Archive for October, 2013

From drug use to suicide there is only one step

By Clemente Ferrer

 

The Spanish Foundation Against Drug Addiction has released a campaign under the slogan “Drugs not only harm those who consume them. Everything has a price.” The aim is to raise public awareness about the presence of drugs.

Another advertising campaign was also presented and aimed at young people, schoolchildren, warning them of the dangers of drugs, under the slogan: “Drugs. Are you going to play?” The campaign appeals to the responsibility of adolescents, showing that smoking pot increases the damage of drugs: “Drugs did always charge an invoice. Open your eyes”, says the communication of the National Drugs Plan.

Drug reaches the brain directly. A study by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, notes that drugs can cause damage, such as anxiety, melancholy, psychotic episodes and suicidal tendencies. Could this be what someone seeks in clear line with the culture of death?

It is a fact that drugs are one of the scourges of society today. Drug addiction has taken root in the youth population worldwide. We are researching how to end this social scourge, which only leads to death. We must fight for life, which is sacred.

It is necessary to combat the drugs with proper education, with less permissiveness, with greater respect for the individual and offering to the youths a vital perspective. Drug abuse causes physical and mental deterioration, that transforms a one-moment paradise in a hell that lasts long and is unbearable. The drug is a one-way road, with no return.

We need an urgent battle against the drug trade and consumption, to curb this sword of Damocles that is so harmful to our society, because it causes crime, cruelty and promotes the physical and psychological devastation of many teenagers.

The emptiness of God, did not lead to despair? Hopelessness leads to dehumanization. The man without God is dehumanized and becomes an enemy to himself. Narcotics abuse leads to this. “I have seen the greatest minds of my generation, crawl through the streets at dawn, looking urgently and imperatively for drugs,” says Allen Ginsberg.

On the way to Mexico in 2012, Benedict XVI said: “We must do all that we can to counter this evil which destroys society and our youth; to educate consciences towards moral responsibility, to expose the worship of money that enslaves humans, unmasking evil, false promises, the lies and the fraud that are involved in drugs”.

 

Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.

“History makes strange bedfellows!”

By Siahyonkron Nyanseor

 

The idiom, “History makes strange bedfellows” is entering into a peculiar alliance with people you do not share the same beliefs, but are at the center of power more accessible to you, and produces the results you want. This is the case with many Liberians and Liberian organizations at home and in the Diaspora.

I belief in Democracy that promotes contending ideals that helps society to become better, instead of promoting a “one-size fit all” mindset. The latter approach simply wants President Obama to dance to the beat of their drums. Yet another human being who is not a SAINT dares refer to me in a similar manner, as not having relevance. Find below his statement:

Mr. Nyanseor, I feel good. I was just sharing your story as I do with others. For me you have no impact therefore your views, stories mean nothing to me. You [are] not a serious person.

One might want to know what triggered this comment! I wrote an article entitled: “Blind Faith in Man: Supporters of Ellen and the Unity Party (UP) Government of Liberia”. This gentleman saw it fit to send my article to current and none current Eminent Persons of ULAA with the comment: “This is what the Chairman of ULAA Council of Eminent Person, Nyanseor wrote.” Here is my response below:

What is your point here? What else is new? As an individual, don’t I have the right to write about what I see is wrong? Check my record. I am very consistent!

The byline of the article reads: By Siahyonkron J. K. Nyanseor, NOT Siahyonkron J. K. Nyanseor, CHAIR OF UCEP.

Thanks for letting me know how you feel. You put it out there!

This brings me to the purpose of this article. As a believer in God Almighty, what another man tells me or says of me means nothing to me, because the God I worship made me so different that I am one of a kind. There is no one like me! God has blessed me with 66 years on this earth, which I do not deserve; and He still has mercy on me. Because of that I thank Him every minute of the day. Moreover, He equipped me with what it takes to be an instrument to fulfill the adage: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” I take it a step further to say in this digital age, the computer and the Internet are mightier than the sword. Therefore, I do not listen to the noise in the market which would prevent me from doing what is right. I therefore consider it my moral obligation and duty to speak and write about any issue that I consider WRONG in our society.

Leadership role requires that one must be able to speak the truth no matter the consequence! A good example is the recent comment President Barack Obama made regarding the name of Washington, D.C.’s Football team – the Red Skins. The name Red Skins is offensive to Native Americans.

Ray Halbritter, leader of the Oneida Indian Nation, a tribe in Upstate New York that has been campaigning against the name said: “There’s just no place for a professional football team to be using what the dictionary defines as a racially offensive term.” To which Harjo added: “There’s no such thing as a good stereotype, no matter how well-intentioned, no matter how good people feel about it, …it still has negative ramifications for our people.”

I have a serious problem waiting on everybody to agree before one takes a stand. This approach makes one an unintended accomplice to heinous crimes, emotional and physical abuse, and corrupt practices perpetrated against poor and venerable people; sitting by supinely and watching without coming to the defense of the victims, makes the person callous.

What moral authority do the accusers have to refer to us as “Disturbing the Peace, Stability, Progress, and Success of the regime under whose watch all BAD practices are prevalent? How dare they have the audacity to call themselves leaders when they do not speak on behalf of the people? Instead, they identify with the same people who declared corruption our number one enemy, and still employ corrupt people in the government; and invite corrupt companies to operate in the country without doing due diligence.

The last time I checked the dictionary:

* Nepotism is considered a crime;

* Paying BIG SALARIES to a select few who are NOT doing anything

EXTRAORDINARY, is still a corrupt practice, and

* Calling one a representative of the people and NOT advocating on their behalf, is a deceitful practice.

If the President whom they unquestionably support can say: “The government welcomes ULAA as a strong partner and having a strong relationship, not only in terms of organization to organization, but organization to government. I hope that the new leadership will resolve your internal problems and that you can become strong again.”

The President’s statement speaks volumes, and implies that ULAA is an OLDER PERSON with NO TEETH, just like a TOOTHLESS BULLDOG.

The idiom, “History makes strange bedfellows” is entering into a peculiar alliance with people you do not share the same beliefs with, but are at the center of power more accessible to you, and produces the results you want. This is what is happening with many Liberians and Liberian organizations in the Diaspora and in Liberia.

This reminds me of historian John Henrik Clarke’s profound statement about history. According to him:

History is the clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography…history tells a people where they have been and what they have been, where they are and what they are. Most important, an understanding of history tells a people where they still must go and what they still must be.

Many of the present leaders of ULAA are not aware of the role the organization has played in the recent past in the lives of our people in Liberia and the Diaspora. When ULAA was founded, we pledged to be the conscience of the Liberian people. We succeeded until Lucifer got hold of some of our leaders who were employed by him to do his dirty work. You know the rest of the story!

As a reminder, let me share with you the ULAA many of you do not know in the 323-page book titled: “My Compatriot, Your Compatriot: Surveying Forces and Voices” that inspired the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas.

In the book, Professor K-Moses Nagbe, writer, poet and academician, explores the ideas and ideals, which inspired young Liberians studying in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s to organize the Union of Liberian Associations in the United States [Americas] (ULAA). Nagbe’s pioneering work established links between the Civil Rights struggle in America and social reform activism in West Africa [Republic] of Liberia. Frantz Fanon, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Martin King, Jr. etc. featured in this insightful conversation about the reality that there comes a moment in the lives of ordinary people when they are bound to scream, “Enough is enough!”

According to the author: The book goes beyond peripheral questions like “What is ULAA? How did it come into being? What was the vision and mission of the organization?” The book identifies some of the critical voices that inspired ULAA. It tells how ULAA impacted national politics and governance both from abroad and inside the country…

The adage, “History makes strange bedfellows” is captured in the example provided by Benjamin Kofa Fyneah of Gainesville, Florida. An exerpt: “The recent history of paid government agents, including the President herself, who are vociferously condemning and maligning the protest of yesterday [October 24, 2013] leaves much to be desired. The President is a product of the ACDL, a group that was conceived and existed in constant PROTESTATIONS against the Liberian government of Samuel Doe. NOT satisfied with peaceful protests, they resorted to aiding and abetting the NPFL – actions that led to the DEMISE of the Liberian nation!” (“Protesting Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in New York – Liberia’s Paul Revere Moment!” September 25, 2013).

Conclusion

Wole Soyinka tells us that “The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.” As such, in any struggle, be it in Liberia or any part of the world that a people start, some of them will not live to see it to the end; some will either die in the process, while others will betray the cause (sell out); age may cause others to slow down; while some may take another approach due to circumstances, and then there are those who will stick around to serve as advisors to the young people who will carry on where they left out. Even those who started the struggle, and for certain reasons, stopped – should not be dismissed but rather be given some credits for starting the struggle in the first place.

Those who stick around deserve respect from their benefactors, because they have the battle scars to show for their struggles. They are needed not to monopolize leadership, but to serve as guard for the young people to avoid the mistakes of the past. And together they will come up with a better approach in addressing the problem. With the experience of the older folks, and the technological know how of young people, both groups can develop a better approach to address the problem that affects them. Since they are in this together, it is only fitting for the young ones to respect their elders, because with age comes experience, “for experience is the best teacher.” The Bible says, “Respect your elders, so your days on earth may be long.” Therefore, the way forward is not to apportion blame, but to work together to take care of the people’s business. This is what Chinua Achebe referred to so eloquently: “When old people speak it is not because of the sweetness of words in our mouths; it is because we see something which you do not see.”

Therefore, my brethren, let’s have patience with one another so all that matters will be the end results we crave. We need each other to achieve our goals. We, the older folks are on our way out; you young people are our benefactors. Respect is all we need from you! Is this too much to ask? I think not! Our native people say, “The one you love is the one you advise; your enemy you care less about.” Let’s be civil to each other and put Liberia FIRST!

I close with the poem, “When Things Chakla.”

WHEN THINGS CHAKLA © Nov. 11, 1995

I

When things Chakla

They cannot be fixed

Or returned to their original state

It is easy to spoil things

Than to have them return

To their original state

The conditions

Of our villages

Towns and cities

Are good examples

Of the type of destructions

Of which I speak

II

The same is true

Regarding brothers, sisters

Former play and schoolmates

Killing each other over hatred

Revenge and ethnicity

Therefore, these warring factions

Need to be reminded

Of the old saying that

When things chakla

They cannot be fixed

III

Whenever one pulls rope

Rope pulls bush

So these warring factions

Need to learn this fact of life

That when things chakla

They can never return

To their original position

So the unnecessary destructions

Of our resources

And infrastructure

Will have to stop

IV

The warring factions

Need to be reminded that

We the people will remember

How they CHAKLA our dreams

Therefore, when the time comes

We will reward them well

Siahyonkron J. K. Nyanseor is a poet, a Griot, journalist, cultural and political activist, and an ordained Minister of the Gospel. He is Chairman of the Liberian Democratic Future (LDF); publisher of theperspective.org online newsmagazine. He serves as Senior Advisor to the Voice of Liberia newsmagazine as well as Senior Advisor to MOLAC and CLACI. In 2012, he Co-authored Djogbachiachuwa: The Liberian Literature Anthology. He can be reached at: [email protected].

 

 

Monogamy, marital fidelity and sexual abstinence are the weapons to fight AIDS

By Clemente Ferrer

 

The singer and political activist Bob Geldof (pictured), at a meeting of the British Labour Party, praised for AIDS policy stating that “monogamy, fidelity in marriage and abstinence are the most effective weapons to combat AIDS – rather, to ensure that the disease does not progress.”

Interestingly, his position is not based on religious values, but on the finding that where this policy is not applied, AIDS continues to grow.

When the 30th anniversary of the discovery of the causes of AIDS infection, the UN drafted a statement insisting that the means used to this day, have failed miserably. Official data on the disease are staggering: about 33 million people have died over the last three decades, and every day the virus spreads to more than 7,000 people worldwide. To cope with AIDS were employed last year, more than 16,000 million dollars in economic aid to combat this social evil.

Moreover, Republican Congressman Chris Smith, provided indisputable evidence of the triumph that has gotten AIDS prevention in African countries when seated on abstinence and fidelity. From the House of Representatives, Smith drew a bill to revive the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS.

The Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States accepts the infallible measure of abstinence and fidelity in these programs, Smith noted that both attitudes have been an important factor in tackling the spread of AIDS virus in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe. According to the journal “Science“, the reduction of AIDS among Zimbabwean men between 17 and 29 years was 23%. Among women aged 15-24 years it was 49%.%.

A U.S. Senate committee agree to increase the budget for programs against AIDS virus in Africa. Perhaps the largest effort was awarded to the President of Uganda, who managed to modify people’s sexual behavior to prevent the danger of AIDS.

The Spanish writer Julián Marías understood that “the main cause of this disease is the lack of sex life standards, standards that have always existed and through which men have behaved human and made possible what is called civilization .”

[email protected] Author and journalist Clemente Ferrer has led a distinguished career in Spain in the fields of advertising and public relations. He is currently President of the European Institute of Marketing.