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Jill Scott on Interracial dating

Jill Scott is a great musical influence on me. Today I was checking out some of her new music on Youtube, and stumbled across a debate over her views on Interracial dating. In a nutshell she describes how she winced at the news that her successful black male friend had married a white woman, and argues that the pain stems from the African American history story, and not because she disagrees with interracial dating.

http://www.essence.com/2010/03/26/commentary-jill-scott-talks-interracial

Controversial and emotional topic! Can of worms opened up!

Whilst I admire and respect her honesty in expressing her feelings, love is love! I would argue that interracial dating helps to open up the divide between races, and paves the way for a new more open minded generation.

If some black men are choosing white women because they are idealized in society’s view of what a beautiful woman is, then blame the media if anything. I have to agree that in most countries around the world, lighter skin is marketed as the ideal, and I believe this is so so wrong.

However, you shouldn’t make black men feel that they are ‘letting their race down’ if they choose to marry a white woman. Just as you shouldn’t make white people feel that they are guilty for the racist actions of their predecessors.

Regardless of history, race should be one of the last reasons why you marry someone. The notion that one should ‘keep your culture alive and stick to your own’, stems from the very heart and root of racism.

I speak as a product of Interracial dating, so let me explain the effect it has had on me…

My Father is a white British man. His first wife was originally from Barbados and they married and had my 2 older brothers in the 1970′s. For a white man to marry a black woman at that time, you could expect some opposition from both sides, it was rare in those days, and even now not that common. But luckily for them, both families embraced the other, and despite a few funny looks in public, they got along just fine. You see, people can be shocked at first, but they often grow to like it and even change their views on ‘the other’ once it has emerged into their social stratosphere.

Years later they parted, and later he met my mum in the Philippines and they married. People of course had their views on this, ‘oh he is marrying a sweet young Asian woman…’ but she’s actually a tough cookie!

My parents live in the countryside where you have a small group of minorities. One night at a bar, a white woman upon realising my mum is married to an English man, drunkenly and angrily accused my mum of ‘stealing our men’. My mother was furious, but if anything she pitied this obviously bitter woman, and was strong enough to realise that this woman doesn’t know her at all. According to this woman’s mindset, a person can own rights to those people of the same race as them! (Anglo- Filipino guys better watch out ha!)

Growing up with black, white and asian people in my family, I think it’s fair to say that I view each ‘race’ with equal measure and don’t place one above the other. Without sounding like I’ve been around the block and back again, I have dated men from all backgrounds, every spectrum of colour from the whitest white to the blackest black, and next April I will be marrying a Lebanese man! (Well, we don’t have any Middle easterners in the family yet, and of course, my parents could not oppose this )

Speaking from my own experience, whether you are English, Welsh, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Nigerian, Jamaican, Mexican… you will always have those who deep down feel that, due to culture/ history/ bloodline/ religion/ class/ colour.. you should marry someone of your own background. This is not a black and white issues, this is in every single race/ social group in the world.

But for as long as we hold onto the past, we repeat a history of violence, bitterness, anger and division.. For as long as we enforce the ideal that we should ‘stick to our own’ we hold onto this false notion that there are real differences in our blood, and enforce the divide between ‘us’ and ‘the other’.

In truth, we are all one human race who all originated in Africa. On a spiritual and/or physical level we all stem from the ONE universal source of energy and life- call that God or call it the big bang, as you believe- either way, we are all connected and we are all human beings.

Somewhere along the course of time we need to forgive and forget. Why should people of any identity today have to suffer or be judged because of a rotten history?

I could talk about race all day, but on this, I will leave you with one more story.

When I was in New York this Summer my fiancé and I watched a great comedy by a White Jewish guy and an African- American woman. Their clever humorous show describes how they met and the issues they face as a couple and how they make things work. They came to speak to the audience members at the end, and one couple they spoke to were an Israeli man and an Iranian woman. The couple said that they were aiming for world peace )

I can’t wait to see what wonderful children they will bring into this crazy world!

<3 LOVE & LIGHT

Tags: dating, interracial marriage, jill scott, love, race

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Categories Inspiration, Melisa Le Rue, Music, Peace, Social Justice

Save The Arctic

27 Aug

‘In the last 30 years, we’ve lost as much as three-quarters of the floating ice cap at the top of the world. The volume of that sea ice measured by satellites in the summer, when it reaches its smallest, has shrunk so fast that scientists say it’s now in a ‘death spiral’.

For over 800,000 years, ice has been a permanent feature of the Arctic ocean. It’s melting because of our use of dirty fossil fuel energy, and in the near future it could be ice free for the first time since humans walked the Earth. This would be not only devastating for the people, polar bears, narwhals, walruses and other species that live there – but for the rest of us too.

The ice at the top of the world reflects much of the sun’s heat back into space and keeps our whole planet cool, stabilising the weather systems that we depend on to grow our food. Protecting the ice means protecting us all.

A new Arctic oil rush is starting. Shell, BP, Exxon, Gazprom, Rosneft and others want to risk a devastating Arctic oil spill for only three years’ worth of oil.

The same dirty energy companies that caused the Arctic to melt in the first place are looking to profit from the disappearing ice. They want to open up a new oil frontier to get at a potential 90 billion barrels of oil. That’s a lot of money to them, but it’s only three years’ worth of oil to the world.

Previously classified government documents say dealing with oil spills in the freezing waters is “almost impossible” and inevitable mistakes would shatter the fragile Arctic environment.

To drill in the Arctic, oil companies have to drag icebergs out the way of their rigs and use giant hoses to melt floating ice with warm water. If we let them do this, a catastrophic oil spill is just a matter of time.

We’ve seen the extreme damage caused by the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon disasters – we cannot let this happen in the Arctic.

We need a ban on oil drilling in Arctic waters.

Industrial fishing fleets are starting to trawl Arctic waters.

Local people have fished sustainably in the Arctic for thousands of years, but that could be threatened if we let giant fishing companies exploit the Arctic ocean.

We need a ban on unsustainable industrial fishing in Arctic waters.

Arctic nations are preparing for possible conflict over the Arctic.

As the Wikileaks cables show, the US has spoken of “increased military threats in the Arctic” and Russia has predicted “armed intervention” in the future.

Countries are spending billions on Arctic weaponry, threatening the long-term peace of the region. Nuclear-powered ice-breakers, submarines and fighter jets are being purchased by Arctic states with overlapping claims on the area around the North Pole.

The best way to maintain the peace there is to make its resources off-limits. That’s why we’re campaigning for a global sanctuary and a ban on oil drilling and industrial fishing.

Just like in Antarctica, we need an Arctic Ocean dedicated to peace and science.

No country owns the Arctic. It should stay that way.

There is no government or army to protect the Arctic, only countries and companies looking to carve it up. Help us plant a Flag for the Future at the North Pole.

There are seven billion of us on our planet. Each and every one of us is affected by the health of the Arctic: by reflecting the sun’s rays off its ice, the Arctic shapes our weather patterns and the food we grow and eat.

But the Arctic is the frontline of our warming climate – heating up twice as fast as anywhere else. It’s also the frontline of the oil industry – one of the dirty, dead fuels responsible for the melting in the first place.

By stopping the new oil rush in the Arctic we are creating the conditions for a radical change in how we power our lives, accelerating the clean energy revolution that will fuel the future for our children.

We know we’re going up against the most powerful countries and companies in the world.

But together we have something stronger than any country’s military or any company’s budget. Our shared concern for the planet we leave our children transcends all the borders that divide us and makes us – together – the most powerful force today.

That is why we’re taking your name – and millions of others – to the North Pole with a Flag for the Future designed by the youth of the world. It will show that our shared vision of a green, peaceful, healthy planet depends on an Arctic protected by us all.

But the flag is only a symbol. We’ll be taking your voice to every political leader in the world to ask them where they stand on the Arctic. One by one, as our movement gathers momentum, we’ll turn towards the United Nations, where we’ll demand a global deal to protect the Arctic.

30 years ago we launched a similar campaign to protect the Antarctic. Nobody thought we would succeed, but we did, and we created a world park around the South Pole.

Now the Arctic is calling.’

Save The Arctic. Sign now ->

www.savethearctic.org

Tags: campaign, environment, greenpeace, justice, save the arctic

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Nature, Peace, Social Justice

Amal Kassir: A voice of hope and despair

19 Aug

Amal Kassir. A powerful voice in these times.

Not sure how I came about this talented spoken word artist, but somehow I did and I am glad of that.

The suffering that is happening in Syria now, that my mind can hardly fathom., I began to tear and really feel through these words…

“I tried to keep my mouth shut for my tongue didn’t have any more room for scars in the shape of my teeth.

March 2011 we have been reborn a social infant screaming: let us live !

We will speak until throats are raw until all of syria is in the news …

The dates will read like obituaries…”

Utter despair…

But finally, like the name ‘Amal’ means hope, a look to a brighter future;

“There will be a time when we can eat together

When we will build homes out of abandoned tanks

Peace is a rusted recoil

We will sip from the cups made of old grenades

And shades of green are only worn by nature

There will be a time when the fences choose to sit with us

Instead of standing between us

Ameen”.

Sometimes hope is all we have to keep us going.

‘You’ve gotta have hope. Without hope life is meaningless. Without hope life is meaning less and less.’ (anon)

Tags: amal kassir, hope, poetry, spoken word, syria, war

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Inspiration, Poetry, Social Justice

Expat V.S Migrant Worker

13 Aug

Today I am going to touch a touchy subject.

Since I arrived in Dubai nearly 4 years ago, I have always been uneasy with the terms ‘Expat’ and ‘Migrant worker’. Yes the words themselves disturb me.

They disturb me in the same way that I feel disturbed in Cebu when I see a fat 50 year old English man with a pretty 19 year old Filipino girl.

Perhaps it’s my British- Filipina syndrome coming out… I feel ashamed, protective, appalled, confused…

So, let’s look at what connotations and assumptions one might make when hearing those words.

‘Expat’ conjures up the image of a Westerner who is living abroad, making cash and laughing in the sunshine. Most are there for employment reasons, but some are there for adventure (could be both). Expats drink beers in Western styles pubs.

In my experience (so this is subjective) they love to complain about the local culture and people, or they take delight in the ‘cute’ things local people they do and their adorable customs.

There is often a sense of separation, and a sense of superiority.

They also often stick together and don’t associate much with the local people.

‘Migrant worker’ conjures up the image of person from a Developing country and a low socio-economic background, who has little choice but to work abroad. They probably have a family at home they are trying to support, and had difficulty finding work in their homeland.

Even when they move country, they do not share the same rights or benefits as ‘Expats’.

They are searching for a better life.

Now, lets refer to the good old Encyclopedia that is ‘Wikepedia’ for a broad definition of both terms. As my connotations above are riddled with my own prejudices and stand point no doubt

–>

EXPATRIATE

‘An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex (“out of”) and patria ”country, fatherland”).’

MIGRANT WORKER

The ’United Nations convention on the Protection of the rights of all migrant workers and member of their families’ defines migrant worker as follows: The term “migrant worker” refers to a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.’

Okey dokey. Not much difference there. I myself would agree that I am both according to these definitions. But society calls me an ‘Expat’.

Why? Because I am British born and British educated.

What troubles me is that, we assume that the ‘Expat’ made a choice. But, there are many people here that moved here because they had debts back in England. Actually, student debt was one of the main reasons I came here!

Also, Expats aren’t necessarily from a wealthy background.. in fact many of them here come from working class backgrounds, maybe lived off benefits, and came to Dubai to improve their standard of living.

So what is it then that makes them an Expat?

Is it that they are white and from England?

We also tend to assume that a Migrant worker is from a poor background, but I also know that many people living here come from middle class backgrounds and have a University degree. They just happen to come from a Developing country, and are placed in a low paid job here.

Financially the difference in wage means the money they send home is worth more, but they had to take a step down in terms of ‘class’ when they arrived here.

Why? Because of their Nationality.

I know of a housemaid who was a teacher in her home country, but became a maid here in Dubai because she was told she could make more money here.

Social Class can shift when you move country.

There is a stark difference in the salary given to someone from a British Nationality to someone of a Filipino Nationality.

Two people given the exact same Job position with the same level of experience, will receive different salaries based on their Nationality.

Now, to shake it up a bit- there are some people from ‘Developing countries’ who are rich and are coined as ‘Expat’. I know Indian and Filipino Expats for sure- plenty!

It’s definitely not as easy as saying all people from ‘Developing countries’ are migrants and all Britain’s are Expats, no not at all. But- you never hear of a ‘British migrant worker’!

Usually Developing World Expats are from rich backgrounds, or have worked their way up the socio-economic ladder through education and business. Most were educated in the West or went to an International/ private school.

SO! It seems we define someone as Expat when they are in a higher socio-economic class in the new country, and a Migrant worker otherwise. But, that being from a third world country and not from a high social class, will already box you into the ‘Migrant worker’ category, whereas being from a First world country, will place you into the ‘Expat’ ‘box…..

Yes, I still find these words disturbing.

I suppose it is the truth behind them that troubles me more than anything.

When will we be defined as human beings, and treated as such?

Tags: class, Dubai, expat, inequality, migrant worker, social justice

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Categories Inspiration, Melisa Le Rue, Social Justice

Born into brothels

2 Jul

Just watched an inspiring documentary called “Born into brothels”, recommended to me by my sister.

The documentary was produced in 2004 by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. Zana Briski is a New York based photographer who spent some time in Calcutta taking pictures of the women who worked as prostitutes. While she stayed there, she became close to the children and started showing them how to take photos. As well as helping to develop the children’s photography skills, she was keen to offer them hope, a way out of the red light district through education, and she battles to get them places at a boarding school.

You can keep up to where the kids are at here —>

http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/bornintobrothels/

I really like that you can see where the kids are 8 years after the documentary was produced. From looking at the website it does seem that a lot of the children are doing well, and that the opportunities given to them have transformed their lives.

There has been criticism from the DMSC of how she portrayed the parents (as uncaring), for stereotyping, for causing more harm than good… however, the DMSC themselves are a controversial entity after reports that they allow underage girls, sex slavery and trafficking within the red light district… !

Very quickly- it all becomes extremely complex! and I am certainly no expert either…

Here is another interesting article on the legalization of prostitution:

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/legalizing-prostitution-a-solution/

But my humble opinion after watching it… is I think it’s a great example of a creative way to make a difference, and that it offers some insight into their world.

You can never force change upon someone.

A child will often run back to the arms of the parents that harm them, just as some wives run back to the arms of husbands that beat them.

But you can offer someone an alternative, an opportunity, a choice. and choice is a massive thing.

Before their eyes were opened up to a world outside the brothel, did they have much choice?

All opinions aside, one cannot dispute the innocence and beauty of children, or their need for protection and education.

Neither can they deny the light that shines in their eyes when they experience the joy of something simple, like taking a photograph..

Tags: born into brothels, calcutta, hope, india, Inspiration, prostitution, zana briski

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Inspiration, Social Justice

South Africa | Day 3 | Nkosi’s Haven

24 Jun

Nkosi’s Haven is an NGO in South Africa who provide care and support for HIV/AIDS infected mothers, her children, and resulting AIDS orphans (infected or not).

We had the opportunity to visit the Nkosi’s Haven village in Alan Manor, Johannesburg. The village covers 2.5 acres of land, and it houses 31 mothers and 98 children, of which roughly half are orphaned.

As soon as we arrived the community made us feel really welcome, and the children just wanted to hug, play, sing and dance…

We sang UNITE with the children singing the chorus and played some music games. Jus Rolle gave the kids a motivational speech making them smile and encouraging them to nurture their talent and perform with confidence.