of love, life and living it up

okay, let me explain the above question. i was talking to mr. teddy a couple of days ago and we were discussing what was going on in Louisiana. he had been watching the news updates of how the evacuees were being moved to houston and thats how the question came about.

i will not lie, it got me irritated and mad. first because it was not the first time he had asked me the question or brought it up. second, i having been the victim of others small mindedness and ignorance (no offense teddy) i am sensitive to such questions. at the back of my mind it was the equivalent of asking if he has come across people living in trees yet. not that cajuns and tree people are the same but you get my drift. was i overreacting? most likely. but having talked to some survivors and seen and heard horrible stories i was of the opinion that they should be seen as people in need first and of cultural or racial orientation much, much later.

FYI
Cajun:The Cajuns are an ethnic group consisting essentially of the descendants of Acadians who came from Nova Scotia to Louisiana as a result of their refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown. The word "Cajun" is an Anglophone corruption of the French pronunciation of the word acadien, after Acadia, the name of their ancestral region in Nova Scotia; the name "Cajun" was applied to them by English-speaking colonists when they settled in Louisiana.

(yes, i googled it, just as i put everything else i am unsure about through a search engine. )

this got me thinking. the thing is, not more than ten months ago, the question wouldn't have irked me as much. since i left home in january, i have been on the recieving end of questions that all africans have to endure. considering how much i had learnt by asking what now seem stupid questions, i try to take it all in stride and answer those who really want to know. being a minority has made me more tolerant, but also more agressive. looking back, i am almost ashamed at some of the things i used to say. where all oriental looking people absolutely must be chinese and would therefore be refered to as a "ching chong". nigerians were drug dealers and conmen and indians were rich business men who bulliedemployees and were racist. kamba men were the best lovers, luo/luyha men were the best endowed and kikuyu men mistreated their spouses. general terms that may be funny, true or just urban legends. but the amazing thing is that most people take it so seriously that it impacts their everyday experiences in a negative way. it usually goes to a point where there are two extremes - those who are afraid of whats different and oppose it and those who are agressive because they know that they are different.

don't get me wrong - i won't be those people who are so politically correct and uptight that it hurts to sit and have a conversation with them. all i am saying is a little understanding would go a long way and that should be kept in mind always. so i guess i am angry and saddened by those who think that the States had it coming and they should get a taste of what alot of the developing world goes through on a regular basis. loss of life is loss of life, regardless of where it is. to stand, point and say "its about time" as tempting as it is considering how ignored we feel, still isn't right. and i do sit and wonder that as mcuh as i would have been horrified at this were i still at home would i have been just a tad relieved that it was their turn for once. i wouldn't go as far as to say gleeful, but that is the sentiment that i get from alot of foreigners. then again, i don't claim to speak for everyone.

there has been a big buzz about how the relief efforts in louisiana were racially based, and that the government would not have taken four days to respond had those in the Superdome been predeominantly white. that even on televisoin, you see the african americans complain and steal and generally angry while the white folks are crying as they look through their belongings and pleading for help. well, that issue will take up another entire post. but it has been widely speculated that had this happened in los angeles or miami the story would have been very different. well, i guess if you look at it from that point of view yes, it does look racist. but not many consider the fact that alot of the white people were able to get out of new orleans bacause they had the means to, that is savings and what not. alot of americans live paycheck to paycheck, more so the african americans. so their option would have been to go to the Superdome, because it was what they paid taxes for - to be sheltered in times of need. that that effort went wrong in very many ways happened because those responsible were not prepared, not because those taking shelter were black. that the loss of life and the casualties was tremendous due to drowning, heat exhaustion and dehydration is because many did not evacuate because they thought they could see it through. not because they were black. the travesties that went on in the Superdome in new orleans that are just beginning to come to light such as the rapes, the killings and the general mayhem happened because once order is gone, humans can turn into the most ghastly of creatures.

fingers should be pointed at FEMA (federal emergency mangement agency). since 9/11, it has been headed by a director who has no knowledge of disaster work or no experience in disaster management. over 75% of its budget has been funneled towards state and local to terrorist readiness, and reportedly less than 6% towards disaster preparedness.this is despite the fact that surveys show that in the united states, natural calamities are more likely to happen than terrorism attacks. if not for volunteers and well wishers, those who survived would have been left high and dry as the agency dragged its feet over what to do about a natural disaster they had been warned about.

there are a whole myriad of reasons, i could go on for ages. but to simplify such a wide issue with a blanket statement like "its beacause they're black" is to refuse to look at the whole picture. thats my take on it anyway. it doesn't come down to whether those who survived or those who died are white, black or cajun. we find the problem and we help those in need.


random thought of the day ...

writing the last paragraph of this post i remembered a song i used to sing at assembly in primary school-

Jesus loves the little chil-dren!
all the children of the world,
red and yellow, black and white
they are precious things in sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world!

red, yellow, black and white ... i dont think tat would fly in todays' politically correct world. and to think that i would wonder where in the world those yellow and red kids lived.