Humanity's Finest Moment

The funeral is over; the flags once more fly at full mast, the candles have burned down to the wick. It is a time of reflection; a time to chart our steps going forward.

We have heard over and over again that there were lessons to be learned  from Mandela. Going forward we shall celebrate his life and show our love for him by the way we live from here on. We shall show that we, indeed, we uphold his memory with respect and gratitude in the way we choose to live.

Madiba's legacy can and should live in our hearts, our lives and in our minds as well.

When a man has done what he considers his best for his people then he can rest in peace..."May our heavenly Father give him eternal peace.

We shall reflect, discuss, blog and write about Madiba's passing; we shall give account of his sacrifice to our children and grandchildren; and in our hearts we will forever be grateful for the life that he lived.

However, in this moment in time, perhaps we must make a commitment to do as he did; live as he lived; love this nation as he did...so much so that in his own words, he was willing to die that his people, we that is, might be free.

He was willing to lay down his life that we might have the opportunities long denied the black man; the freedom to be all we can be; the right to live a life fully and in the pursuit of happiness whatever that might be to each one of us; the right to a dignified life.

If, as we lay Tata Madiba to rest we make the commitment, each one to self, to the country and to God, then surely this is our finest hour.

God bless South Africa!

Visas upon arrival

"Today, we announce that any African passport will obtain a visa on arrival in Kenya," he told the thousands of Kenyans and guests at Kasarani Stadium.

The new development was announced by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta during the country's celebration of 50 years of independence yesterday.

However, Kenyatta added that the new model will be applied on the principle of reciprocity to countries which will offer Kenyans the same with the only exception being instances that can compromise national security.Kenyatta said the move would accelerate implementation of the continental integration agenda.

"Under the arrangement, any African visitor may stay for up to six months. The only exception to this rule will be when regional security could be compromised," he said.

Rwanda is the only country that has opened its borders to Africans who travel to the country to receive visas upon arrival at entry points.

Integration

President Kenyatta also detailed other initiatives that Kenya would embark on to promote the continental integration, most of them implementation of the integration programmes.

"Kenya will contribute to a brigade to be part of the Rapid Response mechanism as part of the Africa Peace and Security Architecture agreed during the last Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government," Kenyatta said.

We applaud His Excellency, President Uhuru Kenyatta, the government of the Republic of Kenya and the gracious wananchi. We join you in this celebration of how far we have come; what we have achieved, confident that the years ahead are filled with promise and prosperity.

 Viva Jamhuri ya Kenya!

Rwanda

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LALA NGOXOLO TATA MADIBA

Fare thee well uTata Madiba, fare thee well.

In life you brought us change for which we had hungered, suffered and even laid down lives. In your leadership you urged us to embrace peace even as our blood boiled and our anger threatened to overflow our sensibilities.

Every time news of your health was announced we held our breath, fearful that you might breathe your last. Yet you prepared us slowly, gently to accept that one day you will go to rest, as we all will, in good time.

So here we are, feeling a deep sense of loss on the one hand, but filled with a sense of completion on the other. You transformed the mood of our country by your wisdom and perseverance thus teaching us to seize every moment, every emotion and rather than be seized by it.

These past days we have traveled, yet again, through your life's journey. We have arrived at a new place in time. These moments will never return and neither will those that you suffered and triumphed. We are a few days older but compared to yesteryears, this period has been renewing. Your words, the songs in your favor, speeches and tributes paid to you have been our company, the balm to our grieving spirits.

Today we celebrate your life. In passing on your life has broadened our horizons even wider, embracing the entire world whose leadership, encapsulated in over one hundred heads of state, uTata Madiba, graced your memorial service today, watched, in awe, by an admiring, appreciative global community. On five continents your name is revered because despite your pain and suffering your unprecedented heart of forgiveness ushered in a new era for South Africa, for Africa and indeed the world. In your own humble way, uTata Madiba, you ushered in a common currency; that of forgiveness and reconciliation. Not by talking about it, by living it. Oh, that we whom you've left behind, from the hallowed halls of the United Nations to the historic streets of Soweto, might embrace this goodness; this basic lesson in humanity.

Thank you, uTata Madiba, thank you. You gave us stature in the world; provided lessons that the world can take from this sub-continent; lessons that are universal because they embrace humanity; gave us a platform upon which we can proudly say, in the spirit of Ubuntu, "We are because you were".

In the words of President Barack Obama, you have inspired us, each one of us to be a better man, a better woman, a better human being.

Our gratitude knows no bounds. Because of your sacrifice we now live in peace. We pray that you will now, in turn, rest in peace.

Purely Fictional Presidential Address in the year 2029

My fellow countrymen and women, distinguished members of the diplomatic corps, the media, Ladies and gentlemen…

To say it is a pleasure to be standing here before you today, is an understatement of the tallest order. To be standing at all, is an answered prayer.

My story is long and painful, but it is, I am afraid, just a chapter in the story of our nation. Many decades of civil war, anarchy and lawlessness left our country a wasteland of graves, broken dreams and both political instability and disability.

Today, we stand tall. We stand, at all, because even when we fell, we picked ourselves up and kept going. We are, because even when we fled, we dared to look back where we had ran from and make a commitment. We made the commitment to never forget our homeland.

So to foreign lands we went and to those nations that hosted us, I say: Thank you!” To those that lobbied our cause, you have my sincere gratitude. To those who prayed for us: May God bless you too. 

It has been said that every adversity has a benefit of greater or equal value. Well, mercifully, we were driven to countries with great educational resources. In our youth we grew up in worlds of possibilities and know not the word “Can’t”. Today, I present to you a nation rebuilt, not by the UN or any well-meaning International agency, although I acknowledge with thanks, their effort. I give you Somalia, by Somalis, both at home and in the Diaspora. A new Somalia by Somalis who never stopped believing that this day would come.

I give you a green Somalia whose water resources have been widely used to change the formerly dusty wilderness into rich agricultural lands that now feed its people and has a huge surplus for export.
A Somalia that is now a major exporter of mutton, poultry and dairy products to the middle East; that is the world's fifth largest exporter of dates and Aloe. A Somalia whose universities are now ranked among the best on the continent; a health care system that ensures that every man, woman or child has access to medical care, if, when and where they need it. A Somalia that is well governed through a unique participatory system of government that is the subject of study by many who marvel at how well it is working and the envy of many; a Somalia that is a model of economic success in the use of its Oil & Gas for the development of the entire country and the uplifting of its people from poverty.  I give you a people whose entire populace has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world; a people once divided but today, united and bound by the bonds of nationhood.

Ladies and gentlemen, I stand tall because I remember, as if it was yesterday, one particular day when I was so hungry and bone-tired that all I could do was sit. I sat there, a young woman just 18 years old, beside a tree that gave no shade, no cover, no protection. I sat there, thinking, dreaming and envisioning this day that has finally come. I stand because all that befell me then gave me the resolve to make sure that my beloved nation would one day stand among the world’s nations, as a sovereign, peaceful nation exuding hope and joy to its people and by its people to the rest of the world.

(Please note that this is purely fictional and is the imagination of one who dreams of a Somalia that will attain all these and more. It is written with utmost respect for the people and leadership of Somalia)
                         

Thank you and Long Live Somalia!

I will do my little bit...

I watched them die...
People
By the thousands I saw them
Draw their last breath
Some roll over
Others keel over
Signifying that all
Was indeed over


I did not know then
But I do now
That they needn't have died
Of dehyration
Hunger
Or disease
Old, young and very, very young
They were
These people
That died before my very eyes

A few did not die
Like me
Because some men
And women in white coats came
Caused us a moment's pain
With needle and syringe
And gave us life
And while I watched
I asked questions and made up
My mind

Today I am a doctor
I will not dwell
On what might have been
Because it ain't
Or bemoan the loss of life
While there is still breath
In so many more
Instead I will honor the memories
Of my parents, my three siblings
My twelve uncles and nine aunties
And of course my four grandparents
I will do my little bit
All I ask is that you, too
Do yours
If you will...

Is anyone really listening?

Is anyone there
Beyond this dust basin
The hopelessness
The tears and despair

Is there anyone listening
Meaningfully listening
To my plea
To end this senselessness
That sent my twin brothers
To a dusty grave
At the age of three

The United Nations has failed me
The government
What government?
The world has totally shirked
Its obligation
If ever it had one
Towards me

So I will walk
Just walk
In what direction you ask?
As if it matters
Until I get somewhere
Anywhere
Dead or alive

Yes,
I will keep walking
Because I have a feeling
That there is more to the world
Than this emptiness
That I feel inside and see around me

Maybe I will get to
I don't know
The Cape of Good Hope
While there is still hope in me
Maybe I will get to the Horn
Of Africa
And there stand
And ask

I will blow my horn
And when they stand before me
I will ask
Why, Africa,why?
Why have we let the children die
Why will no one hold the hand of the elderly
Or show direction to the youth
Instead of allowing them
to fall prey
To anger and bitterness

They all turned a blind eye
To the need for the youth
To be mentored
Guided
Sheltered
From the machinations of evil
So instead of joining university
They joined "The Youth"
Aha, never heard of it?
 But I am sure
Of Al-Shabab
You must have heard

These my friends
Or friends you would be
If you cared just a little
These are the fruits
That Somalia is reaping
And her neighbors around her
For poor governance
No governance
And the world
Shirking its duty?
Obligation?
Responsibility?
Whatever...
Just do what needs to be done.

Some things can wait.
Standing up for what is right is not one of them!

A place they call Somalia

I hear them talk

Always in either hushed tones

Or voices laced with melancholy

Nostalgia

And very, very rarely

Do I ever hear laughter

When Mummy and Daddy

Speak of, talk about, discuss

This place they call

Somalia

I asked

Once

A long, long time ago

Where this place was

This place they call Somalia

And with tears in her eyes

She said, “Child, it is a long, long way

From here”

“Yes, son, it is so far in more ways than one

And yet so close to my heart”

I waited

Breathe held

For her to elaborate

Thinking she would

In miles give it distance

As the crow flies

Maybe in days of a camel ride

But I waited and waited

As the tears flowed freely

Down her milk-chocolate cheeks

Revealing pain

Like none I had ever seen

Composed

She went on

“My son, Somalia is a very special place

Even though bullets whiz through the air

Where birds once flew

In my youth

And young men walk about touting guns

Old before their time

Talking of how many magazine rounds

They still have in their weapons

I dare not ask where the rest

Were spent

Or rather on whom”

“It is a place I dreamed I would find my love

And that I did

Dreamed too that our children would grow

To love Somalia as I did

But alas

The nightmare began

Shortly before any of you were born

And now I am content

That I even have a place

To call home

As I relive my dreams

Here in this place we call Jo ’burg

You youngsters fondly call Jozi

Whose official name is Johannesburg

So far in reality

From that place we call Somalia…