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in the Mirror of the World
Spartacus R.
editor of Global Africa Pocket News and author of "Violation" and "The Maat Mystery" takes another look at the world.

The many people who heartily welcome Bernie Grant's enthusiastic campaign for voluntary repatriation are not just the would-be returnees. Viewed in narrow perspective on a superficial level, this campaign can be seen as the best solution to the problems experienced by the majority of African people (Black people) in this country and other parts of Europe and the rest of the world, especially when linked to a token payment of some £100,000 as reparations to those who want to return home to Africa or to other places they call "home" where we were involuntarily deported to from our African motherland.

When viewed in its broader global and historical perspective, repatriation (voluntary or otherwise) is not an escape route from Global European oppression (White supremacy) because there is not a single independent state in the world which is under the control of an African government. If we are committed to the total liberation of Africa on a global basis we will continue to experience this oppression and fight it wherever we happen to be. Repatriation with pocket change can not in the long or short term be a substitute for reparations to Global Africa nor indeed can it result in our ultimate liberation.

I am not saying we should not want to go home, and take whatever we can lay our hands on with us. Going home, as I am in the process of doing, is and should remain the undisputed right of every African person regardless where he or she was born. But begging our exploiting, enslaving kidnapper to pay us to go, on humanitarian grounds, is at least naive. We should have a proactive exodus strategy, a self-determinate, mass exit plan which we control, rather than a knee-jerk, cap-in-hand "poor victim" reaction. They may, as a means of short-circuiting any legitimate reparations demands, even pay us to go because they know that the cash will be back in their pockets via their banks, businesses and "debt" repayments the following day.

Yes, we want voluntary repatriation (planned exodus) but within the context of a global liberation movement and as a rallying cry for real reparations and total freedom. This would mean a drastic restructuring of global power relations in economy, education, technology, communications etc. We can't say "We will repatriate ourselves and take back everything you stole from us, including the wealth from our labours and damages for our damaged minds and our millions of murdered Ancestors" unless we are prepared to work and fight both internally and externally. Because everything they have, and more, belong to us, they will not offer it back; they will do anything - Anything - to keep it.

Repatriation (separation), is just one of the options of stage 5 of The Healing Process which can be chosen (see "Violation: a look at non-physical violence in relationships"). Neither harmonious reconciliation nor respectful separation can be achieved without first considering reparations which is stage 4 of The Healing Process. But the complete Healing Process cannot even begin until both the oppressor and the oppressed come to realise that their relationship is faulty and unprofitable.

For as long as the oppressed (Global Africa) accept what is given out and only appeal to the humanity or better judgement of the oppressor (Global Europe or Pan Arabia), the oppressor will be unwilling to entertain any changes in the relationship. The moment they realise that their genocidal population control programme is not achieving it's aim and our continued oppression is too expensive, in loss of their own human and material resources, they will petition for serious negotiations. Global Africa must indicate by decisive action that no other nation will profit at our expense because we have the power to liberate ourselves and free the whole world in the process.

It is clear then, that repatriation cannot be an end in itself. It is meaningless without reparations and reparations is likewise meaningless in the absence of liberation. We must think of repatriation as the small "r" in the middle of reparations, and reparations as the small "r" in the middle of liberation. Therefore, when we achieve our liberation, reparations will be inevitably, part of the package and our exodus (repatriation) will be a choice made by a free people who are able to go and come as we please.