Lenshina and the Inauguration

So this post really isn't about the Inauguration.  Zambia decided and some of us may not have gotten what we wanted, but today incumbent President, His Excellency Edgar Chagwa Lungu, is being sworn in. What has come out of this election cycle is that Zambia is a flock of lost sheep who are so desperate for direction. For me the political arena really isn't the place to duke this out, as personally I do not see my principles and my ideals for Zambia even remotely represented by anyone who seeks to serve in that capacity.  I have no idea what is going on in that ring, so this bull is using her horns to bust out and explore the great wide world out there for answers and to create my own solutions that hopefully have an impact in some way on a larger scale.

Social media reflecting what people I met around #Lusaka today feel: upset that #ZambiaDecides legacy inflammatory, divisive, tribal. Smh 😢😤

— Ngosa Whoopi Chungu (@whoops_c) August 22, 2016

This past weekend I went on an amazing artistic journey quite by accident.  I have been in hibernation pretty much all year, trying to put myself back together after inadvertently finding myself the protagonist in what I realised was a Humpty Dumpty phase.  Thankfully all the King's horses and all the King's men were not required, but this Queen needed a whole lot of soul searching to reemerge.  I may have ended up broken after last year's success, but I am on the mend and patched up enough to move forward.  Part of that has been reconnecting with life in Lusaka and thankfully new hope has revealed itself. I have been inspired by our tenacity, and that artists in particular are finding ways to express themselves, even though this is a fearful time in Zambia - a time in which many of us youth are fearful of things regressing so far - that there will be no path for our future, only a way for the archaic, the disconnected, the greedy and the power-grabbers.

We need to be that Mandela quote and be courageous: not let the fear cripple us but be inspired to overcome #Zambia https://t.co/3e9KC6wIpW

— Ngosa Whoopi Chungu (@whoops_c) August 28, 2016

On Friday I decided to go to a Modzi Arts event about whether we do indeed have Zambian Literature. One of my girl crushes Mulenga Kapwepwe was on the panel and she talked about how it is clear from the way we write today that we have no idea who we are. We defined only in the past tense, in writers long gone. We take on other people's voices, experiences, their landscapes without having visited and try to co-opt their lives unsuccessfully.  We would rather write in broken English, live the life we watch on TV and adopt their truths and their pain, than actually tackle the specifics of our situation.  There is nothing wrong with being inspired by others.  There is everything wrong with living in someone else's skin with no real understanding of who they are and worse who you are.  In order for Zambia to move forward, to create great works, we need to live in our dysfunction, channel that through what we do and manifest, in order to work through and come out the other side wiser, strong and defined.  There is nothing wrong with declaring your truth, however untidy it may be.  If you are discombobulated, say you are and be done with it.  If you need to look back to figure out where you are to move forward, then do so. Take it from someone who has spent their life deranged and confused.  I have blogged over and over about how I live in uncertainty - you can still find identity in the unknown...trust me ;)!

Looking back to move forward is exactly what happened the next day.  I decided to watch Lenshina, a play about the Lumpa Church Uprising after Independence, as when I got home after the literary discussion, the Internet was lit with rave reviews. And I was not disappointed.  Both the UNZA Drum Theatre Troupe skits that preceded the main event and Lenshina were amazingly Zambian and fresh.  I laughed, sighed, cringed, "cried", was challenged, affirmed and above all was moved deeply.  What I loved most was that none of the actors put on weird foreign accents which Zambians seem to think make them sound cooler, more intelligent, more attractive and unfortunately, not Zambian and therefore better when speaking English. This erroneous view, symptomatic of a deep self hatred and low esteem, a glaring manifestation of the colonised mind that we tend to ignore, brush over and worst of all reward, is disturbingly sad to witness and usually detracts from what is being communicated.  I no longer listen to radio because I just can't with most DJs, the most blatant form of rewarding this behaviour.  You are enough mwebantu!  Just speak with whatever accent you have: it's your truth, it is the audio map of your life, be proud of your journey please! I equally was tickled by the fact that vernacular was used: mostly Bemba and in Lenshina, Nyanja and Tonga were also featured. Also, so chuffed I understood pretty much everything, so could get all the jokes as the scripts deftly interwove English with our mother tongues which is the way we quintessentially communicate. I am so glad that the art respected that. Every Zambian I believe is at least bilingual. One Zambia One Nation would not be able to exist in some shape or form without at least understanding your people and the diversity in the vicinity. At this point may I apologise if you were in at the Playhouse with me on Saturday: in true African style, I cackled, hooted and hollered, gasped and talked back so loud I couldn't help myself. I blame the raucous company I keep. And no it wasn't the wine I drank, it was only one glass he he he. It's how we do on the continent, and it's one of my favourite things about the way we immerse ourselves when suspension of reality is required at the theatre or the cinema.  We engage so viscerally and profoundly with art, something that is largely lost in the West. There is theatre etiquette and a separate, more stringent set of rules for the cinema. Ehk! I have been on the receiving end of many a side-eye and tut when I forget where I am when far from home enjoying myself.  Okay maybe I'm not that sorry because clearly I have no control...

What made me proud to be Zambian after the performance was the fact that the youth who put together Lenshina, took on a very controversial subject in a time when people are retreating to their corners and are afraid to speak.  They were able to comment on today using the past. And they did it in a refreshingly modern way, not limited by the comfort Zambians feel in the familiar.  We tend to produce content that is stale, repetitive and tired.  Our complacency, which has led to the disquiet and dissatisfaction that has manifested itself in cadre violence, political clamp downs and the loss of our peace and friendliness, has in turn revealed itself in art that proves that imitation is not always the best form of flattery.  We may have found comfort in knowing what is coming but it keeps us stagnant.  It has stopped us from growing.  And knowing that forces wanting to "help" will come and bail us out has put us in a position of begging.  And this was reflected in some reactions to the play, asking for more of the story as they felt they enjoyed it so much it should have included everything about the Uprising to make it longer, which completely misses the point.

The play took a particular stand.  Unbiased yet strongly pointed.  Was Lenshina in the wrong or was Kaunda?  The rapier delivery of dialogue built on short sentences and each scene ending with the protagonists accusing each other of having "blood on their hands", perfectly articulated the struggle of defining self and moving forward after colonisation - that One Zambia One Nation was something that needed to be worked at even then.  Lives were lost in the struggle and it is up to each of us to come to our own conclusions and most importantly I feel, be inspired by our history not to fall into the same pitfalls our Founding Fathers did. Not to be afraid of different points of view.  To allow for nuance. To respect our differences and work harder to find common ground to ensure peace beyond tolerance.  I will discuss this much going forward as I launch my new endeavour the ACE Project. The play was timely, evident in the fact that religion played a huge part in the confusion and lies were disseminated on both sides to advance each others causes.  Both sides I feel were honourable and authentic in their point of view, but their truths were subjective to their experience and goals which blinded them. That ultimately led to clashes rather than compromise for a better future. To miss those parallels because you weren't given the full story is short-sighted.  To not understand that true art fills your soul yet sparks your spirit to want more is an oversight we cannot avoid. If you feel a different presentation was required, create your own chance, write your own play, give us another view.  Art is never complete, it is supposed to add to the conversation and facilitate the creation of more.  Art is meant to "comfort the uncomfortable and discomfort the comfortable".  It is not meant to necessarily answer your questions, but it can give you peace knowing that the questions are out there and that the answers are being searched for, the solutions and being worked on.  

This play used that past to give us the language today to communicate what we are feeling, to know that this is not anything new, but also to warn us that just because it has happened before, doesn't mean it should happen again.  Repeating history is not an excuse, evidence to be justified in defeat. Instead of praying from a place of hopelessness and not hope, let's help ourselves as deliverance comes to those who demand it through their actions.  Ultimately the play  was able to contribute to the conversations we are having and inspire us to respond in turn. Despite the rickety theatre, the lack of resources, the cast and crew persevered.  Their situation is a metaphor for and the reality of Zambia right now.  They were able to find and communicate a painful beauty despite the shadows trying to overcast and obscure.  They illuminated their desire to succeed in the most thoughtful and entertaining way.  They achieved what great art does, they were able to inspire.  Hence this blog post ;}!

Wine o'clock before #Lenshina  #Zambia story across the road at the Playhouse with @andi.ngwenya @lonahshawa. #wine #love #pelliefun #ngosa34 #proudlyzambian #supportlocal #lenshina #mafashio

A photo posted by Ngosa Whoopi Chungu (@whoops.c) on Sep 10, 2016 at 9:37am PDT

So excited! #Lenshina about to start! pic.twitter.com/XNEkcluGO5

— Ngosa Whoopi Chungu (@whoops_c) September 10, 2016

#Lenshina was amazing! Processing now but feel so invigorated by the #proudlyzambian art I witnessed today... pic.twitter.com/ivgmIXMtVv

— Ngosa Whoopi Chungu (@whoops_c) September 10, 2016

@peternawa great art inspires more art. Glad to see that despite the crazy, we persevere. Expression so important, especially now...

— Ngosa Whoopi Chungu (@whoops_c) September 10, 2016

Mama Monday: Design Zambia's Golden Jubilee Independence Logo

© George Mutale's submission to #BeautifulLusaka.
 Check out the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.
Submit a logo as iconic as the Cairo Road skyline
and as beautiful as this photo :).

This is an exact replica of document expressing the official call from the Zambia@50 Secretariat that has been circulated:

Create a Unique Logo Design for Zambia’s 50^th Independence Anniversary

Are you a patriotic Zambian with a passion for your country?   Then this contest is for you! The Zambia@50 Secretariat is launching a contest to find the best logo for Zambia’s 50^th Independence Anniversary celebrations and we want you to participate. The Logo Design Competition is now open!

To win simply submit an original logo design. You can only submit one design, so make sure it's your best! 

Eligibility

1.  The Contest is open to individuals living in and outside Zambia. The Contest is not open to companies, educational institutions, organizations, etc. or to groups associated with such institutions.

2.   Members of the Zambia Adjudicators Panel, the contest judges and their immediate family are not eligible to enter the Contest.

3.  Entrants must be of sufficient legal age and standing to enter into a contract with the Zambia@50 Secretariat as required below.

How to Enter

1.   Entries must be submitted by email to competition@Zambia50.co.zm The entries must be submitted as a scalable vector graphic in EPS format, and or as a JPG. See the Submission Guidelines below for further information.

2.  The email or physical submission must include name, age, postal address, phone number and email address of the entrant.

3.   Physical or hardcopy submission must be posted to P.O. Box 30208, Lusaka or hand-delivered to the Zambia@50 Secretariat, Government Complex, 2^nd Floor West Wing (Conference Centre side, entrance facing State Insurance Building)

4.   Only one Entry may be submitted by any one Entrant.

5.  Entries must conform to the Submission Guidelines set out below. Entries which fail to do so will be rejected.

6.  The deadline for Entries is February 15^th 2014 Zambian time.  (Btw I have no idea what that means!)

7.  We will attempt to keep all entries safely; however, we cannot be responsible for entries or responses lost in e-mail.

8.   There is no fee to enter the Contest.

Submission Guidelines

The purpose of the contest is to design a logo for the Golden Jubilee Celebrations Celebrating 50 year of Zambia’s Independence. The logo will be used online, in print, on merchandise and will be placed on billboards, T-shirts, books, key holders, DVDs, commercial products, stickers for cars etc. Flexibility is a key requirement, including the need to resize easily and to look good in black and white as well as color, as well the ability for the logo to be animated. The final version of the logo will need to be suitable for high quality printing. While the logo needs to look good at relatively small sizes, it will not need to be shrunk for use on small items.

Because of the requirement to register the logo as an official logo, Entrants should take care to ensure that their Entries are not in any way similar to existing logos or other copyrighted images.  

This image should not be photographic.   The logo may contain the word Zambia, or symbolic representation of the country Zambia, but must also contain the number or word “50”. The logo must not contain any text apart from the words suggested here. Due to the requirements for high quality printing and re-sizing Entries must be submitted in very clear distinguishable colors.  

The limit on attachment sizes for our email is 5Mb. If your submission exceeds this size, even after compression, please send the images individually and note clearly in your emails that you are doing so.

 Prizes

Subject to the legal requirements outlined above, the winning design will be announced through the public media.  Every effort will be made to inform the winner in time.   

The winning designer will receive:

1.    A cash prize of K5,000. (Five Thousand Kwacha )

2.    A unique certificate signed by the President of the Republic of Zambia.

3.    Official invitations to all Celebratory State Functions in their town or locality.

4.    The right to identify him/herself as the Zambia 50^th Anniversary logo designer.

Judging and Selection of Winner

1.   The final winning design will be selected by judges appointed by the Zambia Adjudicator’s Panel. Their decision will be final. No further correspondence shall be entered into.

2.  Zambia@50 Secretariat reserves the right not to select a winner if, in its sole discretion, no suitable entries are received.

3.  The winner will be required to sign a contract assigning all ownership of the logo to Zambia@50 Secretariat.

4.   Accepting the prize constitutes permission for Zambia@50 Secretariat to make public and otherwise use winner’s name, and country of residence for publicity purposes. Further personal data may be requested but is not required.

Intellectual Property

1.   All submitted work must be original and not based on any pre-existing design.

2.   All Entries will become the sole property of Zambia@50 Secretariat and may be used by the Secretariat, including the Zambia@50 Secretariat web sites and by such entities as the Secretariat may permit.

3.  The Entrant agrees to transfer all right and title to the Zambia@50 Secretariat in accordance with the Official Rules of this Contest.

Acceptance

Participation constitutes the Entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. By participating in the Contest, the Entrant is representing and warranting that he/she has read and understood, and agrees to be bound by, these rules. Including the guides and rules referred to herein, these Official Rules constitute the entire agreement between the Entrant and the Zambia@50 Secretariat in relation to the Contest. They govern the Entrant’s participation and supersede any prior or other agreements between the Entrant and the Zambia@50 Secretariat and relating to the Contest 

Zed Culture Part IV: Polychronic vs Monochronic

 © Mwana ba Afrika 

In October, I attended my first TopFloor Public Discussion Forum.  The theme was "Zambian Cultural Identity" and featured insightful discussion lead by presentations from Ms Mulenga Kapwepwe, my Zambian girl crush, and  University of Zambia, UNZA, Professor Mubanga Kashoki.  The debate was framed around: "What is Zambia's cultural identity? What influence does Zambia's cultural identity have on business practices? What defines culture: Language? Dress? Protocol? What influence do these cultural indicators have on individual careers and business conduct? What are the hindrances?  What cultural elements need to be emphasised? Managed? Changed?"  What came out of the discussion was the importance of our concept of time, and how much that affects the legacy colonisation left us with: the disjuncture with our polychronic, historically fluid perception of time that is in constant battle with the monochronic, fixed, unidirectional notion that British brought with them .  

Over the next month, I have realised, even though I may have spent two thirds of my life in the West, in countries that operate monochronically, you can't take the African, the polychronic, out of me he he he.  Used it when I was over there with time difference to buy time or complain that I had lost it.  And now I really take advantage, particularly when operating with the USA, as I am half a day ahead, so can always stretch time out - when I don't get something done in my time, I go back in time and make sure it is done by the time it's that time half way across the world.  Also have to be aware that some people are ahead of time, like when working with my current collaboration partner from C1rca 1964, who is based in Australia.

I recently commented on Facebook that you can't operate on the continent if you cannot operate polychronically.  Now that I am working with the National Arts Council of Zambia, with a bunch of creatives to boot, I have been stretching time and having people stretch mine back.  As Ms Kapwepwe pointed out, in Indonesia they go so far as to call it rubber time.  The important thing is to get whatever it is done, worrying about the time wastes just wastes more time.  And sometimes deadlines can just be stressful.  Life is not linear, it never goes in a straight line: sometimes it goes off on a tangent, it gets a little wiggly, or just goes round and round and comes back to the place you started.  So time should accommodate that.  I am a much happier person since I ditched the 9-5 model and now work anytime between 9am and 2am everyday, take naps when I need to and am flexible enough to meet anyone, any place, and work for whomever, anywhere, thanks to the beauty of the Internet.  I am physically static but virtually limitless!  

However, what I don't like about the polychronic nature, and of Zambians in particular, is that they don't distiguish between stretching time and not respecting other people's time.  I always believe that you should do what you do with your time to yourself, but respect that others may be different.  As I say Don't waste my time, it is not your time to waste.  There is a difference between just being late coz you can't be bothered versus being overextended, stuck in traffic or stretching the hours to fit everything into the day.  Sometimes Zambians take advantage of APT (African People's Time) aka CPT (Coloured Peoples Time) and turn up hours late for things for no apparent and then expect to be accommodated, huffing and puffing, causing more harm than good.  

Stretch the time, don't waste it!

My Kamanga Wear Dropped-Crotch
Jumpsuit, the first of many I'm sure,
just had my second altered to fit :)
 © Mwana ba Afrika 

This new understanding of time has also helped a lot with understanding my concept of African style.  Creativity is not linear either.  You need to be able to dip into the past, be rooted in the present and be flying in the skies of the future to truly tap into that energy and be creative.  Something can be new and old the same time e.g. same cut, different chitenge print.  Or how my earrings are in-style without following trends and can follow traditions while adding new creativity.  Everything is always in if you rock it :).   It's the same with music we make - it can never be placed to a particular year or decade, it can be attached to a place but not to a time.  Recently I have been particularly dispassionate about American music. It is so cookie cutter and people keep churning out songs just be be relevant and not to produce something new.  The videos are all the same, and there are forever naked women,  all trying to pass versions of nudity off as stylish and original. I'm really quite bored and disaffected. Even talented people like Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera seemed to have plateaued and/or worse plummetted into mediocrity with regards to song quality.

I like the electronic and dance sound coming from Europe, and Afro-pop continues to hit the spot, with the Nigerians leading the way.  I have also been leaning towards doo-wop 60s type songs like Olly Murs's last two singles, but the song that really brought this out is Bruno Mars' "Locked Up".  It has touched my soul in such a way because it sounds so old, yet so fresh, and will continue to do that because of how genius it is.  Same with PSY's Gangnam Style: reminiscent of the one hit wonders of the 90s like Macarena and Saturday Night but really original, futuristic and ultimately timeless.  I have also been discovering a lot of African music and thinking it's new, only to find out it was released years ago, and rediscovering old stuff too.  So I leave you with a promise that I will make a 3-4-10 post of music that defies the laws of time, polychronic in nature, and therefore timeless due to their refusal to be limited by the Zeitgeist and ever present in the past, the now and the tomorrows to come.

As promised, here  is the polychronic global music mix :)

Zed Culture Part III: A Call to Arms

This post originally featured on Unchain Africa Press in June 2012.  I have been looking to post it at the right time on MbA. It has been modified slightly from the original.  This is also dedicated to OXFORD SHIRT,  and appropriately is posted during her birthday month.

“You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum”  recounts the frank, chance meeting between an American venture capitalist and a Zambian. This man of the Caucasian persuasion, depending on the way one reads the retelling, either comes off as arrogant, insensitive and even racist, or, he is a man that understands that capitalism has no morals, that money begets money, that many in the financial sector have no qualms about exploiting whomever to get it, but through his travels has made some astute and insightful observations about Africa and its educated elite.  This recounting of a coincidental plane meeting went viral at the beginning of the year and has touched a very sensitive place in the African psyche.

Whatever your view of this exchange between two men from two different continents are, it is a welcome addition to the debate about the state of Africa and what we on the continent are doing about it.  Jacqueline Musiitwa, a proud Zambia, decided to defensively attack the American. Her tone is caustic, vitriolic and dismissive. Even though she acknowledges that there are Africans who leave and turn their back on Africa once they are educated, it is clear that she has decided that this man is racist, ill-informed and evil.  She acknowledges that some of us still have an inferiority complex and that Zambia, and the continent, still have a way to go to being in an economically sound place, but has missed the crux of this account.  She has committed the opposite of the sin that is the colonised mind: she appears to be bitter, and herself prejudiced, letting these shortcomings cloud her judgement. She has focused on the (evil) white man, rather than what the men’s discussion has brought to the fore.  That makes her no better than the type of people she seems to despise.

The point is that the American is well aware that there is no difference between races and that we are all capable of achieving great things.  If he had been sitting next to a Kenyan and had done business there and had the same experiences, he would have probably said the same thing.   Zambia was merely the example to serve a much greater purpose: talking about the state of many parts of the continent.  We Africans are some of the most educated people in the world and yet we are not a force in it.  The Economist reported that even though many of the continent’s countries sported high growth figures, despite the global economic downturn, last year we only contributed to 2.5% of the world's output.  We may be blessed with raw materials that are pivotal to the world today, but we are not using this wealth to develop and progress wisely.  In DRC, instead of its coltan reserves being harnessed to uplift its people or to make technological equipment such as mobile phones, it is being used by rebel militia to fuel the conflict that is disempowering women and terrorising villages.  Nigeria supplies a fifth of the USA’s oil and yet in January its own people were lining up for fuel.   Many of us complain about our governments, corruption, discrimination and the fact that we do not have this or that but do not follow-up proactively enough, if at all.  We as individuals need to do more, and the intellectuals, both home grown and those with exposure to other cultures, countries and continents through education and work, need to be at the forefront, leading the rest into a better future.

Rather than be offended by this account, let us take it as an opportunity to take stock, to re-evaluate our position, and to figure out a way to affect change for the better.   This is a call to arms for intellectuals to use the knowledge they have amassed and transform it into innovation, solutions, development and change. The newly certified generation of educated Africans should help the continent on the ground, or from abroad in any way they can, no matter how small. We as Africans need to stem the tide of vulture funds, and reduce the reliance on Western economic and humanitarian aid.  Instead we should be inspiring each other to innovate, create and collaborate on the continent and with the world.  It is up to us to show that Africans are achieving great things, from the grassroots level to the lofty echelons of government and business.  Many of our local media do not cover the work people are doing in their communities and what great things already happening on the continent.  We need to encourage ourselves to use the tools we have acquired locally and abroad to better our future and stop the systematic exploitation of our lands and people.

            

We need to be inspired by people such as Fred Swaniker who started a leadership academy in South Africa to encourage secondary school children hailing from all corners of Africa to think about how they can contribute to the continent. We need to believe that we have African products to offer like Magatte Wade, and fight against African stereotypes like Olivier Nizeyimana. We need to continue to create and support sites like the Zambian Entrepreneur that “match entrepreneurs and investors” and Celebrating Progress Africa that highlights success stories and provides a forum for debate.  And we need to support women like Bethlehem Tilahun who created the worlds first and only WFTO fair trade certified footwear company, soleRebels, as this recent New York Times article outlining female entrepreneurship driving African economic development highlighted.  We also need to take control of and produce the messages and the definitions of who we are that are transmitted through global media.

We need to ramp up our mission to fully reclaim ownership of our continent and its destiny that continues to be bright despite being obscured by our inability to more actively fight for it, even though we have the means to do so.

Innocent Mugabe

When my older sister led me to this article, the first thing I thought was: And they like to separate North Africa because this region is sooo different from sub-Saharan Africa, ha! Lies, lies I tell you because the Egyptian man who has named his first-born daughter Facebook has just displayed typical African behaviour by giving his child an inappropriate English word for a name.

In my country people are called Crankshaft, Anybody, Foluteer (a bastardisation of Volunteer) and many other highly inappropriate names.  Some names are translated straight from vernacular to English, immediately turning them from normal to inappropriate, as well as made up names that sound English and last but not least English names that are mispronounced and until they are spelt you would have no idea that that Kle-gee is actually called Craig. TIA, gotta love it :)

English names have a particular meaning in Southern Africa.  I have been asked many times what my Christian name is as I go by my Zambian name.  I will be a heathen forever, I like my name and I will use it proudly and am reconciled to the fact that some people will never be able to handle the consonant cluster at the beginning.   It is actually quite scary how colonised some people are that they think that using their English name makes them better than others or that it makes them seem more refined, more civlised.  Apart from the fact that most of the names that the English were forcing their colonies to adopt to prove that they were leaving behind their barbaric ways and had seen the light were English, not bible names.  Mary yes, Marjory not so much.  I like how a lot of Nigerians don't have any English names and make sure they are nice and long for people to trip over.  Naija pride, gotta love it. However, I do not believe that using your African name makes you prouder of your roots than those who don't either.

Today I came across the most perfect name and as I always say about real life, you can't write this stuff.  I have held many jobs that require me to come across a lot of names.  At school, working for the Alumni Association as a student caller had me come across names like the Asian Ping Pong.  Of course when his parents named him, they had no idea they had called him table tennis and that one day this would amuse me greatly. And now I have been notified that there is such a thing as an Innocent Mugabe.  Because he is Ugandan, I will believe his parents ;}.

All this led me to wonder if this phenomenon of erroneous use of English words for identification purposes is used around the world for all of two seconds. I stopped pondering this when I have reminded myself that celebrities have a penchant for doing this on a grand scale, as evidenced by names like Apple and Blanket.  All we need is now is Cake and Soda and we can have a picnic in the park ;}.  Contemplating this reminded me of A Song For Whoever by Beautiful South.  So I will end by indulging in a little 80s nostalgia as I absolutely loved this song as a child and still do. So innocent, so cute, so profound in its simplicity and my younger sister's name is mentioned.



"I love you from the bottom of my pencil case." CLASSIC! :)

Sudan's Landmark Referendum

As I write this people are turning up in droves in Southern Sudan  to vote for what most are assuming will be for secession from the North.  By July we could be seeing a new introduction to the African continent, our youngest nation yet.  While we vowed not to further cause turmoil by redrawing the very inconsiderate lines that were once so callously decided upon on a table by European powers over a century ago, think that it is very brave of us as Africans to recognise that in the case of Sudan, Africa's largest country geographically,  it is too big and too culturally diverse to be kept as one.

For more information about the referendum and the circumstances surrounding it, the BBC has comprehensive coverage here that leads to other links and information.  Earlier in the week President Bashir, the current President of Sudan visited the South to express his support.  His views on the referendum are that "the work of freedom is just at its beginning, [He is] confident that the southern Sudanese people have the strength and spirit to succeed in that endeavour." He understands the South's need to divorce itself from the north but is also wary that they are not aware of the potential pitfalls and tribulations they will face as they forge their own future independent of the south.

Here is a video of him articulating his views further:



You can also read a summary of the interview at Al Jazeera.

You can also find out more about the Government of Southern Sudan at their official website. Salva Kiir was sworn in as President of Southern Sudan in April 2010. You can view a video of the ceremony here and his views on the referendum hours before calling for co-existence and peace with the North here.

Watch this for a quick profile President Salva Kiir:



May this be the beginning of real progress in solving the Sudan's North-South divide, whatever decision the people decide.  For the vote to be valid, 60% of registered voters have to participate.  I am glad that those overseas are also able to vote as well :).

Kenya Dig it? Yes We Can!

I read this article today about how Kenya is going to try and save its largest forest, Mau, by trading carbon units to be able to reforest and in turned earn billions of dollars a year for 15 years! Reading more about how important the forest is to a third of the country's population reminded me of a program I watch while at home.  The quote "Many local people understand the value of the forest" reminded me of the episode of Great Africans I watched on DSTV about the 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai (who if you don't know about read up on her she is AMAZING!!!) the founder of The Green Belt Movement. In the program she talked about how when she was younger she remembers how she was taught which trees were to be cut for firewood and which were to be left like the Fig tree due to its long roots that keep the soil intact during the rains.  We Africans had such knowledge of our ecosystems and lived at one with the land but we have lost a lot of that.

I came across this quote today too from Mzee Jomo Kenyatta: "When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land.  They taught us to pray with our eyes closed. when we opened them, we had the Bible in our hand and they had the land." 

The above program talked about how the English came and cleared a lot of the land without thought due to the fertility of the land caused by the unique qualities of the Rift Valley and how this, as well as locals following suit, has caused Kenya to increasingly suffer from more and more droughts due to the fact that trees no longer form trapment areas for rain water. Even though Kenyatta made an crudely astute observation about how religion was used as a facilitator for colonialism, we need to start having faith in our own knowledge and make the decisions to revert back to some of our old practices while also embracing the knowledge we have also adopted.

What Kenya is trying to do is something that all African countries need to be doing. We need to exploit our resources in a productive not destructive manner.  And we need to be in control, especially with green issues as we are suffering from the brunt of the adverse effects climate change.  Which sucks really because we are not the main culprits.  But such is life, what can we do? What Kenya's doing that's what! :)

Dress To Express: Proudly African Accessories

I have a serious addiction to earrings.  Some women need to put on some sort of makeup to be able to get out of the house.  Some need to comb their hair.  For me, I need to put on my jewelry.  My watch, my rings and earrings and I am good to go or I feel naked.  And the moment I get home I have to take them off because I feel like I need to shed the weight of the world outside.  Shakalala-ed hair can be concealed under a hat or a bandana and quite frankly I love sleep too much so only give enough room for showering and dressing.  Extra fiddling on a daily basis is too much for me.  When I was a kid I would sleep with my braids tied so when I woke up for school in the morning all I had to do was brush the top.  I know, I should be ashamed.  I am not. It was cold at boarding school, I don't function well under 25 degrees Celcuis. And my mother was not around he he he ;}...

I however, do believe you should dress to express.  And for me, the best way to keep in touch with my African-ness is through jewelry, particularly earrings.  As LOLZ said recently when we were donning African outfits for my graduation that sometimes we Afropolitans can rock the African too much. Chitenge bag, necklace, earrings can be overkill, I admit.  But I like to rock my earrings, if nothing else, especially seeing as for some reason people back home tend to shun these items, thinking they are are only for tourists at the market and would rather adorn themselves with (better) Western accessories.  That is evidence of colonisation of the mind I think.  If beads and wood were good enough for my ancestors, they are good enough for me.  If we do not support our local artisans and our culture in turn, who will?!  My OLDEST FRIEND commented that my earring style exposes my chongololo-ness (meaning centi/milipede and also refers to kids who go abroad to boarding school).  Perhaps my need to connect with my African-ness has something to do with it.  So I make a concerted effort to make sure that my earring diversity includes solid African representation as it grows. 

I also like the fact that I can get beautiful earrings for a $1-2 and necklaces for $5-6 after bargaining and I get compliments on them, with people believing they are worth so much more. And lovely friends who have gotten me accessories from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa as far as I know. This is in keeping with my dress code:

Fashion is in the now and ephemeral but style is priceless and eternal.

I have also found a way to get pretty cheap $5-6 earrings from Tar-jay, many of which look like they were made at home. They could have been, although they most probably were made in India or China.I was able to get shell earrings for £1 from Primani that look like they are from home.  I recently bought a pair of yellow shell earrings from Santa Barbara and saw the same green shell earrings I put together myself from Dubai ready-made in the shop! (The shells had a eye added to them already so only needed earring hooks which are very easy to add so I really didn't do much).    Shell earrings are an easy way to get the "exotic" natural "ethnic" look from afar, grrr to those words grrrr, which also leads people to believe that they are from home (apart from the fact that I come from a completely landlocked country is besides the point :}). And I think this is the main deterrent for people who are susceptible to inquiries and observations using "words that should be banned" when they dress a certain way.  This is why for the longest time I could not wear animal print anything -  too much for me to try and wear normally without the stigma of the "tribal" and/ or the skanky.  Now I can do a splash with my leather snake skin flats and a coupla earrings with leopard and zebra-stripes.  I am proud of my transcendence of the stereotype in an acceptable fashion he he he...

OXFORD SHIRT came up with this awesome way of creating easy access/ viewing of your collection for quick selection and matching with outfit purposes.  A great use for the excess cloth pieces from African outfits that every African woman possesses and never knows what to do with because they are too small or too big to do anything practical with.  However, you DO NOT put your expensive/family heirloom/ sentimental/ if-it-were-stolen-you'd-have-a-coronary jewelry on display. Nothing up on my wall was more than $10 so even though I am greatly attached to all my jewelry, I can get over the loss as I have many a time when I have lost an earring while out and about (why is it that you only ever lose ONE?!). This is when you go to Claire's and get a pack of those plastic earring backs to curb the problem.  And you stop living in London because coats and the wind repeatedly collude to dislodge earrings.

N.B. This only works in America, where they are allergic to building with brick and use something called dry wall that is soft enough to be able to push pins into in a haphazard manner to form a pretty earring wall.  Which is great until you live in LA and feel frikking earthquake tremors every month that shake you awake in the middle of the night until you get used to them and start sleeping through them and only then notice in the daytime. Which means you are now set up to die either by the flimsiness of your abode and/ or the fact that can sleep through stuff like that. But at least you get pretty decoration out of functional wall use.

I had to take a picture before taking this down as I sojourn back to the motherland.  So proud he he he...

And here is a picture of the new earrings that didn't make it to the display wall above, but will definitely be up there when I am able to create a new one. I have never seen yellow shells before I am still giddy about this find!

Busy Week For 50th Anniversary Independence Celebrations

Check out Afri-love for posts on Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin and Cote D'Ivoire all turning 50.  It was like the French were like ok, here we go, let's just do it all in one go!

Saw a quote from the Niger President, General Salou Djibo, on BBC's Africa in Pictures that dedicated the festivities to "the struggle against food insecurity by sustainable land management". All I have to say is words are just words until you turn them into action...

President Obama's Forum With Young African Leaders: 3-5 August

Tomorrow The (US) President's Forum with Young African Leaders kicks off.  115 attendees from 47 Sub-Saharan Africa will be engaged.  Already spotted a problem.  The North and everything South of that divide is being perpetuated.  Why are they not engaging North Africa at the same time?  The whole continent has been connected for millenia.  I know it is to do with the whole Middle East crisis where the majority of Northern African countries have a majority Muslim population and somehow this negates their Africaness!  They had special colonisation tactics for Muslim populations, and this sort of thinking is being perpetuated every time that Sub-Saharan divide is enforced.  Sub-Saharan Africa is not all the same, diversity amongst regions and within countries is very evident and some of that diversity comes from Muslim populations. So systematically singling out North Africa really is quite unfounded when dealing with the continent as a whole. Africa's problems will not be fully solved without cohesive, inclusive and interconnected plans. Alienation is not the answer.

However, I am sure that positives will come from this conference. It is definitely important to keep building bridges. To follow what is going on you can watch things live at US State Department's blog, DipNote, as well as read news as it comes in.  Here are some articles of interest that have already been posted on DipNote: youth empowering citizens, investing in female education, and mobile technology and development.

Here is a list of the attendees.

Great Series On National Geographic Channel

Been watching "How the Earth Changed History" for the past two nights and it is awesome! It concludes tomorrow night and will repeat on the weekend.  So far I have learned about how water stored underneath the desert sands led to civilisations in the Sahara setting up camp, how the Nile river's silt travels from the volcanic mountains in Ethiopia to Eygpt and that is why they have such fertile land and how the Wind effectively helped turned the gold trade to slavery in Ghana and how it affected colonisation and trade around the world too. It mentions a lot of North and West African countries.  Catch it if you can!

Colonialism - Can Both Sides Of The Story Be Told?

An Algerian film premiering tomorrow at the Cannes film festival is already causing quite a stir.  A few French people have started protesting, afraid that their side will not be told favourably.

Colonialism is always a touchy subject.  At school in England it always frustrated me that we learned all about William the Conqueror and 1066 and we learned about World War I and II but colonialism was NEVER mentioned! You can't forget the past, it has forged the future we presently live in. You can't just sweep such an important time in our global history under the rug.  We are still recovering from the change it brought! And I think that it is very important that we tell these stories in order to understand where we came from so we can bridge gaps and move on.

However, I do not think colonialism should be used as a crutch on Africa's part: an excuse to keep on walking around like headless chickens or worse like ostriches with their heads in the sand.  It is time for us to take control of our own destinies :)