You and me: looking forward from Kenya and New York, Jacqueline Berrien Patrick Mono Mbura

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 23:00:00 +0000

ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11

We are all survivors.

Survivors of the Middle Passage, the Trail of Tears,
the Holocaust, the Great Depression,
or descendants of those who were.

Survivors of famine and floods, drought and
devastation,
Survivors of exile,
forced departures, and flight from nations at war,
Survivors of journeys
from distant homes, in search of refuge from political persecution or relief
from poverty, and we arrived here to be called “foreigners” and “aliens”
by some, and far worse things by others.

Survivors of rape, of incest,
of physical and psychological abuse,
of assaults based upon the color of our skin,
or the nations where we were born, or our religious beliefs.

Survivors of HIV, of addictions, of mental illnesses, of disabilities, and
infirmities, and afflictions that should not, alone, define us,
but all too often do.

Survivors of lynch mobs and church bombings,
crimes against humanity and assassinations,
Survivors of “isms” and “phobias”, prejudice and ignorance.
Survivors of those who would keep us down because we are women,
who would limit our reach because we are poor,
who would restrict our freedom because of who we love,
who would curtail our choices,
because we differ from them
in some arbitrary way.

We have survived all of these things
And now, we are called upon,
Faced with,
Commanded,
Compelled,
To survive 9/11.

We have survived so much,
So far,
For so long
That I firmly believe
We will survive again.

FROM AFRICAN GROUND

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Robert and Kerry for having briefly introduced me to openDemocracy – which believes that, all over the world, people young, old, men and women have ideas and opinions, but have no way to make them known to other people around the world, and allows this to happen.
Therefore I decided not to spare any of my efforts but to willingly accept the task of collecting views from different people here and make them known to other people all over the world.

The whole world joins America in remembering the horror of 11 September 2001. It’s important to look back at history and learn from it. We have gone through Iron Age, industrial revolution, world wars, fascism, communism and now terrorism.

The U.S. and its fight against terrorism is plunging the world into chaos. It is as though terrorism is only a U.S. problem, but it is truly a global one which calls for a global solution.

As the U.S. remembers the horror of 11 September 2001, we Kenyans and Tanzanians also remember what happened on 7 August 1998.

Looking at the approach the U.S. has towards Iraq and Saddam, it is evident that we’ll talk of war and not any other thing in the near future.

We think that U.S.A. and Britain should not consider terrorism as their own problem but instead one for the whole world and therefore give it a U.N. action.

The voice of the people must be listened to. America and Britain should champion the eradication of poverty, diseases and pollution.an>

We are sure that if this is perfectly done then the world will remain a better place for living.

Contact Address: Patrick Mono Mbura P.O. Box 1099 Kilifi Kenya

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You and me: looking forward from Kenya and New York, Jacqueline Berrien Patrick Mono Mbura