La Francophonie – Let’s Celebrate Colonialism!

“La Francophonie” is supposedly the day where we celebrate the diversity and expanse of the French language. Now while I have nothing against the French language, I find this day a completely insensitive & rude slap in the face for the people who suffered from three hundred years of French oppression and colonialism.

Some of the most horrific and shameful atrocities and violations of human rights took place under the imperialism of Western powers such as France, England, Portugal and Belgium. To celebrate the internationalism of the French language is to celebrate the fact that France was so successful in colonising those “barbarians” all those years ago. After all, take a look at the maps below – there quite clearly is a strong correlation between areas that were colonised and areas that speak French now [source: Wikipedia].

Map of French colonised areas:

Map of French-speaking areas:

To pretend anything else – that French spread because it’s such a great language or so easy to speak is ridiculous! French spread because the French had guns, soldiers and ships. It’s a similar story with Spanish in South America and English around the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, what is happening now is that rather than embracing their true heritages, ex-colonialist countries are adopting French as their official languages; teaching classes only in French in public “out-reach” schools and changing their cultures to adapt to the ex-oppressor’s culture.

In countries such as Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Togo, Niger, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon and Guinea, French is the only official language. On this note I applaud Vietnam as an example of a country which has taken the next step towards true independence – by changing its official language to Vietnamese. To get anywhere in life in terms of society & careers in the afore-mentioned countries, you have to be able to speak and write in French. As a result, tribal and minority cultures are finding that they must either change their ways (“progress”) or live in isolation.

I say this mainly from a Colombian perspective – I’ve been to Latin America recently, and I’ve seen what’s happening to local villages. In Peru and Ecuador, for example, descendents from the Inca are finding that the government-funded public schooling systems teach only in Spanish. As a result, old languages, and with them old ways and ideas are dying.

The same is the case in Africa, where the French language is being adopted as the way to modernise; the way forward (and in the process leaving the rest behind). This is why I’m saddened when we celebrate “la Francophonie” instead of the true languages, cultures heritages of the very people who need to be recognised the most in this world.

Juan de Francisco

MANIFESTATION

EN SOLIDARITE AVEC LA JEUNESSE ALTERMONDIALISTE DANNEOISE.

MANIF. LE 9 MARS ENTRE 18 ET 21 HEURES DE RIVE A L’AMBASSADE DANNEOISE.

DEPUIS LE 1ER MARS 2007 LES JEUNES DE COPENHAGUE SONT DANS LES RUES DE LA CAPITALE... ILS PROTESTENT CONTRE LEUR GOUVERNMENT CONSERVATEUR QUI EST ENTRAIN DE FAIRE EVACUER UNE MAISON DE CULTURE ET D’ACCEUIL DES JEUNES. L’OCCUPATION DE CE BATIMENT A ETE REALISE PAR LES MOUVEMENTS DE JEUNES DES ANNEES 70.
LA MAISON A ETE VENDU PAR LE GOUVERNEMENT A UN GROUP CHRETIEN.
IL Y A DEJA EU DES MANIFESTATIONS DE SOLIDARITE AVEC CETTE CAUSE EN FRANCE ET EN ALLEMAGNE. NOTRE OBJECTIF:

MANIFESTER NOTRE RAGE DEVANT LES AMBASSADEURS DANNOIS A GENEVE. SIGNE: SIU-CIS: SINDICATS DES ETUDIANTS

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This is a piece of my laptop a strong tool in the struggle
We need to change the negative elements of our academic system at school, we need to modify rules and regulations that repress student self expression. I am not saying this is an obligation I am simply saying it is necessary in the struggle for self and collective emancipation. The struggle is not over, it has just begun, we need to firstly concentrate on our academic studies and secondly work on our ...[continues at above link]

Warning: some Israelis found this article offensive. If you cant take a bit of criticism without flipping out then don't read the article.

I thought id include a little map for your entertainment.

In 1948, Palestine was invaded. The Palestinians were not consulted and their territory annexed to Western invaders. Somehow this was not enough to appease the guilt of the West, having looked on as the Nazis killed millions of Jews (I’m looking at you Walker Bush). See that little black patch? Well that’s what the Palestinians got after the UN was done with them. ‘Thank you international community for standing up for the rights of a sovereign nation.’ But the Religious Fundamentalists of Israel were still not done and along with losing their country the Palestinians were driven out, in what can only be fairly qualified of ethnic cleansing. In the last map you just might notice little black smudges. That’s what’s left over today. Soon that too will have disappeared and the great country robbery will have been completed under your very own (uncaring) eyes.

Bravo!

if you think you know the coolest site ever, you'll definitely reconsider after you look at this one. promise me you'll write it down, and remember it forever, on every sunday...heres why:

on the seventh day of the week, at approximately afternoonish time, secrets are posted on this site. but theres more to it than that. they are sent in on postcards that people have created. anyone can create. and everyone has a secret. so this site is obviously made for all.

i could rant on for pages about how i love the site, and how you should really love it too and everyone we know should love it as well. but i wont. because you'll see for yourself that you wont need convincing...

post secret is a community based project that helps people lessen the weight that their secrets take in their lives. people don’t want to share them because they are too difficult to tell to another person. but on the site, you can tell the world.

some of the secrets are mundane, and others are more grave, but it doesn’t matter. a secret is a secret, no matter what it is about. and it always feels better once they are shared.

the only way to know is to try it yourself, so check it out... and i promise it’ll be worth it.

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Anarchism

Anarchism is a very misunderstood concept. Upon hearing the term many would immediately associate the words ‘chaos’ and ‘disorder’ with it, thinking they are the same thing. This is an entirely false perception.

Anarchism is a philosophy aimed at abolishing capitalism and the State, as well as all forms of illegitimate authority and domination (such as hierarchy), with the end goal of creating a simpler form of society where laws and law-makers are absent and where the individual is free to make his or her own decisions at his or her own expense.

Why challenge authority? Simply because anarchists firmly believe that humanity is at its very best when living free of authority, and where people are co-operating with each other and deciding things for themselves, instead of being told what to do and how to do it.

Anarchists aim to build a decentralised society based largely on the community, where people give what they can in return for what they need. This is also emphasized through solidarity and mutual aid, where people look out for one another and help each other achieve individual or collective goals, instead of competing against each other.

Many also believe that anarchy mean lack of organization, which again, is a mistaken assumption. In fact, it should be emphasized that the success of anarchy is dependant on a structured and functional society, where people are willing to help and look out for one another. The only difference is that instead of being organized in the typical hierarchical manner (top down) society is organized from bottom up.

Anarchists oppose the State (i.e. large centralised governments such as in the United States) and capitalism for a number of reasons. For one, life would be in theory much simpler.

For example, all necessary and what some would call ‘unpleasant’ work such as disposal of garbage or growing food would be divided among all members of the community, leaving everyone with more time to pursue their interests and passions. Capitalism would be replaced with ‘solidarity economics’, meaning life would no longer consist simply of pursuing wealth and maximizing profit. There would no longer be any war between nations competing for resources since those resources would be shared out equally. Laws would be replaced with social customs and most crime as we know it would disappear. This is because most crime seen today (such as theft, arson and a lot of murder cases) is crime that stems from one individual or group of individuals wanting something that belongs to another.

These are just some of the features of the type of society anarchists seek to promote.

By challenging the current workings and relationships within our society and culture, as well as by providing alternatives to the current world we are living in, anarchists all over the world are working for a change that aims to stop the exploitation of the weak by the strong / poor by the rich as well as create a more sustainable society.

There is a long history behind anarchism and it should be noted that it is pretty near impossible to sum up the aims of the anarchist movement into such few words, and therefore, I urge you to check out www.anarchistfaq.org for a much more comprehensive look at the subject.

As stated before, anarchy is not a synonym to “chaos” and “disorder”. It simply implies a society organised and functioning without a government, where people are free to decide things for themselves, as long as those decisions do not harm or inhibit other people’s freedom to do so (unless of course a rational justification can be given). Whether or not you think this system would result in chaos is your opinion. However, what cannot be denied is that Anarchism is a growing movement throughout the world, and is attracting more and more people to its cause everyday.

If you think that the world would be a better place without government, capitalism and private property, then you too are an anarchist.

By John Shehy

You can contact John at smash.geneva@mail.com

“WHITE NOISE”

Having a bias is part of being human. In moments of anger, angst or intense fear, when our opinions are challenged, biases can emerge more violently than they are intended, or indeed felt, and can make us say things that we regret. But supporting the fight against one injustice, should not require another to arm it. That is to say, if one man is torturing another, the third man ought not to resort to killing the torturer in order to save the victim. My words will of course be turned against me, and without further explanation, it would be justified. So, let me state, I am not supporting injustice. But I do believe that an eye for an eye turns the whole world blind.

On the news each day more corpses, bombardment, famine, suffering, poverty. But which of these have we not seen or heard of before? How is it then, that despite people’s concern, sympathy and good will, revolutionary spirit and brilliant ideologies, we are still facing the same problems that our ancestors were confronted with in 1917, 1848, 1789…? It is partly apathy, but not only. It would be wrong to think that our world survives as it is because of pure ignorance on the part of the fortunate minority.

But if they do care, if they do react – if people feel the pain of their fellow humans, why has society not evolved to a more just state? In order to answer this question, it is best to begin at the micro-level of our school. Privileged (and spoilt) as we are, there are many who may not care very much about that which does not affect them directly. However, there are people who do – people who feel the need to act when learning about the bombing of Somalia, or the flooding in Malaysia. Yet, they can only go so far. The power of the people is in fact so greatly removed that there is hardly anything that can be done. What can you and I, sitting at our desks and writing, do except perhaps raise awareness? We may protest, but in the end, the will of “the leaders” will not bend – George Bush, for example, strode in and invaded Iraq despite hundreds of demonstrations, millions of people across the world protesting against it. The sad fact of the matter is that we can shout as loud as we like, come together, as few as we are, and revolt and still be suppressed.

However, change can be initiated, and in the long run, prove fruitful. If we begin, in our own small communities (school, home etc.) to spark the ideas against injustice, we may eventually all be able to rise. Just because we do not qualify as adults, does not mean that we are indifferent to the ways of the world. Begin now, and things will change in the future. But static belief, conformism and apathy should be eschewed, or they will define what we become in the future – inhuman.

Therefore, though it is frustrating, horrifying, sickening, to recognize our current incapacity, know that voicing your concern on world matters is a first step. The world can change, and numbers matter. So, when in doubt, remember that together our united voice can shake the foundations of society, but divided – each individual’s call becomes indistinguishable white noise.

– R.A.P

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