|
Debating
War and Peace
Should Afro-British voices
be heard as loud as any other in the protest against war in Iraq?
Rev Jesse Jackson's
mission to Britain was noteworthy because he urged anti-war protestors
to take their lead from the Black struggle against historic slavery,
colonialism and apartheid. Racism at home, in the UK as well as America,
and the inequitable policies of major western powers toward Third World
regions darkens this perspective.
Afro-Britons are
painfully aware of how historical, national and global issues affect
them and their homelands in the Third World. Hence, their opinions have
a legitimate place in current policy debates about war in Iraq.
There are two arguments
in defence of this position that deserve stating and debating by Blacks
themselves, with fellow anti-war protestors, and with fair-minded people
and policy makers.
Increased
tensions at home
One is the widespread fear that the war will aggravate well-established
patterns of discrimination and harassment against people of different
faiths and colours. In the wake of the xenophobic war talk, "ethnic
outsiders" and "visible people of colour" like British Asians, Afro-Caribbeans,
Arabs and Muslims may be the first hit by the backlash of racism and
Islamophobia. Indeed, hostile acts against them by white nationalist
race hate groups may become acceptable "legitimate acts of cultural
defence", and inflict untold damage on the moral fabric of society.
Failed commitments to Third World relief
Another area of concern for Afro-British Blacks is that the war comes
at a time when at least 40 million people in Africa are in dire straits
and face the worst famine in living memory. Tragically, commitments
to aid, debt relief and development assistance for Third World peoples
will plunge to the lowest priority. (With one exception. On the brink
of war, the US and UK governments have given high priority to grants
and loan guarantees to African states on the United Nations Security
Council to secure their support. The whirlwind visits to Angola, Guinea
and Cameroon by the UK minister of state for Africa, Baroness Amos,
are a case in point).
So,
what is your view on the question: Should Afro-British voices be heard
as loud as any other in the protest against war?
Whether in favour
or against, share your comments with our readers via our Message Board.
You
can keep up to date with the latest war news:
From government sources at
The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov
Number 10 Downing Street http://www.number-10.gov.uk
Anti-war
sources at:
http://www.antiwar.com
http://www.ourworldoursay.org
Iraqi,
Middle East and world news sources at :
http://www.chronicleworld.org
and click on International News Sites
|
