One of my English students is a white GenX male with a lot of information about his own country, and a lot of opinions about the rest of the world.
We argue a lot, especially when we talk about Geopolitics, and he disappears for three weeks, but humbly comes back and we try to talk about other things.
Like that time during World Cup when he said the classic line by World Cup commentators- Africans have raw talent, it's more of instinct than strategy-
si nakwambia niliwaka moto wa blue.
It reminded me of the film- Get Out- featuring the Ugandan guy, Kaluuya. I have never watched the film from start to finish, but I have watched the analysis. Just like any former film student will tell you.
Studying film spoils things for you somehow.
So last week we started talking about the French Protests. My student believes the problems in first world countries are caused by immigrants.
'White people are being killed everyday.'
'By Africans?'
'By immigrants.'
'From Morocco?'
'Immigrants come from many places not just Africa, we even have Asian. But Asians are very calm and respect the laws.'
'But why would someone who is there illegally want to ruin his opportunity by commiting a crime?' I asked.
'Why is it only young men arrive in Europe? Why not women and children?'
I shook my head because- seriously? seriously?
'The young men come there to work, to get money to send home, that's why I doubt they would want to cause trouble, they have a lot to lose because some have left their families, wives, children and parents depend on them. And I don't think the problem in France have anything to do with illegal immigration. Have you heart of the Sahel Coalition?'
He hadn't.
And because I have some Pan Africanism gene that sometimes wants to overpower me, I told him about Ibrahim Traoré and about the unification of the Sahel states- Mali, Niger and how they are taking back power from their former colonies by reclaiming rights to processing of raw materials. I gave him an example of how the Burkina Faso president has made changes in mining, land and export laws.
I also talked about Sankara, Lumumba and Kwame Nkuruma. Topics I have no clue about but if I took an off from my life and studied history- not the colonial history but the Oral history that is available in the mouth of every African in the content, I would emerge a Guerrilla warrior fighting battles I would never win.
So to avoid disappointment I have learnt to live by this important quote from Animal Dreams :
"What life can I live that will let me breathe in & out and love somebody or something and not run off screaming into the woods?"
I later did some research and discovered that France was only benefiting at about 5% from West Africa's Cobalt, Gold and Uranium (A claim which many would respond to by asking, how about the past?)
It doesn't help that am very opinionated. It doesn't serve me well either that I have too many questions about who really owns Africa.
I should just mind my own business, as long as I am breathing in and out and eating my ugali omena. I should be fine for the next 15 or 25 years allocated to me.
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