouble today; be it he is white or he is black.
How is this so, you ask? Well he it is. The white man in general, benefited from this act in that it secured his economic position. The black got nothing but pain and more pain, some of us lost even our surnames because of this act. The Land Act of 1903 and the Group Areas Act made famous by the Afrikaner/Boere face are all but little serpents with little fangs. They only added salt to an injury already at the time so deep that even a child born 200yrs from now will feel and live its effects.
The Affirmative Action policy as is currently applied will- quite frankly-fail. Its greatest crack is that it is rather too one sided. The whites (more so for the Boer) are in truth carrying a guilt unjustly generalized upon them and because of that are excluded from benefiting from their mother’s teats because she thinks they are still full from a fill she(I think government, like old mother justice should be blind) gave the prior to twenty years ago. Dear reader here is a snippet from the real architect of Apartheid, the envy of every man who knows and lusts after the value and power that comes with money, the shame of every historically aware white Southern African, the true enslaver of black Southern African and the benefactor of the English Empire. Read:

Rhodes opened his speech on the Glen Grey Act with the following words:
‘There is, I think, a general feeling that the natives are a distinct source of trouble and loss to the country. Now, I take a different view. When I see the labour troubles that are occurring in the United States, and when I see the troubles that are going to occur with the English people in their own country on the social question and the labour question, I feel rather glad that the labour question here is connected with the native question.’
He then continued,
‘The proposition that I would wish to put to the House is this, that I do not feel that the fact of our having to live with the natives in this country is a reason for serious anxiety. In fact, I think the natives should be a source of great assistance to most of us. At any rate, if the whites maintain their position as the supreme race, the day may come when we shall all be thankful that we have the natives with us in their proper position….. I feel that I am responsible for about two millions of human beings. The question which has submitted itself to my mind with regard to the natives is this ”” What is their present state ? I find that they are increasing enormously. I find that there are certain locations for them where, without any right or title to the land, they are herded together. They are multiplying to an enormous extent, and these locations are becoming too small…. The natives there are increasing at an enormous rate. The old diminutions by war and pestilence do not occur… W e have given them no share in the government ”” and I think rightly, too ”” and no interest in the local development of their country. What one feels is that there are questions like bridges, roads, education, plantations of trees, and various local questions, to which the natives might devote themselves with good results. At present we give them nothing to do, because we have taken away their power of making war ”” an excellent pursuit in its way ”” which once employed their minds…. We do not teach them the dignity of labour, and they simply loaf about in sloth and laziness. They never go out and work. This is what we have failed to consider with reference to our native population… What I would like in regard to a native area is that there should be no white men in its midst. I hold that the natives should be apart from white men, and not mixed up with them… The Government looks upon them as living in a native reserve, and desires to make the transfer and alienation of land as simple as possible… We fail utterly when we put natives on an equality with ourselves. If we deal with them differently and say, ” Yes, these people have their own ideas,” and so on, then we are all right ; but when once we depart from that position and put them on an equality with ourselves, we may give the matter up… As to the question of voting, we say that the natives are in a sense citizens, but not altogether citizens ”” they are still children….’ http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/cecil-john-rhodes#sthash.JMtA2q2z.dpufn
I do not know why it came to be that the Boere community that are our brothers and very are smart did not see this when it happened but what remains true in most peoples’ thoughts is that the South Africa we have today is the Afrikaners’ brain child. But as to the how, you have your answer. Jan Smat decided to be responsible for a dog not his and in the end that dog wrecked havoc to the brother he never wanted but ultimately turned bit his buttocks and ours all the same.
To some of us it is a small wonder why Penny Sparrow spat the words she spat at us black South Africans. She is English and the English have been messing up the world ever since the fall of the Portuguese empire and the birth of its hand, the East India Company. And when the Ruling Party took office, they never went and first deal with the problems the Engish world empire left in this country, nor did Zambia and Zimbabwe or even Angola. Swaziland is an exeption because it somehow was not so much hurt (mostly because it promised nothing in terms of monetary profit).
I find it hard to find a lasting solution with regards to the Race question but I do find that one who knows why and how things are fares better than he who addresses only the what in such matters. It is because of this realization then that I concluded that while we can not change the physical past, we can at least weaken its effects on us in the present and the future by learning about our wrongs in the past and present and work at never again taking those decisions again. It is however very difficult to do this in South Africa because much of the history we hear and read is limited largely by the history of the struggle for pass laws, and economic freedom. The truth is this kinds of freedom are essential but they do not really uproot the effect of racism and racists’ comments that manifest themselves in the minds of both the oppressor and the oppressed. I have found that even if I were to be economically free-that is have lots of money-I will not lose the effect that being called, compared to or being differentiated from a monkey has on mind. It will not remove the inferiority/superiority complex ( however minute or big it is) from my sense of self. The one and only thing that is going to save me from the above is a knowledge of myself and the knowledge of the other. This I can only achieve by my studying if my and the others’ history. Not the everyday go to school history but the history that at present only a few study. The history that will empower me and unshackle my soul from racism, bring forth the color of my skin’s true glory and place me right at par with my white brothers. Once I do that I will be truly free from the power of racism. We all are.
Twenty eight thousand years down the history line is a very long an fogy road to travel but my start with ‘The Wonderful Ethiopian and the Cushite Empire is a good way for anybody to start. My history does not start with Mandela and Jan Van Rebiek. It’s a long way down from there.
My History did not start with Mandela, Rhodes and Jan Van Rebiek: A reminder To all those who think me Black a monkey