Some Reflections for Africa

The Very Human African

The African world is not different from other worlds.

What is happening in Africa is happening everywhere in the world.

The African is not a different brand of "homo-sapiens".

The African can be as honest and polite as the English,

and the African can be as hypocritical and rude as the English.

The African can be as saintly and tough as the Irish;

he can also be as sinful and sensitive as the Irish.

The African can be as generous as the American,

and the African can be as selfish as the American.

The African can be as holy as the Italian,

and the African can be as vicious as the Italian.

The African can be as kind, friendly and hospitable

as the German, and the African can be as unwelcoming

and xenophobic as the German.

The African can be as humble as the French,

and the African can be as proud as the French.

In short the African can be as angelic as all

other human beings, and the African can be

as devilish as all other human beings,

for the African is human like all other human beings.

(Peter Sarpong - Bishop of Kumasi, Ghana)

 We, in Africa,

have unfortunately been building

over the past few decades

several Towers of Babel:

The tower of lies

The tower of bribery

The tower of tribalism

The tower of hedonism

The tower of corruption

The tower of intolerance

The tower of power-drunkenness

The tower of arrogance and pride

The tower of religious dogmatism

The tower of political fanaticism

The tower of nepotism and favouritism

The tower of hostility and brutality

The tower of senseless fratricidal wars

in short, the tower of sheer iniquity!

These are the towers that we must ruthlessly demolish,

if the African is to be human.

(Peter Sarpong - Bishop of Kumasi, Ghana)

 Ten Commandments for Africa

Everyone is born tired, therefore life is about getting a rest.

Love your bed as you love yourself.

Have a rest during the day so as to have a good sleep at night.

If you see anyone resting, help him.

Never forget that work makes you tired.

Don’t do anything today that you can leave for tomorrow.

Do as little as possible, and what you can’t avoid, leave it for others to do.

Remember, no one has died yet from a good rest.

When you feel like working, sit down until that feeling passes.

If work means health, it is better to be sick.

 You know you are in Africa when...

- you realise after watching the news on TV that nothing has happened in the rest of the world;

- the fact that there is an election and people queue to vote is more important than the result of the election;

- votes have to be recounted until the right party win;

- people around you prefer to be killed in their beds than live in a country where they would have to get up and make it themselves;

- a minibus taxi overtakes you and within seconds stops right in front of you;

- the road narrows and the guy behind you has the right of way;

- a cop threatens you with a huge fine, but says' if you want to be nice to him he could agree to less;

- you have to prove that you don't need a loan in order to get one;

- refugees start leaving the country because the crime rate is too high;

- politicians spend time and worry investigating crimes of the past and ignore crimes of the present;

- the currency takes a dive and the previous government gets the blame;

- a murderer gets 6 months while not having a TV license gets a 2 year sentence, and crime pays;

- there is more space between the sole of your foot and the accelerator pedal pressed down to 120km/hour than between your rear bumper and the bumper of the car behind you;

- the Post Office collects and stores letters but does not deliver them;

- the minister of housing does not build houses and the minister of finance does not wear a tie;

- the minister without portfolio makes more noise than all the other portfolios put together, and then, when he's given a portfolio, you never hear from him again.

The Colour Issue

When you are born, you are pink.

When you grow up, you are white.

When you are sick, you turn green.

When you are afraid, you turn yellow.

When you go into the sun, you turn red.

When you die, you go purple.

When I am born, I am black.

When I grow up, I am black.

When I get sick, I am black.

When I am afraid, I stay black.

When I go into the sun, I stay black.

When I die, I am black.

So why the hell do you call me "COLOURED"?