It is clear that in the world we live in the equation language + thought = action holds true.
This is the case as it explains the totally ludicrous assertions that democracy, capitalism or modernity are truths. Franz Fanon's seminal piece Black Skin, White Masks illustrated the folly of the appropriation of idioms and values from one superior social group by another inferior social group. Its a false assumption that what is good for the goose is necessarily good for the gander.
Herein lies a lesson for us all. Take for example the Somali language. Its oral history is long and world renowned; the complexity of its intricacies are known to those people who have been submerged in its culture. Its a truly democratic tool and as such has no real standardised form. The relationship between Somalis and the Somali language is a direct reflection of the egalitarian nature of their society. These principles were put to one side when the Latin script was put together and Af-Soomaali was brandished as the tool for social development by the dictator Mohammed Siyaad Barre in October 1972. This was a deliberate move by the regime at the time to move for social change in a bid for a push towards the goal of scientific socialism. Somali culture at the time represented a backwardness that was totally out of kilter with the push that African countries were making towards progress in line with their old colonial superiors. The way to target the hearts and minds of one's subjects is to create a popular standardised method of communication. The history of the printing press and subsequently the publishing industry in the old colonial powers shows this to be the case.
The Somali experience is not an exceptional case, unfortunately it is one that has afflicted many of the nations of the world. Those who are considered the intellectuals of their communities now have more in common with parrots than they do with anyone who possess the capacity of free thought. They are shackled by their slavish devotion to a method of communication that has no correlation with the way of life of the communities that they represent. Franz Fanon explains this dilemma in great detail in Black Skin, White Masks. We live in a world that is dominated by one language, English, and the Anglo Saxon culture it derives from. Its references, nuances and subtleties are all tied into its language. This, for reasons of both plain stupidity and an inferiority complex, has been adopted by all and sundry including Somalis. Who are to note, THE MOST IMPOVERISHED MEMBERS OF THE POOREST PEOPLE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. This illustrates the depths to which we have sunk as a collective and the mammoth task that awaits us to climb out of this poverty hole.
Poverty in wealth, mind and spirit. This lethal combination explains why the relationship between the centre [the post industrial, capitalist, liberal democracies of the North-Western hemisphere] and the periphery [those parts of the world that were not blessed enough to have been part of that experience] is so imbalanced. This is why the equation language + thought = action is so important; we need to reconsider our realtionship with our language and then re-evaluate the way we think and then change the way we act. Until we do so, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past and as Fanon points out there is a case for the collective diagnosis of all these people as insane.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
A thought experiment....
Somalis in the UK are the most impoverished members of the 11.4 million people who live under the poverty line.
The statistics are a stark reflection of the reality the community faces in a multicultural, post-industrial, capitalist liberal society. The fact that the UK is undergoing something of a recession at the moment and the economy has slowed down almost to a halt could widen the already growing gap between those who are deemed to be rich and those who are inflicted with poverty. This is not good news for Somalis in the UK who have faced a hard enough task getting to the lowly status they have reached over the last 20 years without having to go back to square one in a recession.
In light of the above, the Somali Advocacy and Advice Network [S.A.A.N] is set to take shape and look at why those in power have allowed the UK to slide down a hole taking 11.4 million people to the brink of the abyss. An idea was formed, take the current travails of a minority ethnic community looking to climb out of a group that numbers 11.4 million people. Look at which is the worst of those groups according to set key socio-economic indicators. Produce an evidence-based approach to addressing the key issues that this social group faces in integrating into mainstream society. See whether the agenda setters, the beneficiaries of the current social structure, the powers that be take to being shown where and how they have failed.
In this case it just so happens that Somalis fit the bill. They are statistically the poorest of the poor in the UK. S.A.A.N will look to publish information that shows this to be the case and look to address the current malaise within the Somali community and mainstream society as a whole.
The statistics are a stark reflection of the reality the community faces in a multicultural, post-industrial, capitalist liberal society. The fact that the UK is undergoing something of a recession at the moment and the economy has slowed down almost to a halt could widen the already growing gap between those who are deemed to be rich and those who are inflicted with poverty. This is not good news for Somalis in the UK who have faced a hard enough task getting to the lowly status they have reached over the last 20 years without having to go back to square one in a recession.
In light of the above, the Somali Advocacy and Advice Network [S.A.A.N] is set to take shape and look at why those in power have allowed the UK to slide down a hole taking 11.4 million people to the brink of the abyss. An idea was formed, take the current travails of a minority ethnic community looking to climb out of a group that numbers 11.4 million people. Look at which is the worst of those groups according to set key socio-economic indicators. Produce an evidence-based approach to addressing the key issues that this social group faces in integrating into mainstream society. See whether the agenda setters, the beneficiaries of the current social structure, the powers that be take to being shown where and how they have failed.
In this case it just so happens that Somalis fit the bill. They are statistically the poorest of the poor in the UK. S.A.A.N will look to publish information that shows this to be the case and look to address the current malaise within the Somali community and mainstream society as a whole.
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