HEALING LAYERS; FROM THE INSIDE OUT Anticipating on the “Gospel and Roots” International Festival in Benin July 29- August 9, 2005 By Gail Paine |
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The healing of our planet is unfolding before us. Many works of historical reconciliation are in process. They run like the tributaries of a big river that is flowing to the ocean of peace. A group of Africans in America have founded an organization called Jamii Africa to serve a unique and fascinating purpose in the overall peacemaking process. It all began with a small group of Africans in Washington DC, who felt the need for community. They also felt called to extend beyond themselves to understand and ameliorate a perceived gap between themselves and African-Americans. These two goals became the basis for the mission statement of the organization that they formed. "Jamii" is a Kiswahili (or Swahili) word that means “family”. Kiswahili is the most widely spoken African language, with over 130 million speakers in East, Central, and Southern Africa. “Jamii” is commonly used to reference both the family unit, and a broader community of neighbors and associates. In this age of globalization and the ease of communications, people of African descent are, in effect, neighbors and associates - therefore, Jamii. |
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In their efforts to bridge the gap between African-Americans and Africans, the founders
of Jamii Africa felt that there are many levels of conflict to be healed, and the historical resentment with Africans is an important one. “Many African-Americans aren’t aware of the history that Africans were involved in selling their own people to the slave traders” said Henry Mungai, one of the founders. “This is an invisible cause of a wall between us. Even if one is not consciously aware of the facts, the wall is spiritually still there.” Based on this perspective, Jamii Africa’s main focus became the support of a program of historical reconciliation initiated by the current President of Benin, President Mathieu Kerekou. Kerekou visited the U.S. some years ago and failed to have any warm experiences with the African-Americans he encountered. He perceived a gap. He felt called to bridge this gap. President Kerekou turned his appeal to the African-American churches. From among the Christian leaders he sought, Rev. Gaines of Virginia answered his call, responding with an open heart and willingness to dialogue on reconciliation issues. |
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President Kerekou is committed to the core Christian principle of repentance. Eventually, he attended two churches in the Washington, D.C. area to officially apologize, as an African and as the leader of an African nation, for his ancestors mistake of selling their brothers and sisters into slavery. Returning home, he was moved to officially invite African-Americans to Africa to again officially apologize on African soil for selling them into slavery. Subsequently, the “Gospel and Roots Annual Festival and Conference” was initiated. Last year a delegation of four members of Jamii Africa went to the Benin Conference. The participants consisted of descendants of Africa and those of European origin whose ancestors participated in slavery and colonization. |
One of the delegates, Zagery Oliver, wrote an account of his experiences;
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“The final historical site we visited was Ouidah, which was where the slaves were bought at the beginning of the four-mile trek that eventually led to the beach from which the Africans were rowed out to ships destined for the Americas. We reached the very spot where slaves were bought by Americans, French, Spanish, etc. The slaves were then walked down to the next stop, a tree called “The Tree of Forgetfulness,” where the men were asked to walk around the tree nine times and the women seven times, symbolizing that they would forget their homeland forever.
Then they were taken farther down the beach and shackled in the dark for weeks, after first being branded with a hot iron to distinguish which country had bought them. Holding captured slaves in these dark quarters served as a sieve to determine who was too weak to make the journey across the sea. If slaves appeared too weak to make it, they were thrown into a pit and buried alive because the purchasers did not want them to return home and inform their brethren of the atrocities that they had experienced, and create an uprising. In one pit, an estimated one million rejected slaves had been buried alive.
As
we followed the path that many ancestors of the Africans in the Diaspora
walked, statues of animals and symbols depicted the names of the African
kings who were central in assisting the Europeans in the capture of slaves.
We finally reached the point I so longed to reach, the “Gate of No Return.” This is a large arch, which was there when our ancestors left the shores of Africa. It is still standing. I separated myself from the group to have a moment of reflection and prayer. As I walked through the gate and stepped onto the beach where millions of African slaves had walked before entering a tearful and suffering history.
Although it was very sad to be there, at the same time it was a triumphal moment in that their descendants have returned with great blessings of resources; but most of all with riches of the heart to proclaim that their suffering was not in vain. I was very proud of those Africans who endured such cruelty and became a deeply religious people. They became the conscience of one of the very nations that had enslaved them. Because of their religiosity they taught us love, not hate, although some are still deeply hurt by the past.
On the next day, an Ambassador of Peace reconciliation program was held at the convention center where the Gospel and Roots Festival was being held. Approximately 200-300 participants including Ambassadors of Peace, attended the program.
On my trip, I came to the deep realization that “the apple does not fall far from the tree”. The similarities between Africans and African-Americans are undeniable and eternal. African-Americans have an umbilical cord that was severed, but it does not change their lineage - and Mother Africa awaits them, ready to embrace them with love. Africa longs for their return”.
This year Jamii Africa is again sending a delegation of three people to Benin. Doris A.M. Thomas of Washington, D.C. is a significant member of the delegation. She is a spry 80 years old. She had these thoughts and feelings about her impending travel pilgrimage:
“Do you know what it feels like to wish for something your whole life and then finally have it come true? I have wanted to go to Africa all my life. I am very excited! I see this as a mission with many aspects. It has multi purposes: spiritual, historical, peace-making, and personal. I am not going there just for pleasure. At first it seemed impossible financially, but when there is such purpose the money comes one way or another. I am representing my community, and also seniors. I was the Miss DC Senior of 1992. I hope to inspire seniors of how to grow old gracefully and continue to do meaningful things with ones’ life.”
Jamii Africa states that “the lessons of history are calling on the world's African peoples to unite. It is generally accepted that unity of purpose and pooling of the resources of people of African descent are the prerequisite for their social, technological, economic, and political development.
Jamii Africa is formed to promote such unity, from the standpoint that Africans and African-Americans are one family. Of course, all humankind is one family. Africans, African-Americans, or peoples of African descent from the Caribbean are conjoined by common distinctive historical circumstances and conditions that create the potential for deep and mutually beneficial bonds.
Let our unity, our celebrated cultural diversity, our cooperation and progress be the pride of Africa. God Bless Africa.”