Founders Day and reflections on the black race

I watched the news on the start of this year’s Panafest. I had mixed emotions. In my estimation, the worst effect of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is the psychological effect of the inhuman trade.

Dr Kwame Nkrumah realised this way back, hence his resolve to ‘re-conscientise’ the African mind! Dr Yehuda of Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, United States of America (USA), has been doing research with survivors of Nazi Germany concentration camps, as well as trauma research on ‘children’ of survivors of these concentration camps.

She came on CNN News medical report and showed concrete proof that trauma affected the ‘psychological’ and ‘biological’ functioning of these survivors. She disclosed that the cortisone cells of these individuals produced abundantly in the same fashion as when military combat troops are suffering from ‘war stress’ and ‘shock’.

Thus, Dr Yehuda concluded that trauma did not end with the survivors only, it would continue genetically with their offsprings (CNN News Medical Report on Trauma, June 12, 1995). This research finding adds more weight to Dr Nkrumah’s beliefs that Africans may be suffering from post-colonial trauma syndrome which undoubtedly is the legacy of the slavery popularly referred to as mental slavery.

Taking Dr Yehuda’s report into consideration, Africans who are descendants of victims of the slave trades have traits in their habits akin to that of children from broken homes; internal self-hatred, self-denial and self-guilt. This degenerates into violent nature of these Africans, teenage decadence, disrespect for authority among African youths and blacks of African descent!

South Africa and xenophobia

South Africa arguably has records of being a country with cities that have seen more violence than any other African city. Using Dr Yehuda’s research findings, this is not surprising taking into consideration the long years of apartheid (1948 to 1994), thus making the country a generation of trauma survivors from the apartheid. It is for this reason that the cities of South Africa have high rates of violence and crimes!

Xenophobia has been recorded in South Africa  many times. On March 28, 2017, South Africans marched in protest against the practice of lynching and attacking of Blacks from other countries by the South Africans. This is undoubtedly a very pathetic occurrence where a wrongly educated lot rise to attack their fellow Blacks.

What the world is failing to accept or understand is that joblessness is not caused by the Blacks from other African countries. Blacks from other African countries do not come to South Africa to take up jobs on their own accord. What is happening is this; the tension caused by the hatred and fear that has existed between the white and black South Africans still exist till date. Black South Africans have not forgotten the long years of suffering and suppression and ill-treatment they underwent in the hands of their white imperialists. The white South Africans, on the other hand, have also not forgotten this and are in constant fear of reprisal attacks and revenge from the Blacks.

This is the underlying reason why South African Whites are reluctant in employing black South Africans in their firms! In a country that is already socio-economically stratified by race, the white South Africans are more comfortable employing Blacks from other African countries that they have no grudge with!

The white South Africans are afraid that black South Africans would torch up their factories should they be employed. They are afraid that their food may be poisoned by the black South Africans out of vengeance should they employ them as domestic staff!

It is about time that our brothers and sisters are made aware of this so that they stop attacking their fellow African brothers and sisters!

Solution to the mental slavery

It is beyond doubt that majority of Blacks and coloured people all over the world are direct descendants of slaves, hence may have the traits revealed by Dr Yehuda’s research report. As to the number of Africans who may fall under the generic description of ‘descendants’ of African slaves, I will refer to the summary report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) conference held in Haiti from January 31 to  February 4, 1978, which revealed that considering all the factors associated with the slave trade, 210 million human beings perished in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. That figure represents the slaves who could not make it to the new found lands or destination! (source: New Africa Magazine March 2000, No. 383. Page 8, London)

Based on this, most Blacks and coloured people fall within this category. Hence, a conscious effort should be made towards reconscientising our generation, through counselling and other educational programmes in schools, to emancipate our generation from mental slavery.

Our race has been relegated into ordinary depths unfamiliar with our former enviable status as originators of civilisation.

We are so scared of living our lives because of someone who is nearby, looking for the least chance to snatch our last breath away!

Writer’s E-mail:Info@oldaccra.org