Africa

It was the German scientist Albert Einstein who said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” In other words, human beings ought to constantly generate new thoughts and ideas to tackle the problems of life. Today, more than ever, there is an urgent need for a new thinking culture in Africa. The thinking faculty is what separates human beings from other animals. While modes of thinking distinguish human beings or groups of human beings from each other. So, the fact is that all human beings think. But no two human beings -even identical twins- think exactly the same way.

Different persons think differently. Every individual is unique. That is why any institution that insists on conformity of thought goes against the currents of human development. Diversity typifies the way humans are and do things. Though some persons may be of like mind, that is they share similar outlook and world views, that does not necessarily mean that they hold like views. People’s perspectives and opinions differ, conflict and contradict each other. And it is to the dynamics of conflict and contradiction of ideas that we owe human’s intellectual and moral progress. Simply put the engine of intellectual growth is lubricated with the oil of civilized debate, dissent and disagreement.

By Leo Igwe

Recently I attended a human rights meeting in Swaziland . It was held in Ezulwini, one of the country's few cities and tourist destinations. This event offered me an opportunity to acquaint myself with the Swazi society-the history, thought, culture and tradition of the people. I interviewed many Swazis, met with some university students and activists to find out about the religious and superstitious beliefs in the country. Swaziland in a land locked nation surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique . It is one of the smallest countries in Africa with a population of almost one million comprising primarily Bantu speaking Swazi people. The Kingdom was colonized by Britain and gained independence in 1968. Swaziland is a deeply religious and superstitious society. The Swazi people like other Africans believe in God, spirits and charms to a fault. They revere these supernatural objects and uphold all sorts of irrational beliefs and traditional nonsense to the extent that they undermine their cultural development, political emancipation and civilization.
According to the online Encyclopedia - the Wikipedia - 82 percent of Swazis are Christians, while 18 percent profess Islam, Bahai, Hindusm, and other beliefs.

This is an interesting item from the Jewish Heritage E-Report Edited by Samuel D. Gruber (For more info contact samuelgruber_at_gmail.com ):

Jay Waronker Continues Documentation of Sub-Saharan Africa Synagogues

(ISJM News) American Architect Jay Waronker, who documented synagogues in India in the 1990s, will be in East Africa this summer (2008) continuing his documentation of the synagogue architecture of Sub-Saharan Africa begun with a Fulbright grant in 2006. A trained architect, Waronker is especially known for his highly detailed by evocative watercolor paintings of Indian Synagogues which have been
exhibited widely. His choice to supplement more conventional means of building documentation with paintings links him to a long traditional of architectural illustrators who have recorded synagogue architecture since the 17th century. This summer's work is supported by a grant from the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation.

Waronker also helped organize the permanent exhibition in the recently restored former synagogue of Chennamangalam (Kerala), India. This summer Waronker will be working in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. His account of the 1926 Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Maputo Mozambique can be read on-line at: http://www.kulanu.org/mozambique/maputo.html

As your resident latina I feel the need to weigh in on the moniker "Hispanic" as in "Hispanic Heritage Month". Actually, people have been asking me off-blog about the 'hispanic vs. latino' and I just have to weigh in.

If the opening of this post is any indication, and if you are too lazy to peruse our archives, you will see that not once have I used the term hispanic to descibe myself nor my heritage. I detest the word. I loathe the word. I find the word hispanic repulsive and repugnant, to the point of inciting me to acts of violence. Why? Let me give you some reasons :

1. Hispanic assumes that all people in Latin America speak Spanish.
   What about the languages spoken by Haitians (French), Trinidadians(English) or Brazilians (Portuguese)? What about indigenous and creole languages like Aymara, Quechua or Papiamento?

2. Hispanic assumes all people in Latin America have a Spaniard and European ascendancy.
   Along with the fallacy of Spanish-only, even in a place like Puerto Rico (which was a Spanish colony until 1898), Spanish Castillian culture was not the source of most of the Spanish culture in the island.

   Most of the Spaniards that settled in Puerto Rico were not Castillian. These so-called Hispanics were actually non-Spanish speaking Catalanes (Catalunya), Gallegos (Galicia), Mallorquines (Las Mallorcas) and Canarinos (Islas Canarias) with, as per some demographics theories floating around now for more than 30 years, a huge influx of Crypto-Moors and Crypto-Jews from Andalucia and Granada.

   
   

In an attempt to go beyond discussions about the "digital divide", I organized a panel at this year's South by Southwest festival to discussing the exploding market segment of 'minority' technologists and early adopters.

I apologize in advance for my hemming and hawing. I have a lot of work to do with my public speaking skills. But stay until the presentation done by Stephen Wilmarth and his students from The Center for 21st Century Skills. A victim of our anti-immigration policies, this straight A student gives a heartbreaking account of how after being deported with her mother to Brazil, she tried to keep up with her technology program and classmates using Skype and other social media.

This podcast first appears at the South by Southwest website.

A growing number of women of color are seeking alternative mental health services to help cope with stress and other recurrent struggles in their lives more effectively. Many of these women are now utilizing hypnotherapy, breathwork, and reiki as means of effective therapeutic intervention minus psychiatric labels and medications.

One of them is "Maya," a 36 year-old African American woman. Among many things, Maya is a single mom of two pre-teens, and a lawyer. In the past, Maya sought treatment from a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She had been an incest survivor since age 8 and experienced recurrent nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety attacks. Maya also had difficulty maintaining relationships with men as a result of her childhood trauma. Years of intensive talk therapy and anti-anxiety medication led Maya to see very little improvement in her recovery, until a friend recommended that she try hypnotherapy.

Maya says, "At first, I was skeptical about hypnosis and what it could do for me. But I was frustrated. I felt like I was hitting a wall with my therapist and that she didn't really understand where I was coming from. This had been the eighth therapist I had been to, and I was beginning to feel like talking about my symptoms and my past was beating a dead horse. When was I going to get over it? I just wanted to feel better and stop the panic attacks. . . "

When Caoily was 10 months old, she came down with rotavirus. If you have children, and you've been through this, then you know how awful this common infection is. Everything you put into your child--in my case, breastmilk and some solids--comes out in a very short time as a watery, noxious, seemingly neverending river of shit that overflows diapers. I would breastfeed her, and she would be shitting simultaneously, covering both of us in it as I tried to get fluids into her to keep her from dehydrating.
Our pediatrician hospitalized her after 12 hours. For three days, she stayed on a simple solution of electrolytes and fluid through an IV in her leg, the only vein the anesthesiologist (I had insisted on an anesthesiologist) could find to puncture.
She was one of the lucky ones.

Interesting campaign from Human Rights First:

Dear blogger,

We thought you might be interested in an online gallery that organizations from all around the world have put together to promote September 17, the global day for Darfur. We’re hoping you’ll encourage your readers to add their faces to the gallery of people wearing a blue beret, the internationally recognized icon of U.N. peacekeeping forces, to send a message to their governments to pressure the U.N. Security Council and the government of Sudan to deploy U.N. troops to protect the people of Darfur. Thousands of people around the globe on September 17 will join in a unified call for an end to the mass slaughter in Darfur at over 40 events being held in at least 20 countries, including a rally and concert in NYC Central Park. People are also being asked to wear a blue hat on the day. To add a photo of oneself to the gallery (one can adjust the blue beret to fit the photo) and for more details on the events in each country, please go to http://www.dayfordarfur.org. These pages are being constantly updated.

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