Beautiful people, I am rushing off to a program so please pardon poor editing. kzs
Well I think we all agree that repatriation merits critical examination. I share Tamala's view that our imagination is limited by tribal thinking (my phrasing, not Tamala's)--we have a difficult time getting beyond thinking like a Nigerian or Ghanaian or what have you...
@ Kelechi if we follow your logic that each African nation should, as it were, right their own national ship then we would be forced to send back every continental African residing in the USA because America still oppresses her black and "Indian" natives. But I would argue that the presence of continental Africans (and other immigrants) in America presents an opportunity for solidarity amongst the oppressed just as the Haitian revolution did in a different era...
@ All I am struck by the idea that Haitians returning to Senegal creates or compounds a problem. Is it not possible that Haitians might contribute something positive to Senegal (or Ghana)? Without going into a long historical narrative on "Return" it is important to note that we have many historical and contemporary examples of African repatriation. Repatriated, formerly enslaved, Africans from Brazil were settled in Accra (the Ga people of Accra called them "Tabon"). They were given stool land (land governed by a chief) within the Ga chieftaincy institution. The Tabon have their own chief, but they are otherwise completely integrated into Ga and Ghanaian society. Africans from Sierra Leone and Brazil "returned" to Lagos, Nigeria to help construct what we now call the Yoruba.
We have the "bad" examples of return--Sierra Leone and Liberia. And diasporan Africans played seminal roles in the early days of post-independence Ghana (click on hyperlink and download "African Diaspora in Ghana). We have Rastafarians in Ethiopia. Haitians have returned to Benin and DRC . I recall that Lumumba had a Haitian (?) and an African African advisor. And in more recent times (@ Karen) diaspora Africans were ceded 30, 000 acres of land as a gesture of atonement for the slave trade.
More recently brother Obadele (he is on this thread) has repatriated to Ghana. He offers classes on the repatriation process. He also teaches online classes on Wolof (Senegal), Twi (Ghana), and Yoruba (Nigeria). Mama Imahkus, a returnee in Ghana, building bridges between diaspora and continental Africans for over a decade. Institutionally, the African Union has designated the African Diaspora as a sixth region.
There are many other examples...
Conclusion
None of these models are perfect and some are better than others. But they all point the way forward on the right of Return. If some of y'all wanna dismiss Wade (pronounced WAHD--thanks Fatou) as a foolish old man thats fine. But you can't dismiss the principle of repatriation. As a moral and ethical principle, I don't need anyone's permission or blessings to return to Africa. It is my right. My Ancestors were forcibly taken from Africa against their will. Likewise it is the right of every Haitian to return to Afrika. Likewise, Haitians don't require anyone's permission to return to the land(s) of their Ancestors. As freedom fighters from Garvey to Malcolm insisted repatriation is a human right. What must be negotiated is how to honor the moral right of Return in a way that doesn't undermine the rights of our brothers and sisters on the continent. Their rights, as several of you have rightly observed, are of equal importance...kzs
Conclusion
None of these models are perfect and some are better than others. But they all point the way forward on the right of Return. If some of y'all wanna dismiss Wade (pronounced WAHD--thanks Fatou) as a foolish old man thats fine. But you can't dismiss the principle of repatriation. As a moral and ethical principle, I don't need anyone's permission or blessings to return to Africa. It is my right. My Ancestors were forcibly taken from Africa against their will. Likewise it is the right of every Haitian to return to Afrika. Likewise, Haitians don't require anyone's permission to return to the land(s) of their Ancestors. As freedom fighters from Garvey to Malcolm insisted repatriation is a human right. What must be negotiated is how to honor the moral right of Return in a way that doesn't undermine the rights of our brothers and sisters on the continent. Their rights, as several of you have rightly observed, are of equal importance...kzs
Photo credit: Jamediapro
tags: abdoulaye wade, diaspora, earthquake, haiti, pan-African, repatriation, Senegal
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