REGARTLESS’ Post

After witnessing the iconic #devuelvanelmoai campaign unfold online, I knew I would eventually write about it in the context of the growing decolonial movement. It's been so thrilling to watch the momentum for decolonisation increase over time. Read my article to find out more about the movement - and what repatriations mean for it - below ⬇️

An international forum on the future of Palestine and the West Asia and the ongoing shift to a multipolar world is under way in the Italian capital Rome. The hypocrisy and double standards, sought by the West, are among the topics discussed by experts and analysts attending the conference.

It was true in 1960 when Patrice Lumumba said it and it remains true even today. It is precisely for that reason that the scramble for Africa accelerated in the last quarter of 19th century. It is reported that at the time, the colonisers were driven by economic, religious, and "strategic" interests. At the time of the Berlin conference in 1884, a lot of the minerals now found on the African continent had not been discovered. This was true even at the start of the independence of some of the African states in the late 1950s. Where some of minerals may have been known, they may not have been strategic or of huge economic significance. Lumumba's vast country, the DRC has a lot of minerals, including coltan which is used in electronic goods, in the northeast. Is it a coincidence then that the conflict in the DRC is centered around that area? Major economies need those important minerals for modern digital gadgets. It is therefore in the interests of those powers to ensure the central government in the capital Kinshasa is weak. It is weak because it has no control over large parts of the country mainly in the east and northeast. Those regions are only accessible by flight and of course that suits those who are looting the resources there as they fly them out without going via Kinshasa. No revenues flow to the central government. As Lumumba said, those powers will do anything to maintain their hold on the resources of the continent. Initially, the partitioning of Africa was a "divide and rule" scheme. Now the major powers will divide states to enable ruling over their resources. As was the case during enslavement of Africans, there are collaborators and enablers on the continent facilitating this looting. These enablers masquerade as leaders who benefit from the looting. You know where they bank their loot? You guessed right. The proceeds for these leaders are banked in the capitals of the erstwhile colonisers, the same people who are looting the resources today. Slavery was made easier by the African collaborators. The looting today is facilitated by enablers too. Very sad.

How much do you know about the African Roots and Heritage Foundation? Attached below is a brief summary of our Cultural Public Programs.

Check out my latest SHN blogpost! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Best discussion of the Israel- Palestine historic, current, future problems I have heard https://lnkd.in/gQz7MBau

Artefacts from the Asante kingdom, including some described as "Ghana's crown jewels," looted during the Anglo-Ashanti wars of the 19th Century and others like the gold harp (Sankuo) given to a British diplomat in 1817, are finally on display in #Ghana at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi. Under #UK law, national museums like the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum are prohibited from permanently returning contested items in their collections. Currently, the items have only been loaned to Ghana for three years, an agreement involving the V&A, the British Museum, and the Asante king Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, rather than the Ghanaian government, that can be extended with the approval of the British culture secretary. Definitions: 1. Restitution involves legally (on agreements) returning artifacts to their rightful owners or descendants. 2. Repatriation refers to returning cultural heritage items to their country or place of origin, emphasizing the physical restoration of cultural identity and heritage. 3. Reparation involves compensatory measures, which can include financial compensation or other forms of acknowledgment, to amend wrongful acts, including but not limited to the physical return of cultural items. *See comment sections for more #Africa

📍#OnThisDay (15th) November in 1884, The Berlin Conference opened, The Partition of Africa (Berlin Conference) And the Aftermath. It began in earnest with the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, and was the cause of most of Africa’s borders today. This conference was called by German Chancellor Bismarck to settle how European countries would claim colonial land. And to avoid a war among European nations over African territory. All the major European States were invited to the conference. Germany, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain were all considered to have a future role in the imperial partition of Africa. The United States was invited because of its interest in Liberia but did not attend because it had no desire to build a colonial empire in Africa. Also invited were Austria–Hungary, Sweden–Norway, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, and Russia who all were considered minor players. Though Italy would claim some colonial possessions in Northeast Africa. Most notably there were no Africans present at this conference, nor were any Europeans present to ensure that native Africans had any say in the proceedings. #berlinconference #scrambleforafrica #colonialisation #africa #africanexploitation

How we got here:

3/2024 - The Gates of Europe - A fascinating and comprehensive social, political, and cultural history of Ukraine from pre-medieval times to approx 2016. Great backgrounder of a very complex history, of the multiple conflicts over the geographic fault line of Russia and Europe.