Haman and United We Fall Together We Stand

In school it was all about Greek and Latin at a stretch it proposed what was called humanistic education Eurocentric no doubt yet High school on the elevated ground of knowing it all came to be a weird proficiency and accomplishment shining for the privileged few We crossed the swords of crusades hierarchically ‘enlightened’ the other Africa the Dark Continent was vast and black and needed to be white Arabian Nights were not told one after another to prevent certain demise Egyptian Persian Chinese traditions were dispersed into nowhere at ease And surely all those ‘Savages’ were happy to be converted or slaughtered Paradigm shifts rose not high on agenda not yet a distant memory discarded But back to Athens and Sparta ‘Sympnoia’ was declared as togetherness ‘Southern Ubunthu’ of universal bond in sharing that which connects humanity was feared like garlic to vampires and a threat to ignorance of a capitalist world Thus we the students bathed in dogma religion ideology greed self-righteousness We did not learn about of cleansing of souls nor of splendid baths called ‘hamans’ Gels showers and shampoo were modern technological advances and when the green eco stuff (very well known to our forebears) was cool we ‘Saved water and showered with friends’ a bit like having baths for the family on Saturday or so but then the water is always so much greener on the other side as long as it is ours Reinventing a wheel that is constantly spinning out of control and downhill Philistine nude acts pretended to walk on water and turn it to spirits and wine I never learnt in formal teaching ‘Harambee’ in Swahili meaning pulling together It seemed to be Arabian ‘Haram’ and thus forbidden just a temptation from devils Harems sort of appealed in chauvinistic allure yet a side note in the history books it was Multiple wives and concubines maybe but what about Red Light Districts of Hamburg But then ignorance is bliss and the punters pushed proselytized ‘civilized’ edification Maybe history fights back now and this student of life does not condone any killing does not have faith in just wars nor in decapitation of culture does not applaud to violence and pushing others into one’s own beliefs and thus enforcing glorification of power But judging and measuring with one level only needs be exposed as ‘Boko’ untrue Haussa 'Boko Haram' originally pertains to what is forbidden and deplores fraudulence sham inauthenticity and deception and calls for truthfulness unperturbed by deceit Two wrongs do not make a right thousand and one mistakes do not hold easy Blood spilled in the name of an abused father does not unveil goodness not on the cross nor under half-moons of hypocrisy but un-united we fall from all grace Let us wash our sins on bath stones let’s not pretend we found the philosopher’s stone, let’s not look away when education is stone walled and people are stoned And the Khosa ‘Hamba Kahle’ means go well my friend so let us not stray from the path 13th February 2018