What is Emancipation for the Raizal People?

Imprimir

EDDIE.WILLIAMSThis coming August 1st, will be another year where for the Sons and Daughters of the Soil, The Raizal People are looking forward to remember and commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation of 1834 that was materialized on the Island of Old Providence under the leadership not of Philip B. Livingston, rather his mother, Mary Archbold.

Noteworthy, the emancipation of enslaved people on these islands was a direct result of female leadership. The Queen of England who issued the decree as of Mary Archbold who implemented the decree on both Islands, Old Providence and Henrietta.

Therefore, in light that, I want to embrace this moment and attempt to answer the question, what is Emancipation for the Raizal People today?

Historically, when we look at the meaning of the concept ‘Emancipation’, it is essentially to come out from under the rule of others to begin ruling yourself.

The american educator Mortimer Adler sums it up beautifully, “Emancipation is the freedom from the unreasonable rule of other men.”

In other words, emancipation for the Raizal People is to change their current position from being ruled by others and begin to rule or govern themselves.

In short, it is overturning the one who is ruling for the one who is being ruled. Meaning, It is to change their current position under colonialism as a result of their connection with this nation.

This change will begin to happen, when the Raizal People:

Name the world the way they want it to be. Real change is experienced when a people can say this is the way things are going to be. Instead of having things impose on them.

The Raizal People gave names to their neighborhoods and the colonizers came and changed it. For example:

-They named it Back Road and the colonizer changed it to Natania: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 all up to 10 stages.

-They named it the Hill and the colonizer changed it to La Loma.

-They named it Orange Hill and the colonizer changed it to Loma Naranja.

-They named it Harmony Hill and the colonizer changed it to Loma del Mexicano.

The colonizer knows that when they change the name they can cripple the power of the people.

However, the Raizal People must follow the advice of the Brazilian author Paulo Freire, “To exist humanly is to name the world, to change it.”

For the Raizal People to exist on this territory and experience true emancipation, they must begin by naming their world so that they can start to change the world their colonizer has given them.

In addition, they need to change their position of powerlessness. As a people they need to stop empowering the colonizer's agents at the expense of making themselves powerless.

Mahatma Gandhi understood this truth, if they wish to change their colonial status under England. He had to encouraged his people to begin to change their economic model from buying from the englishman to buy from the Indian man. In so doing, they crippled the englishman economy and empowered the Indian economy, as a result the englishman had to leave India.

Therefore, as a people they must stop from investing their time, talent, ballot and intelligence in the colonizer’s agenda and begin to invest it in the emancipation agenda of empowering themselves so they can change their position.

Lastly, they need to change their perception of themselves. They need to stop treat each other as enemies.

The colonizer want them to hate and seek to destroy themselves. Consequently, they need to understand that they have a command enemy, and that enemy is colonialism and overpopulation promoted by the colonizer with the intention to eliminate them.

As a result, they should begin to trust, respect, honor, encourage and work together as one glorious people in spite of all that has happened in the past.

In turn, they should begin to empower and seek to help each other when they are in need. They should begin to heal wounds that they have inflicted on each other so they can move forward in changing their position.

This is what emancipation should begin to look like and be for the Raizal People. And in the words of the African philosopher Matshona Dhliwayo,-“The poor can dream. The weak can hope. The helpless can strive. The powerless can rise.”

Emancipation is the Raizal People’s uprising from powerlessness, hopelessness and weakness to change that status to bring about a new one.

--------------------

Este artículo obedece a la opinión del columnista. EL ISLEÑO no responde por los puntos de vista que allí se expresen.

Última actualización ( Domingo, 26 de Julio de 2020 10:47 )