Black Power Media

Repatriation Online Course 101 Starts October 30th!

Course Description
Repatriation, by even the slightest stretch of one’s imagination, is a gargantuan endeavor. Complex because it is entangled with the ideals held by a people clinging desperately to the hope that home is as it once was a paradise innocent of the evil that now imposes itself on our reality and the fears that drain our brain. For without that hope, many of us would have died a final death many generations ago.

Repatriation, however, is most often anything but what we expect. Rather it can be a gruesome grinding process, a painful rebirthing and very often life-threatening. Our mental and spiritual return to the Way that was when we were innocent of such a world is a journey greater than the distance we travelled over seas. All too often we are discouraged by the obstacles, failing to see their purpose in our own evolution, which is kith and kin to Repatriation.
Our course will be a series of 5 discussions that will delve into all aspects of Repatriation. The sole objective is to better prepare your mind for the reality on the ground as it pertains to the logistics of relocating, the realities of it and the prospects for surviving and thriving. Some have asked, if it’s so much trouble, then why bother? It’s a good question only if you have a better alternative. This class is not for tourists.

Course Duration:

Sunday, October 30th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 6th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 13th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 20th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Sunday, November 27th, 2011 7:00-8:30 PM EST

Cost: $95.00

Course Outline:

Dispelling Notions
An appropriate definition of repatriation, tempering your greatest expectations, describing the challenges and benefits associated when travelling single, as a family, as a pensioner, health related challenges and preventative measures, caring for children or elders, giving birth, reliable health facilities, major health concerns, malaria, typhoid, A.I.D.S, buying food from the market and the necessity to grow, required work ethic

Logistics
Costs of relocation, including airfares, container charges, alternatives to a full container, cost of importing vehicle, optimal vehicles to import and why, What else to bring, what to leave. Dealing with the port. How to save and invest wisely upon arrival. Cost of living in Ghana, quality of education for your children, standard curriculum

Doing Business in Ghana
Prospects of employment, necessity of self-employment, the procedure for starting your own business, why start small, what about a Non Governmental Organization as an alternative, how does this procedure facilitate a residence permit, managing human resources, types of industries most conducive to our success, factors to be considered, such as an annual rate of inflation ranging around 18%

Right of Abode
Exposing the charade, clear picture of your legal status as a repatriate, what is the procedure for permanent residence, what’s the easiest route, how will the National Identification Scheme affect you, how this affects buying or leasing land, short term rentals, managing house help, dealing with security, cultural differences that may be shocking

Successful Repatriation
Acclimatization, socialization, mental stability and peace, personal security, finding your groove, humility as an asset, acceptance as a tool and overcoming as a necessity; Various ways one humbles, accepts, overcomes and yet remains in their own realm of high frequency

In actual fact, we can only provide a general outline of topics, but the range will go as far as your questions allow it. No question or topic is off limits and no time frame prohibitive. At the end of the course, I guarantee you will be more confident in your plans to repatriate. Any questions, please use the contact information below.

How: To access the online member classroom, you must register for the Abibitumi Kasa site athttp://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/register.php

You’ll need to do this if you don’t have an account already.

If you already have an account at the site, login at this link: http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/login.php

From there click on the link to member classroom on any page at the site at class time or visit the link to the member classroom here directly at http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/chat.php

Contact us at info@abibitumikasa.com with any questions.

Please contact your instructor Ras Ariel at lionsden2ghana2@gmail.com with any questions you may have prior to class.

Sudan: The Price of Separation

By: Nisrin Elamin

During this week, the people of Southern Sudan will cast their votes in a historic referendum to determine whether to secede from the North, likely becoming Africa’s newest independent nation. The date for this referendum was set six years ago, during the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) ending a 22-year civil war between north and south. The extraordinary voter turnout and jubilation at the polls this week reflects the desire of so many to free themselves from decades of oppression and marginalisation by successive Northern-dominated regimes. After enduring a brutal war in which two million people were killed and four million more were displaced, it is clear that the people of Southern Sudan are ready to become first-class citizens of their own sovereign nation.

As a northern Sudanese living in the diaspora, I am experiencing this historic moment with mixed emotions. I feelhopeful and inspired by a people who are inching closer towards their dream of self-determination. The demands of the Southern Sudanese liberation struggle represent the Sudan many of us in the North want: A nation in which wealth and power is more equitably distributed and where everyone, regardless of ethnicity, faith, or gender is treated with respect and dignity.

The impending secession of Southern Sudan should also serve as a wake-up call for us to recommit ourselves to the struggle for democratic change within our soon-to-be, newly drawn borders. The balkanisation of African states can be devastating, because it makes them more vulnerable to neo-colonial exploitation and undermines their political sovereignty, so we must ask why it has come to this.

The fact is, the Sudanese government failed to make unity a viable option for Southerners. Over the past six years, rather than making strides towards equitably sharing wealth and political power with the South, the Khartoum regime strengthened its grip at the expense of the majority of its citizens. The peripheral regions of Darfur and the South remain particularly neglected and underdeveloped.

A vote for secession will give the South control of about 80 per cent of Sudan’s current oil production of 490,000 barrels a day. This will represent a drastic shift from the 50-50 share between the Sudanese government and the Government of Southern Sudan set for the interim period, following the signing of the CPA. Meanwhile, the burden of these potential losses, are likely to be carried by those already marginalised in Northern Sudan. In the days leading up to this referendum for instance, the Sudanese government raised the price of fuel and sugar in preparation for the nearly 70 per cent oil revenue losses, which are expected once the South secedes. According to economic experts, the new price increases reflect the ‘price of separation’ from the country’s south.

These price increases have already caused suffering in the war-torn region of Darfur, where basic food items such as grains and vegetables are becoming more expensive as transportation costs rise. For the millions of Darfurians still living in the squalor of camps and dependent on food aid, an increase in fuel prices also has implications on food delivery and access to water among the displaced.

Sudan is currently sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest oil producer, behind Nigeria and Angola, providing China with 30 per cemt of the oil that fuels its factories. And yet very little of Sudan’s oil profits have benefited its people. Instead, oil companies, primarily from China and Malaysia, have been providing the technology to explore the oil, while sharing the profits with the elites in power. Khartoum’s regime is said to have siphoned off as much as 40 per cent of total oil revenue, lining its own pockets through various forms of mis-pricing, instead of taking on the task of developing vast regions of the country that have been neglected for decades.

When a regime driven by greed loses its grip on power, it tends to tighten that grip before losing control. President Omar Al-Bashir’s latest remarks on the eve of this referendum, demonstrate this tendency quite vividly. In the days leading up to the vote, he announced that were the South to secede, he would change the constitution in the North to impose Sharia law and ensure that Islam and Arabic are the official religion and language, respectively. He also declared that the 1.5 million Southern Sudanese living in the north would lose citizenship rights and be removed from all public service positions, thereby perpetuating the marginalisation and exclusion Southern Sudanese people fought against for decades.

The people of Sudan belong to over 597 ethnic groups and speak over 200 languages and dialects. Of those ethnic groups, approximately 60 per cent identify as indigenous African and 40 per cent as Arab. 70 per cent of Sudan is Muslim, 25 per cent follow indigenous traditions and 5 per cent are Christian. If the South secedes, these demographics will shift, but the cultural diversity and religious pluralism of the country will remain intact. People who identify as indigenous Africans and do not speak Arabic as their first language will continue to constitute a majority in the north. And while most are Muslim, many do not adhere to the practices and interpretations of Islam put forth by the ruling elite. Forcefully imposing a mono-cultural national identity is therefore, a dangerous project, which could potentially lead to future demands for secession.

As we witness the people of Southern Sudan cast their votes on this historic occasion, it is therefore my hope that we in the north will organise ourselves, around an alternative project which recognises our people’s diversity as its strength. While the referendum represents a failure on our government’s behalf to make unity a viable option, it also represents our own complicity and silence around policies that, if left unchallenged, could ultimately lead to the further fracturing of our nation. We cannot however, rely on outsiders with a variety of agendas and motives, to challenge these policies for us. It must come from within, with the support and solidarity of those who respect Sudanese sovereignty and have the best interest of all Sudanese people at heart.

Transnet & Metrorail Strikes Continues in Azania (RSA)

Tafari Melisizwe & Sinethemba Hope Magona

May 20^th, 2010

A breakdown in meetings will cause both the Transnet & Metrorail workers strikes throughout Azania to continue as the two sides left the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) offices in Johannesburg without an agreement on Tuesday night.

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In our fight and continued movement back to our Afrikan selves across the diaspora, let us remember that the assault on our people is not limited to the United States, South America, Europe or the Caribbean…

“We are living today. Sons and Daughters of the Soil, fighters in the cause of African freedom, we are living today in an era that is pregnant with untold possibilities for both good and evil.”
Mangaliso “Robert” Sobukwe Continue Reading