There sits an old black man. He talks to nobody. Nothing interests him but one thing. News from home is the only thing that could grab his attention. It is the only thing that could delight this old man. In fact, not news in the usual sense but the tone of his mother tongue that is enough to recognize that this old man has facial expressions rather than his gloomy face. At first, he cheers up and warmly greets you in Swahili but suddenly turns so sad and shed tears. They say he was brought from Africa long time ago when he was young and loved drumming and dancing. A merchant exchanged Arabic dates for few slaves in the old days of slavery. The trick was to drum while the ship was sailing and the young Africans would spontaneously follow the beat. Once they were in the ship there was no turning back. They were shipped to Oman. There, they would be called for sale and live the rest of their lives as slaves working for their masters. Ironically, at the present modern Oman, many Omanis claim they did the Africans a favor as they can eat, drink and sleep for free!
للأسف ، نحن أنانيون للغاية لنظن بأن لنا فضلاً على غيرنا من البشر
ReplyDeleteوحقاً يخولّنا بيعهم وشرائهم كالبضائع، وسلبهم أوطانهم وأحبائهم وحقوقهم .. ولنفترض بأن عليهم أن يكونوا شاكرين لنا
والأغرب أننا نعطي أنفسنا هذه الصلاحيات وأكثر بناءً على لون بشرة ورسم ملامح لم نملك اختيارها يوماً
ورغم أن كثيرا من السنين مرت ولم يعد هناك من يشتري ويبيع مباشرة إلا أننا ودون وعيٍ منا أحيانا لا زلنا نمارس الكثير من التصرفات العنصرية المقيتة ، ولا زلنا نظن –وقد أخذتنا العزة بالإثم- أننا أفضل وننتظر أن يعاملنا الآخر على هذا الأساس الخالي من المنطق