Nature: Friend or Enemy?

We all know what natural disasters are and the destruction they can rile up. We have seen pictures and footage of submerged cities, wrecked countrysides, dispossessed people standing shriveled and hopelessly wondering why such bad luck would choose them. Yet, we all glorify mother nature and thank her for the harvests and magic wonders she bestows upon us. It seems that nature is two-faced, perhaps functioning randomly, dishing out blessings and curses without merit. Or, there is a plan to all that befalls us and, maybe, we fail to notice the signs it sends us to warn us.
I have great respect for nature and, since my young days, something has always pulled me to become intimate with the world around me. Presently, I spend a lot of my time out in the woods and by bodies of water- large and small- trying to capture what I can of nature's essence.

My relationship with the animal world is not limited to any particular kind, but I especially love birds. Sakabaka is a Kinyarwanda name for the Black Kite. Since I began photography, I have taken more pictures of birds than any other subject. The two main ones I have photographed are geese and gulls. I also have photographed mammals and fish, and I use my technique to get close to them without scaring them away.
After photographing either the woods or the animals, I whisper a word of thanks to them for allowing me to photograph them, then I thank the creator for creating such beautiful wonders and the opportunity to capture them. Now, I am not animist, what I am is someone who seeks to be more in tune with the natural world in order to understand it more.
In the Bible, it is written that Jesus said to the storm, "peace be still" and it was so. It is also written that he cursed a barren tree and it withered, and that he admonished his followers for not having enough faith because if they did, they would tell the mountains to move and it would be done. Nature is not inanimate, it is alive, breathing and going through the circle of life much as we do. If I take a picture of someone, I thank them afterwards for the opportunity, hence why I do the same for the trees and animals.

As a refugee, whenever someone would give us clothes or food, I would always thank them and then I would thank God for using that person to attend to my needs. Many cultures, before so-called "civilization" moved in, had a culture of thanking slaughtered animals for sustaining them. In return, the people would only slaughter what they needed. It's the way it happens in nature and people are the only animals that kill even when they are dying of gluttony. This greed- and some do refer to it as a deadly sin- has risen with the spread of "civilization" that seeks to make man supreme above all other creatures.
In this process, we have forgotten our relationship with the natural world and focused our energies to enhance our comforts while neglecting the natural language. That's when rain forests are eliminated to dig for shimmering rocks or build cities that will require massive flooding to power them. Many species are eradicated- genocide???- and the outcry of a few are muffled by the indifference of many. When disasters break, we question why the creator would allow such a thing, when all the while we are the ones who have been wielding the ax that chops off our own heads.

So, is nature a friend or an enemy? Animals always seem to know when increment weather is on the way, so it's possible humans can learn to observe them. In the wild, bright colors usually mean "stay away," both in regards to animals and plants. So, why do we continue to blame nature? Maybe it's because we are part of nature and are the ones who have become indifferent to its warnings and the cause of much of its agitation and mayhem. If we are part of nature and we are to blame, then we are the fault of nature and, therefore, nature is to blame for allowing a chink in its own armor. So, go ahead, blame nature for all misfortune that befalls us, but keep in mind that sooner or later, it will find a way to fix itself, whether by eliminating the weakest link or, maybe, by strengthening it. I hope it's the latter.

Fort Ontario: America's History

On a rare sunny spring Saturday in Upstate New York, I decided to head thirty miles to the north to see and photograph Lake Ontario. Having been told there are great photo opportunities along the lake's shores, I had worn my walking shoes anticipating long, exhausting promenades along the beach in hopes of capturing its landscape and the wildlife it sustains. However, my plans were waylaid as I drove into the small, lake-front town of Oswego and saw direction signs to Historic Fort Ontario. I had never seen, let alone been to, a fort before, so I spontaneously altered my day's itinerary and followed the call of the siren to the sight that had so far till then eluded my fancy.
I found myself in a park with a crowd gathered around a baseball field. I could see the fort in the distance but its parking lot and the road leading up to it were empty and cordoned off. I drove to where the baseball parking lot was, but I seemed to be headed away from my intended destination, so I turned around and parked in the grass, next to a couple of cars. I grabbed my camera, fitted it with my desired lens, and set the exposure settings so that I didn't have to fiddle with them once I exited the vehicle...saving me some time and the trouble of dealing with the harsh sun's reflection off the camera LCD screen.

The bearers of the bad news were a couple seated in the parked car to my left. As I closed the windows, I noticed them and decided to ask whether the fort was open to visitors due to the apparent closed roads and empty parking lot. They told me the State governor had shut down the fort as part of his budget-trimming aimed at saving the State some of its expenses burden. The fort's memorabilia and artifacts would be shelved in some storage in Albany, away from the eyes of visitors such as myself and others who might wish to learn more of its historical and cultural significance. There was a passion in the couple's voices as they spoke, and I was sure the fort was more than a massive deficit-inducing thorn in the side of the State budget.
I thanked them, exited the car, and walked towards the shuttered gates.

Fort Ontario was first built by the British in 1755 during the French and Indian War and called the "Fort of Six Nations." The six nations were the Native American nations comprising of the Iroquois Confederacy that was in place-by some estimates- about two centuries before Christopher Columbus set sail in search for a shorter route to the East Indies and their spices. The fort was destroyed soon after by the French forces, but it was rebuilt four years later. Since then, the fort has been occupied, destroyed, and rebuilt through every major conflict in the area.
An interesting quote about the fort during WWII from Wikipedia:

"During World War II, Fort Ontario was home to approximately 982 Jewish refugees, from August 1944 to February 1946. Fort Ontario was the first and only attempt by the United States to shelter Jewish refugees during the war. After the end of the war the refugees were kept in internment due to disagreements concerning whether or not to allow them to become United States citizens. In January 1946, the decision was made to allow them to become citizens, and by February all of the Jewish refugees were allowed to leave Fort Ontario."

In 1946, Fort Ontario was handed over to the State of New York, and in 1949, development began to make it a State Historic Site.

On May 13, 2010, the State announced the closure of the fort and cancellation of all its future planned activities. The move had been suspected since governor David Paterson announced its potential closure a few months earlier to combat the State's budget woes. I was eight days late.
I have lived in Baldwinsville, New York, since August of last year, and I am now in the process of moving to Baltimore, Maryland. I can blame myself for missing out on visiting this landmark during the time I have been here, but I must also be credited with visiting and photographing other places in the surrounding vicinity. This area is beautiful beyond any good my words might do at an attempt to describe. I have seen much of it, though a lot still remains untouched by my sight; I have simply ran out of time.

Now, I will go with the feeling of having come so close to a past rich in fear, glory, and resiliency...so close, yet not near enough. I ambled around the crumbling outer wall, noting the signs warning visitors to stay back or to watch out for poison ivy. A few toothless canons stood watch out of duty, their sight less of a threat than a reminder of a youth past. The flag mast stood unadorned, devoid of color but not of purpose. The nearby cemetery bore the remains of some of the fort's fallen residents, many unknown to us as they were to those they perished close by. Their spirits, however, live on in us as we cherish that which they gave their last breath defending.

America is a land as varied as the nations whose outcasts flocked to it, and it's in this diversity that it has found its strength. In strength, it has come to the aid of rights and freedom whose denial and suppression led to its inhabitation. Fort Ontario represents this defense of the liberties and pleasures America has afforded people of different molds and casts. It, and many other places like it, need to be kept alive so that future generations are always aware of what the past had to endure to assure their existence. This is not just a historic site; this is a site whose history is intertwined with that of the nation, where the human spirit has triumphed time and time again in spite of many setbacks.
Two hundred and fifty years of history should not be thrown away because of incompetence and mismanagement of an ignorant few.

Conscientious Objection

There are situations you see and you know, without the minutest of doubts, that they are wrong and that you have to protest against them. Such objections are commonly referred to as "conscientious" because they are based on our conscience.
Being one to always strive for justice and universal, unhindered, enjoyment of music, I was reminded of a hit from back in the day that joins these two passions of mine. The situation you can conscientiously object to can be political, religious, social, etc...there's no limit as to what you can object to.
The song in mind is "Rock the Casbah" by the British punk rock band, The Clash. This song is special because it shows that no matter who tries to impose their biased will, the people ultimately have a choice. Especially for us Africans who continue to witness our people oppressed, killed, and denied justice; our land exploited for its resources; and our hopes of the future continuously being dashed. We can stand and claim our rights, let the world know that this is a new era...that we will usher it in ourselves...it's our destiny.
Here are the lyrics and the video. Enjoy.



Rock the Casbah

Now the king told the boogie men
You have to let that raga drop
The oil down the desert way
Has been shakin' to the top
The sheik he drove his Cadillac
He went a' cruisin' down the ville
The muezzin was a' standing
On the radiator grille

CHORUS
Sharif don't like it
Rockin the casbah
Rock the casbah
Sharif don't like it
Rockin the Casbah
Rock the Casbah

By order of the prophet
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy Casbah sound
But the Bedouin they brought out
The electric kettle drum
The local guitar picker
Got his guitar picking thumb
As soon as the sherif
Had cleared the square
They began to wail

CHORUS

Now over at the temple
Oh! They really pack 'em in
The in crowd say it's cool
To dig this chanting thing
But as the wind changed direction
The temple band took five
The crowd caught a wiff
Of that crazy Casbah jive

CHORUS

The king called up his jet fighters
He said you better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets
Down the Casbah way

As soon as Sharif was
Chauffeured outta there
The jet pilots tuned to
The cockpit radio blare

As soon as Sharif was
Outta their hair
The jet pilots wailed

Chorus

Sharif don't like it
Rock the casbah
(He thinks it's not kosher)
Rock the casbah
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah
(Fundamentally he can't take it.)
Rock the Casbah
Sharif don't like it
Rock the Casbah
(You know he really hates it.)
Rock the Casbah


(Lyrics obtained from:::  http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Rock-the-Casbah-lyrics-The-Clash/6BC5F672F9AD8EC4482568AB00317382 )

Interesting News from the Literary World

A few months ago, I submitted a couple of my poems to a well-paying, well-established magazine and they were rejected in one of the nicest tones I've seen used in that type of situation. I accepted it without much hurt- except maybe for the nice check I would have received- and moved on as only my kind can.
So, imagine my surprise when I saw a letter from them today as I opened my mail box. The envelop was heavy, bulging from its contents, and my heart began to emulate it. They say in moments of anticipation, blindness sometimes sets in, and I had been skeptical until today. I blinked to coax my sight back and to calm the alarmingly-high heart rate. I tore the damn envelope and damn near cursed myself to that despised of all kingdoms come...the one with fire and brimstone, not the gold and harps.
The contents, I found out, were marketing materials asking me to purchase a subscription for the upcoming year, with elegant material on the history and the forecast future of the magazine. My first- and only- thought was, why send to people who have been rejected??? We are the ones least likely to purchase because, a) resentment for being rejected, and, b) no money, since we weren't paid.
I would stick to advertising to those who were accepted since they are the ones more likely to sign up. However, I understand if they think the rejects are the ones in most need of seeing what type of poems are accepted, and, thereby, improve their craft along those same structures. Well, that might be well and all, but, once again, as my favorite Calypsonian famously proclaimed, "NO MONEY, NO LOVE."

Freedom of Expressions Applies to All Sides

A few months ago, I became aware of the political situation in Rwanda and joined a couple of pages on an online social site in hopes of learning more. Undiscriminating, I joined a page named after, and supporting, current Rwandan president Gen. Paul Kagame, and another one for the opposition leader, Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza, leader of the FDU-Inkingi political party based primarily in exile. Through several discussions with other participants, I came to see the passions these people, especially the young men and women, have for what happens in their country. Some even talked about their willingness to pick up arms, should need arise, and fight for what they perceive to be their way of right.

I agreed with some, and I disagreed with others, without taking any one side besides the truthful side, but all in all I was impressed. Over time, some participants began to change their views towards the middle; their shift from radical beliefs to more conciliatory ones reflecting a sense of maturity that a country like Rwanda needs in order to move on from the wounds of the past.

One of the topics we tackled was that of freedom of expression...the ability to speak your mind and bring your ideas to the table without fear of persecution. In Rwanda, two tabloids were first suspended, then outrightly outlawed because of their criticism of the government; the president mentioned journalists' meeting of exiled former military leaders whom it accuses of terrorism and some took this to be a warning against them; There is talk of imprisonment and harassment of journalists with some going in hiding or exile; and Rwanda has been listed as one of the states where freedom of press is heavily hampered by authorities.

Our discussions varied with some supporting the government and others accusing it of heavy-handedness and authoritarianism. But, one thing that became apparent was that censuring of who said what and what they said was wrong. Several outspoken supporters of the current regime were banned from the Ingabire page, and they complained about in as much as supporters of the two tabloids did when the government announced their suspension.

A number of supporters of Ingabire cried afoul of the banishment of anyone from the group when all they are accused of is speaking their mind. Around that time, I paused a question on April 18, 2010 on Ingabire's group page asking whether that page was managed by her or someone delegated by her to that duty. My question was not answered but I was encouraged to ask whatever question I had in the discussions section. I posted my question that same day and it went as such:

"What is Ingabire and the FDU-Inkingi doing to reach out to those who might feel threatened by her ethnicity and what is perceived to be her views?"

Up to this day, no one has answered my question. I even sent an email to an FDU-Inkingi asking that same question and no one has replied yet. I understand times have been tough with her arrest and arraignment on extremely serious charges, but we, as ordinary Rwandans, also have questions that, if answered, can help us cement our support for her. However, beyond just standing up to the RPF-government, she has to show that she will not replace one form of system for a similar system just for change's sake.
Which brings me to another of my questions: If Ingabire, or her supporters, is intolerant of other's freedom to express their views, what makes us think she, or they, will not do so once in power in Kigali?

If the group is not affiliated with her, her representatives should be wary of someone turning potential supporters into critics.  To those who feel threatened and who feel they have sufficient reason to feel that way, this type of action only adds to their suspicion and mistrust. If we accuse the Kigali government of oppression, we have to make sure we are not committing the same offenses we are accusing it of. Otherwise, it's the proverbial name-calling between the pot and the kettle.

I call that those banned from the group for voicing their views be allowed back in and encouraged to debate in order to reach a middle ground that is beneficial to Rwanda in general without alienating some among our midst, no matter how different and infuriating their views might be. The exception, of course, is if their speech is illegal and exhibits threats against others.

The only way to live together as Rwandans is through dialog. We talk, we listen, we clarify our views, and we empathize. We become better, tolerant, and insightful Rwandans for the benefit of our future and our children's after us. Muze dukore, dusigire abana bacu umurage ababyeyi bacu badusigiye.