There Is No Child Born A Racist, Adults Teach Them

Children don't think of color; they always play together.

From the moment a woman conceives, she and her husband have responsibilities to take care of the child. Despite the pain a mother goes through to deliver her lovely, adorable child, there is nothing tougher than raising a child. 

Part of the responsibilities is to ensure the child is safe, healthy, respectful, educated, and disciplined, but how disciplined are children these days?

A child under the control of his parents learns what he sees and speaks the language he hears. The lessons adults teach a child are what stick in the mind of the child.

 

When a mother tells her child not to play with Black or white kids, that’s exactly what the child would avoid. 

Ask the child why he isn't playing with those Black or white kids; don't be surprised to hear, "My mother says I shouldn't play with Black kids."

 

Instead of teaching a child how to love, many adults pollute the minds of their children. By the time they reach their teenage years, some become dangerous racists on the streets.

 

The reason racism, hatred, and discrimination never end is that they cause unrest and bloodshed daily in our society. Children are the most beautiful thing on earth, yet adults pollute their minds.

 

White or Black parents teach their children to hate other children with different colors.

The children we see today are those who will be our future leaders; they, therefore, need proper manners, to know right from wrong, and healthy minds to create a better society.

 

“If I had received good instruction as a child, I would be with my family today and at peace with my neighbors. I hope and pray that all you parents in the sound of my voice will train up your children in the way they should go,” a wise quote from Charles Portis, True Grit.

This article by Joel Savage was first published on the LinkedIn social platform on October 3, 2014.

A MAN CAN'T BE PRAISED FOR HIS EVIL DEEDS, UNLESS YOU'RE EVIL

The quote of Martin Luther King Jr

We often hear “I don’t like Obama, I hate CNN, I don’t like George W. Bush, etc. If you try to find out the reason for their hatred and dislike, they will tell you why.

It is easier to hate than to show or give love to a person. Thus, probably if someone hates me, there must be a reason for that. But when I haven’t committed any crime, I would like to find out why someone hates me. Is it because of my probing articles?

I am an African writer living in Europe, reading every humiliating and degrading article European and American journalists write about Africa. Do you expect me to join them when they have many problems to deal with on their shores, but pretend everything is fine?

In Brussels, come daily European and other world leaders to talk about problems affecting the world, with the aim of finding solutions to tackle those problems. In the same Brussels stands a statue of Leopold II, the king who killed and maimed over ten million Africans, including women and children.

Belgium didn’t consider the crime of this criminal. Instead, they built a statue to glorify and named streets after him throughout the country, when there is no statue of Adolf Hitler, for killing 6 million Jews. Would you hate me as an African writer who values life if I write that the Belgian government should pull down that statue?

The world leaders and journalists converging at Brussels don’t care about any statue, because they are not Africans; moreover, the life of an African to them is valueless. But since the Bible I read tells me that ‘God created man in His own image,’ I will write an article against this injustice and ignorance.

No one in their right mind would praise someone who has committed such a heinous crime unless the person is sick himself or evil. Sometimes, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed,” said Martin Luther King Jr. Yes, the sufferer has to scream for the oppressor to know what the oppressed are going through.

Terrorism

The selfishness, greed, hypocrisy, and bad policies of European and American leaders have generated scores of hatred for the common citizens. Whatever terrorism has taken place in Europe and America, in the past and today, was caused by Europe and America.

In Brussels, they sit behind a heavy security gate and take measures to combat terrorism. After that, they give those measures to the media for publication, but the reasons that led to the killing of innocent citizens are never given to the media. Because they don’t want the public to know the truth, and again aren’t ready to change their bad policies.

Unfortunately, people don’t realize the harm these politicians are causing in society against ordinary citizens. Do we have to depend on such people/politicians for security or protection? They were there when 9/11 occurred. 

They were there when runners taking part in a marathon were murdered by unscrupulous terrorists. They were there when terrorists struck France, and they were there when Africa was intentionally plagued with Aids, Ebola, Lassa fever, and other diseases.

When they see victims of terrorism's bodies scattered, before you’ll see soldiers and the police with guns at every point of the street, disrupting public activities. These politicians have no protection for us today or tomorrow. In fact, they have left us sitting on a time bomb, without knowing when the next terrorist act will strike.

Honestly, the public can take good care of themselves more than what politicians can do, if each becomes his brother’s keeper, giving love, doing away with racism, discrimination, and living in peace and harmony. Love truly conquers everything.

BOOK: AIDS DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE, SO WHY DO WE?

Taking care of aids patients, a book by Joel Savage

According to a report published by the New York Times, HIV/AIDS patients are committing suicide at a far higher rate than the general population, and at a higher rate even than among people with other fatal diseases, according to a new study of patients in New York City. 

Too often, HIV/AIDS victims become targets of hate, rejection, and discrimination in society, and sometimes face rejection by family and friends. Unfortunately, the discrimination and stigma they suffer are extended to those who take care of them.

‘AIDS doesn’t discriminate, so why do we?’ is Joel’s sixth book, coming out in June from his publisher, Virtual Book Worm, in the United States of America. 

The book, which is dedicated to HIV/AIDS victims worldwide, eliminates the fears of caring for such patients and brings the human side to the forefront. Close the door against Aids, not the victim.

The book is available at https://www.amazon.com/author/joelsavage-1957. 

CHILDREN OF ISLAM AND THE WESTERN CULTURE

A Muslim community in Britain


Immigration and political asylum requests by people of Islamic background, in the United States of America and Western Europe, have doubled more than expected in recent years.


As they settle, society`s influence and integration change their mind and attitudes against Islam, the religion they belonged to. These young girls begin to realize that `Islam` is a religion of burden, discrimination, and domination against women, forcing women to stay indoors rather than the freedom and happiness they are looking for.

To follow Western life, some ignore the dominant rules of the Islamic religion and even choose to stop wearing the traditional Muslim headscarves. It is then that trouble starts brewing. 

Devout Muslim parents who can`t handle the influence of the Western cultures that the Muslim girls are following become violent overnight, especially the males.

A Muslim girl who refuses to listen to her parents receives death threats from her father. Some girls are brutally murdered by their families. This is totally insane. 

In Belgium, I interviewed a Muslim woman, with two beautiful twin girls, married to a Jamaican, if she isn`t scared of her life of marrying a Christian. `Scared of what? It`s my life, Islam doesn`t tell me what to do, she said.

One thing Muslims living elsewhere than their countries of origin have to understand is that society influences people. One can take a horse to the river, but can`t force the animal to drink if not thirsty. 

Thus, if the girls do not want to follow the Islamic doctrine any longer, they should leave them alone. Killing is not a solution.

Instead of killing a Muslim woman in Europe or America, for `bringing dishonor on her family` as they say, they must return to the countries of origin. 

Muslim men must begin to understand that marrying a woman doesn`t make her his property. Women must equally get the same respect they give to their men.

ALBERTINA SISULU: LEGEND OF A POLITICAL HEROINE

Albertina Sisulu

Albertina Sisulu, one of the political icons of the Apartheid era, who sacrificed her life and fought against the evil-Apartheid alongside her husband, Albert Sisulu, has died at the age of 92 on Thursday 2/06/201.  

               

The death of struggle veteran Albertina Sisulu has left the ANC in shock, disbelief, and devastated at the loss of a mother, says ruling party spokesman Jackson Mthembu.

Albertina Sisulu was the widow of Walter Sisulu, the first secretary-general of the ANC, a Robben Island prisoner, and a friend of Nelson Mandela. 

Her extraordinary personal sacrifices were to let ordinary Africans lead a dignified life, free of the daily discriminations and humiliations that constituted the Apartheid system.

She endured a lot so that each person, regardless of race or creed or gender, could enjoy the full range of pleasures and sorrows, challenges and accomplishments that define the daily essence of an ordinary person. 

Born in 1918, in the village of Camama in the Transkei region of South Africa, Albertina chose to study nursing. She married Albert Sisulu in 1947.

Albertina was the only woman present at the birth of the African National Congress Youth League. She became more of an activist, leading the ANC Women's League in the famous 1952 Defiance Campaign and boycotts, protests, and sit-ins of the 1950s. 

In the 60s, she endured several banning orders by the Apartheid government.

Her husband was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island, one of the notorious prisons in South Africa, forcing her to raise a family on her own. Like Winnie Mandela, Adelaide Thambo, wife of Oliver Thambo, and Ma Mbeki, she bore the burden with quiet and defiant dignity.

How much could a woman take in those dark, anguished days? At one time, Albertina had three of her children in jail with her husband over the anti-Apartheid struggle. 

Yet not once did her suffering diminish her attentiveness to the travails of others. Albertina Sisulu belongs to a breed of dying giants, the giants who liberated Africa of all its inhabitants.

She belongs to the giants who had fought to see the fall of Apartheid. Her selfless sacrifice can never be erased from the political history of South Africa. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

MOSQUES BUILDING IN EUROPE AND AMERICA MUST COME TO AN END

The mosque: a place of prayer, and where all evil plans are hatched



“When you go to Rome, you do what the Romans do.” This statement doesn’t mean any discrimination or racism in any way. It simply means that the country belongs to the Romans. 


In this case, they make their laws and rules, so every abiding citizen, including foreigners, must obey these laws. As easy for Christians to understand this law, some religious sect takes it as discriminatory and racist.

I do agree with the leader of the “Vlaams Belang Party”, Philip De Winter, in Belgium, when protesting against the building of a central mosque in Antwerp. 

The reason is simple and logical. First of all, “Belgium is a country that belongs to the Belgians; therefore, they have to make their own rules and laws, not foreigners. These rules and laws must be obeyed, including foreigners.

Point number two, an investigation has revealed that most of the terrorism plans are hatched in mosques. It would be recalled in the political history of Ghana that when J. J. Rawlings came to power as a Flight-Lieutenant, the first thing he did was to demolish the mosque in central Accra, because that was the center of all evil activities by so-called Islamic worshippers. The place is now a central car parking place.

Point number three, if any Belgian living in an Arab land requests permission to build a cathedral or church in that country, the permit is not only going to be denied but also, but he may also serve a prison sentence for speaking about Christianity in an Arab land. 

So why should the West or America always permit the building of mosques in their countries? Are they afraid of Muslims? I can’t simply understand.

Once I was walking along Pothoekstraat in Antwerp and saw a Belgian driving. He stopped and called a Moroccan and requested the direction of a street he was looking for. I was shocked at what I saw. 

Instead of the Moroccan telling him that I don’t know the street or here is the street, he went closer to the driver and spat on his face. With saliva full on his face, the Belgian drove his car away. What is the sense in this?

Being strict and implementing laws and rules against foreigners doesn’t give room for one to be called a racist, but it is one of the measures to reduce crime and theft in a society. 

Belgians must wake up, else one day they will see themselves burning in a fire they did not start. Problems are solved diplomatically. There is no room for violence anywhere in this world as a means of solving a problem.

FEMALE CIRCUMCISION IS BARBARISM

Dangerous implements used for female circumcision in Africa


Oppression and discrimination against women have become major concerns in many parts of the world, including Africa. 


Many women have become subject to all kinds of horrible situations, ranging from rape, sexual harassment, and physical battering to psychological abuse.

In some parts of Africa and Asia, men hold the view that "as a husband, to that woman," they have the right to beat up their wives any time they wish to do so. The ignorant idea that girls are not as important as boys views women as sexual objects rather than industrious, hard-working people.

An outdated practice going on in Africa, which has caused many health hazards to women, is female circumcision. In the Republic of Sierra Leone, an ethnic group calling itself "The Bondo Society" still carries this practice. 

Why female circumcision? The idea behind this barbarous act, which has caused so much misery and sickness to thousands of women across Africa, is to "help" the woman to be faithful and stay with only her husband.

Female circumcision is practiced in 26 countries across Africa, and the significance behind this act is totally meaningless and not beneficial to women in any way. Women are not going to be tied down by this outdated tradition. The world must fight against this wicked act. It's totally inhuman.

THE CRIMINALS WITHIN THE POLICE FORCE

There is discrimination in the police force worldwide.



The police are a law enforcement force responsible for keeping public order. Their activities include the apprehension of those who don’t want to abide by the law. 


As a matter of fact, citizens of every nation depend on the police for protection and the guarantee of a safe and crime-free neighborhood. In the pursuit of peace and the fight against crime, the police sometimes meet their untimely death.

In Africa, especially in Nigeria, hundreds of police officers have been killed by armed robbers and thieves. Ghana was once a peaceful country, although petty crimes are reported daily, but not armed robbery. 

But now armed robbery has been exported to Ghana by Nigerians, and this has given employment to hardened criminals in Ghana. For example, every Nigerian armed robbery gang arrested in Ghana has a Ghanaian accomplice.

Some of the arrested armed robbers have police uniforms. No one is accusing the police of selling their uniforms to armed gangs, but the question is, “How do armed robbers get police uniforms?” 

It takes a million people and precious time to build a good reputation, but it takes less than a second for one person to destroy all the good work that has been built. 

In fact, the head of the Ghana police force has a greater deal of responsibility on his shoulders to eliminate all those criminals in uniform within the police force. There are a lot of corrupt officers within the police force.

It is a very serious matter that something must be done. Some officers in the police force are tarnishing the image of the force because they joined it not to protect citizens against crime but to wear the uniform to make money through robbery and other illegal means. 

On Tuesday, August 7, 2007, the Daily Graphic carried front-page news about three arrested police officers for allegedly taking $24,000 from a suspected cocaine dealer. 

According to the story, the three men from the Mobile Force Unit of the Ghana Police Service have been placed in custody. This is a very serious matter and a disgrace to the Ghana police force. How could police officers commit such a crime?

This is not the first time a story involving the police in criminal activities has appeared in the daily papers. Another question that needs an answer is, “Why do police officers indulge in criminal activities? 

Is it poverty, or are they underpaid? It is a fact that the job of the police is a very frustrating one, one that unfortunately many people don’t respect, but that doesn’t mean they have to turn against people they have to protect. 

Some people think that giving the police full discretion and freedom from legal actions would help. That is not true. According to investigations, taking away accountability will make the police worse than criminals. 

It is, therefore, a good part of the Ghana police force to let any member who broke the law pay for his crime, as they are presently doing. Most Ghanaians have lost total confidence in the police for many reasons.

For example, the police are nowhere to be found when a crime is going on, and when they are called, they come when the crime has already taken place. In advanced countries, it is a big success for the police when criminals leave behind any evidence during an operation. 

Because the retrieved object during investigations could lead to the arrest of the criminals by means of forensic, DNA, or fingerprint tests. But in Africa, criminals are never apprehended when they leave behind an exhibit. 

Many people refrain from reporting to the police their problems because some have to extort money from the victim before investigating their case or making an arrest. These are some of the issues that need proper attention.

To prevent crime in society, people should give respect to the police and work with them. The lack of respect for the police prevents them from fully serving a community. This is very common in Europe, where a lot of foreigners are living. 

Due to racism, there is an indifference to police service where immigrants are. One thing individuals must understand is that the police cannot be everywhere at once to apprehend a thief or fight against an armed robber. 

As long as there are human beings, crime could occur. Therefore, in order to help the police to prevent crime, people should look out for each other and always inform the police immediately when they see someone acting suspiciously.

Greed is the stumbling block to world peace- Joseph Hill

Joel Savage interviews Joseph Hill, the lead singer of the group Culture

POLE-POLE FESTIVAL-GENT- BELGIUM (2004) BY JOEL SAVAGE

Down in Jamaica, where Garvey comes from, many groups and musicians started in the early seventies, as the mighty Joseph Hill of Culture. But they are nowhere to be found today. 


Like the spirit of the Lord upon Joseph Hill, for the past 30 years, nothing at all could stop him from spreading his message against war, oppression, crime, discrimination, poverty, racism, corruption and injustice. 

Last year, 2003, he came out with "World Peace," seeking peace worldwide and rejecting war totally through music. On July 25, 2004, after performing live, he granted this interview to "The Voice Magazine" Belgian correspondent. Joel Savage.

TV: I have to call you, Sir Joseph Hill. Let's rally round Jehovah's throne. I have a few questions to ask you today.

Joseph: You are welcome. (Then he smiled)

TV: It was in the seventies that I heard of Culture. Can you please tell me what has inspired you to be in this hard music industry for all these years?

Joseph: It's Jah (referring to God) that gives me the strength. Always feel that something is watching out for me. For myself, I love to play for the people. They are also part of my inspiration. That's what has inspired me through all these years.

TV: You have been singing all your life about corruption, oppression, discrimination, war, poverty, and so on. Were you a victim of such things in any circumstances?

Joseph: There are people I saw in comparison to various countries. Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! I have seen those things for political reasons. I have seen people die, and not a word of justice has been said. 

Think of the person's life. It is priceless. The last grief I had was this woman in Afghanistan, who is separated from her land. They treated her so badly that she and her sixteen-year-old child were eating grass. That was my last grief. (Joseph moved with sorrow, spelled the word grass "G R A S S")

TV: Your lyrics and beats in every song of "Culture" touch and move everyone on the road of trials and tribulations. Where do you get such wonderful rhythms and lyrics from?

Joseph: The big man who rules the earth. (He laughed) He is the governor.

TV: You were in Sierra Leone on two occasions, when the war was at its peak, with the brutal activities of the rebels. Did your visit create any impact or change your view on the suffering masses in the country?

Joseph: Yes, my visit brought a change. When people saw me, they didn't know what to say. They just cried and cried. You know, the rebels told the government that "You should be glad Joseph is here. If he weren't here, this place would be destroyed within 24 hours. I just came back from there a few weeks ago.

Joel: I learned that in the capital, Freetown, at the guest house you lodged, there is a tree nearby, and every morning a bird came to sing, and out of the song of the bird, you composed a song from it. Is it true?

Joseph: Yes, it's true.

Joel: On July 4th, 2004, I interviewed Lucky Dube, who told me that as a friend, you are one of the best men in the music industry. How do you react to this nice compliment?

Joseph: I take it easy. That's it.

Joel: I ask the same question to any reggae artist I interview. Reggae music is loved by everyone. But why is it that the music is given less recognition?

Joseph: Because the truth is God's friend, but not a lot of people are friends of the truth.

Joel: You have been following the Palestinian and Israeli conflict for a very long time, and you have even visited the Gaza Strip. Who do you think is the stumbling block to the peace everyone is seeking?

Joseph: Greed, greed, and greed because there is enough to satisfy every man's need but never enough to satisfy any man's greed. So greed is the stumbling block.

Joel: In one of your songs, you played a song against Yasser Arafat, as the stumbling block.

Reggae interviews

Joseph: He made himself like that. He has to change his ways, and the other man would change his ways. There is something called “Repentance”. When repentance meets their hearts, we shall have a beautiful world.

Joel: You successfully came out last year with the remarkable “world peace” album. What message do you still have in mind for your numerous fans worldwide?

Joseph: You know, people should respect one another. To be used, abused, refused, and our hearts trampled by fear, and living in doubt, thinking we are living on top of the world. No, we shouldn’t live that way. We have to seek happiness, love, mutual respect, joy, and the justice of God around us, and peace would find its rightful place.

Joel: Thank you very much for this interview, Sir Joseph Hill.

Joseph: Thanks be to Jah

Read other interviews of Anthony B, Andrew Tosh, U-Roy, Prince Malachi, Julian Marley, ASWAD, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Tutu Puoane, and many others in ‘The Passion of Reggae and African Music.

http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Reggae-African-Music-ebook/dp/B013L9A1JQ