Can’t expect others to love you if you don’t love yourself!

Today I coincidentally read a CNN article on child-slavery on the major lake in Ghana. Some fisherman roam the country to find parents who are struggling to feed their children and offer them some money (typically as little as $250) to practically buy one of their children. Once bought, the children (some as young as 12) are taken off to make dives in treacherous conditions to free fishing nets in the lake. This heinous act is ongoing today. No Europeans to blame on this occasion I’m afraid. No transatlantic slave masters, just awful, greedy adults doing this to helpless children…

In today’s social media-driven society, where facts count for very little and nobody wants to do any real research. Both sides (those for a campaign as well as those against) caring very little about facts. Those looking to promote hate for financial gain going hard at it, and those on the other side doing pretty much the same (i.e. seeking financial gain).

Africa is not filled with people who just naturally love each other as they’re all black and one. Same as Europe is not and never was filled with harmony across all borders due to all being white – quite the contrary; they were at each other’s throats for centuries and in the case of Africa, add on the extra complexity of tribes that have been forced together recklessly by colonialists without any understanding of tribal differences etc. Just forced together out of convenience and in many instances, to promote strife and tribal wars, which generated additional sources of bolstering the transatlantic slave trade.

Young activists today, who have not bothered to read up on the sale of largely West African slaves – afterall, it was largely sales i.e. they were sold by fellow Africans to the Europeans – albeit, the buyers are not faultless and as with all enterprise, demand is what drives supply but we conveniently ignore those making the demand as is in the case of Class A drugs; the folks consuming it do not get any mention, while US prisons are packed full of black people who are petty-sellers of the drugs (the rich, university students who buy the drugs and give rise to the demand are never mentioned as we conveniently focus on the scum selling the drugs)

Ok, it is highly unlikely that a fair price was ever paid for transatlantic slaves decades ago – as there is never a fair price for buying a human being and enforcing their offspring into automatic slavery – but some folks did get paid at the point of purchase right? I am equally certain the price paid by settlers for Manhattan was way below its value, but such is life. What could the excuse be, for the ongoing trade of children sold into slave-labour in the year 2021???

Black people of all tribe, background, location, MUST decide when it is time to love themselves FIRST, before expecting a miraculous turnaround for others to love them. It has to begin with Africa. YES, the far-reaching impact of colonialism- and in particular, the lumping together of incompatible tribes – is still the primary challenge today and that manifests in various formats including corruption. BUT, it is now time (and well over-due) for Africans to sort Africa out.

Yes, shame on the west (and in particular Europe) for how immigration of non-whites have been handled for decades, with deliberate disadvantaging of certain immigrants – forgetting that their failure hurt us all ultimately and while we can continue to fill our prisons in the west, with black & brown people, I am sure such cost could have gone to other aspects of society. BUT, current situations in Africa that drives young, able-bodied folks to prefer likely death at sea, while trying to get to the west cannot practically be blamed on Europeans

Look at China today. They sat up, decided to love themselves for a bit and have turned their country around. Africa as a continent must do the same. There will be attempts to frustrate and sabotage such awakening but ultimately it can be achieved if Africans choose to save their continent. It won’t be others coming in to do it for Africans.