By: Amadu Wurie Jalloh
People say Sierra Leoneans living in the US and most countries in Europe are granted citizenship when they go there or when they (are) born there. Don't you think we deserve that? We deserve citizens in all those countries.
Our grandparents were forcefully reaped from our lands here taken to the West to build nations there instead of here. They drained us of our energy, used our intellectual prowess, and denied us of human status until the machine was invented.
They later on dragged our grandparents back into the continent they took them from telling them they regretted their actions and that they want them to come home and live in their ancestral places. Good they regretted it, but where is the payment? I mean salary/wage.
Do you know how many centuries of development prospect was taken from us? Do you know how that impacted our progress?
You could imagine all those strong men and women, all those intelligent Craftsmen and skilled labourers denied of their right to build the African continent, but a new world that was never built for them.
They denied us of a prospective development we should have had if we were empowered to work our land.
And the return or repatriation didn't end the exploit. In fact it started it in a more aggressive and damaging manner. Imperial West seized our resources and our people. They worked our a**es in our own very lands to supply industries in the West.
They made us believe that our diamonds are abominable and emit current while they export them to their continents to enrich themselves and promote livelihood and well-being.
They made us pay taxes that was never meant to build our nations, but to support their economies. In summary, they built their nations with our strength and resources.
If they are way ahead of us in terms of development today, they have us to thank in many ways. Granting us Citizenship in those places is not a privilege but a right, my brothers and sisters, if you only knew what we've sacrificed to a world that literally hate us this.
OUR ANCESTORS BUILT THE WEST. WE DESERVE TO ENJOY THE FRUIT OF THEIR SUCCESS"
Now tell me what makes you think or believe that we should not grant a brother born from another land Citizenship status automatically he's returned to his ancestral home? Isaiah Washington, Idriss Elba, and the rest of negros from the West deserve our respect and love... They earned it. They do not live in Africa, Africa live in them.
And please do not get me wrong, the spirit or wisdom behind the clause in our constitution that put conditions upon which a person of half negro decent (example: Lebanese born to a black mother) should be granted citizenship that we now all (or many of us in social media) view discriminatory towards them was formulated for many other reasons than those cited by Nasser Ayoub.
Its formulators had experienced the harsh reality of colonialism. The country had barely forgotten its horrors. Our leaders were trying their best to make sure what occurred during their time never repeat itself anymore.
The Lebanese had eroded the local market, their dominance was felt right across the economic landscape, and our fathers were afraid that allowing them any political right will see this nation going back to where they left off.
Another thing, pan-Africanism was rife. Countries were bitter about the legacies of Colonialism.
South Africans were in their oppressors grip. A people who came as herders and business men had overtaken their powers. They were now in control and were oppressing the Aboriginal.
Apartheid system was becoming ever stronger. Africa was in many ways still answerable to outside powers- as it's until now.
So don't be fooled, it was not only about one man who composed the national anthem. It was about sovereignty, sanctity, freedom, and justice.
I am not against awarding anyone citizenship, but we should debate the matter properly to leave no Stone unturned before we delve into matters of power and freedom.
We should also be mindful that, we need institutions to handle new social phenomena when such happens. We should make sure our constitution is clear and free of ambiguity.
And most importantly, we should be ready to face and take responsibility of whatever outcome it brings with it in the future.
We are a human race, we all are here for temporal time, but we should acknowledge that justice is not a temporal term, but an enduring one.
It should not be a matter of what is just now, but what is just for now and forever. Hence, we should plan our future with utmost caution.
And most importantly, we should learn from the experience if other countries in the subregion that has mix-race system. We should learn from their experience and ensure we build our institutions to prevent or curb any unwarranted occurrences should we decide to amend any constitution to grant Citizenship.
We should research well and thorough on the socio-political and Economic implications of such situations.
There are a lot of African countries with such laws. We have a lot of countries in Africa where blacks and Arabs coexist and intermarriage is allowed.
Let's take from their experience, and see what it takes to allow that to happen.
There are positive and negative outcomes. But we should make sure we know exactly what we are wishing for.
Hence, let's stage academic debates and conduct research on the matter.
We should end the baseless debates and online protests. Laws should not be drafted by sentiment, but critical mindset.
#Peace
©Amadu Wurie Jalloh
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