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Tag: CONFLICT

african diaspora 1

BLACK HISTORY SPOTLIGHT: AFRICAN WARRIOR QUEEN YAA ASANTEWAA OF THE ASANTE EMPIRE!πŸ‡¬πŸ‡­

Warrior Queen πŸ‘ΈπŸΏYaa Asantawaa

By: Leon Kwasi Kuntuo-Asare

ORIGINS

Yaa Asantewaa was born in 1840 in Besease (a town in central Ghana), she was the daughter of a man named Kwaku Ampoma and a woman named Ata Po. Her brother was a man named Afrane Panin, he would become a chief of the people in a local community called Edweso. As she entered womanhood, she grew crops on her land and would enter into a polygamous marriage, (which was not uncommon for regal or wealthy men) with a man from the Asante captiol city of Kumasi.

Painting: The War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War

WAR READY

During the rule of her brother, Yaa Asantewaa witnessed the Asante Kingdom (formerly the Asante Empire), go through a major decline. Which was the result of it’s five year civil war (1883-1888), and the Asante’s long on-and-off bloody conflict with the British Empire. After the death of her brother in 1894, Asantewaa utilized her power and influence as Queen Mother to nominate her grandson as Ejisuhene (King/chief of Ejisu, a city near the Asante capitol city of Kumasi). In 1896, Yaa Asantewaa became regent of the Ejisu-Juaben district, after the British exiled her grandson, the Asante King, Prempeh l and several other nobles and government officials to the Seychelles Islands. Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, who was the British governor-general of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), demanded the Golden Stool . which was and is believed by traditionalist to hold the soul of the Asante kingdom. The demeaning demand by the British led to a secret meeting with the highest remaining Asante officials. In the meeting there was a disagreement on rather or not to give the Golden Stool (the physical representation of the soul of the Asante Kingdom) to centuries-old enemy the British, for their exiled Asante officials and nobels. During the meeting Yaa Asantewaa stood up and gave a speech to the members of the Asante council:

Painting: Yaa Asantawaa giving a speech.

How can a proud and brave people like the Asante sit back and look while whitemen took away their king and chiefs, and humiliated them with a demand for the Golden Stool. The Golden Stool only means money to the whitemen; they have searched and dug everywhere for it. I shall not pay one predwan to the governor. If you, the chiefs of Asante, are going to behave like cowards and not fight, you should exchange your loincloths for my undergarments (Montu mo danta mma me na monnye me tam).

To add seriousness and dramatic affect to her words, Asantewaa picked up a rifle and fired it in front of the other council members. Yaa Asantewaa would be chosen by one of the regional kings of the Asante kingdom to be a leader/commander of an Asante battalion. She would lead an armed-force of 5,000 men in war against the British empire

WAR AND AFTERMATH

In March of 1900, the Asante laid siege to a British fort at Kumasi, where the British sought refuge. After several months more months of back-and-forth conflict, the British governor of the Gold Coast would send an elite, well-trained and equipped force of 1400 soldiers to put down the African rebellion. Yaa Asantewaa and about fifteen of her most trusted advisors and confidants would be captured by the British and exiled to Seychelles. Yaa Asantewaa’s military defeat would mark the end of the series of wars between the Asante and the British, which took place from 1823 to 1900. In January of 1902, the British would annexe the territory of the Asante empire, and made it a protectorate of the British crown. On October 17, 1921, Nana Yaa Asantewaa died in exile on the Seychelles Islands. Three years later, on December 17, 1924, King Prempeh l and other members of the Asante royal court were allowed to return to Asante (at the time a British colony). Prempeh l, would make sure that the remains of his grandmother, Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa received a proper royal burial. A little over 30 years after her death, her dream of an Asante independent of British colonial rule would be achieved when the Asante kingdom (now-part of the Republic of Ghana), won its independence on March 6, 1957. Ghana would be the first sub-saharan African nation to accomplish this feat.

HER LEGACY

Nana Yaa asantewaa is a revered figure in the history of Asante and Ghana, for her role as a strong and empowering woman, who confronted European domination and oppression. She is remembered in this Asante song:

Koo koo hin kooYaa Asantewaa ee!Obaa basiaOgyina apremo ano ee!Waye be egyaeNa Wabo mmode(“Yaa AsantewaaThe woman who fights before cannonsYou have accomplished great thingsYou have done well”)

A week-long centenary celebration was held in her honor in Ghana in 2000, to acknowledge her accomplishments as Queen Mother and her role as a freeddom fighter against British imperialism.

Statue of Yaa Asantewaa outside of a museum destroyed by fire.
The Burnt remains of the Yaa Asantewaa Museum
Posters calling for the Yaa Asantewaa Museum to be rebuilt.

EXTERNAL EDUCATION RESOURCES

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middle east 0

LEADERS FROM THE MOST POWERFUL MUSLIM NATIONS CLAIM THE UNITED STATES RECOGNITION OF JERUSALEM AS ISRAEL’S CAPITAL MAKES THE U.S. LOSE CREDIBILITY AS A NEUTRAL MEDIATOR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

By: Leon Kwasi Kuntuo-Asare

At the Mecca Summit, which was held in Mecca Saudi Arabia, heads of state and other political officials from various Arab and North African countries collectively condemned the United States’ decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, since both the Palestinians and Israelis claim Jerusalem as their rightful capital.

To many world leaders, including leaders from the Muslim nations at the summit, Donald Trump and therefore the United State’s recognition as Jerusalem as being the rightful capital of Israel makes the United States lose its credibility as a neutral mediator.

According to Aljazeera:

Saudi King Mohammed bin Salman told leaders of the IOC countries gathered at the summit: “The Palestinian cause is the cornerstone of the works of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and is the focus of our attention until the brotherly Palestinian people get all their legitimate rights.

“We reaffirm our unequivocal rejection of any measures that would prejudice the historical and legal status of Quds [Jerusalem].”

In a final statement this was said:

“The Palestinian people have the right to achieve their inalienable national rights, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State,”

For additional information use the link below:

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2019/06/mecca-summit-supports-palestinians-backs-saudis-iran-standoff-190601063421981.html

activism 0

YOU STILL CAN HELP END PTSD IN GAZA!

By: Leon Kwasi Kuntuo-Asare

This Saturday, on October 15, 2016, the third annual San Francisco Gaza 5K will take place.

To signup for the race or donate to help fight end PTSD, please use link below :
SIGNUP OR DONATE TO THE GAZA 5K 

Proceeds from this 5k walk / run benefit the UNRWA’S Community Mental Health Program, for children in Palestine suffering from PTSD and other psychological trauma, due to the blockade and current conflict in the region.

The situation is so dire, the internationally-known scientist, historian, social critic and political activist, Noam Chomsky said the occupation in Palestine is worst than the Apartheid of the South African past.

Noam Chomsky on BDS and How the Israeli Occupation is “Much Worse Than Apartheid”

essay 0

WHAT NOT TO DO FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE💞 EAST! (ESSAY )

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BY: LEON KWASI KUNTUO-ASARE

Will there ever be peace in the Middle East? Well if the United States truly wants to end the war against Islamic terrorist groups, bombings and bullets are not the key to a successful plan for peace in the Middle East.

In fact they are part of the reason we have the current issues in Iraq and Syria with ISIS, since we kill far more innocent civilians than we do terrorists, which makes us even more enemies, some of whom probably will become terrorists in the future, after seeing the burnt and charred remains of flesh and bone, from people they used to call mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew,son, daughter, cousin, friend, or neighbor, all residue left behind after one of our U.S drones or Tomahawk missles kills an entire family, often times the suspected terrorist they were hunting , was not even in the targeted area.

According to a Huffington post article posted on January 23, 2014, by Kerry Sheridan, “there were approximately 500,000 civilian deaths caused by the US led invasion in Iraq.”

Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs published a study online in march 2015, the stated stated ” 92,000 Civilians in Afghanistan have been killed and 100,000 wounded since the US led invasion in 2001.”

The 2nd problem, which obviously relates to the first one is, we have to stop going into other countries and interfering with their political and military affairs, be it when the U.S used the Ethiopian army as a proxy to invade Somalia in 2006 , which increased Islamic extremism in the region or when the U.S Disbanded the Iraqi army after the 2003 war, which caused many newly unemployed Iraqis with deadly weapons and tactical training to walk straight into the arms of ISIS. Our recent military history with Iraq and Libya proves we are far better at nation destroying than nation building, since both countries had very little Islamic extremism, Pre-United States interference, and are now a breeding ground of Islamic extremism. According to an article published on Time.com by Mark Thompson, on May 28, 2015, titled “How Disbanding the Iraqi Army Fueled ISIS” , Thompson stated: One expert estimates that more than 25 of ISIS’s top 40 leaders once served in the Iraqi military.

Yes both Saddem Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi were brutal leaders and their nations were breaking many international humanitarian laws, but that does not give us the right to go into their countries, remove them and kill hundreds of thousands of civilians in the process. Hell you can say the same about the United States two closet allies in the region when it comes to brutality , Saudi Arabia and Israel are the two kings of breaking international humanitarian laws . And lets not forget the United States herself was called out by the United Nations for her racism and police brutality. According to a NewsOne article posted approximately one year ago, Noureddine Amir, the vice-chairman of the Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Amir stated:

“The excessive use of force by law enforcement officials against racial and ethnic minorities is an ongoing issue of concern and particularly in light of the shooting of Michael Brown. This is not an isolated event and illustrates a bigger problem in the United States, such as racial bias among law enforcement officials, the lack of proper implementation of rules and regulations governing the use of force, and the inadequacy of training and law enforcement officials.” So lets first get our own affairs in order, before telling foreign nations how to get their affairs in order.

Now I obviously don’t know the keys for peace in the Middle East, and I will gladly admit the United States without a doubt employs far better educated and experienced people they can use to advise them than me. These are just my opinions based on facts, history and results.

But what I do know is continuing to invade and destabilize nations, kill hundreds of thousands innocent civilians as collateral damage, makes us less safe, not more safe, by increasing the recruitment of young and able men, ready and willing to die and kill to expel the invading and mass murdering crusaders.

Now lets just be honest with ourselves, and think outside of our collective alpha male American ego and put ourselves in an Iraqi person’s shoes , if the United States was attacked and occupied by a foreign nation, and hundreds of thousands of our citizens were being killed, there would be a swarm of white supremacist militias, and Christian hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan growing with new members, ready to fight and die to expel the invading military force.

And to anyone that thinks what I am saying is not true, here’s some facts for you:

In an article titled ” They Love to Hate, In Growing Numbers” by : Katti Gray of the Root.com, published on February 25, 2011, Gray states:

“There’s no question that Obama’s election drew people into the hate world. These groups’ [online] servers were crashing on the night of the election from all the traffic,” said Heidi Beirich, director of research for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Its spring 2011 Intelligence Report, released Thursday, lists 1,002 hate groups, a 7.5 percent increase since 2009 and a surge of 66 percent since 2000.”

And that’s only because Obama is the first half-black president , now just imagine the white supremacist domestic terroristic attacks that would being happening in this country if this country was being attacked by an foreign nation, inside our own borders, both to the occupying military and probably to minorities, especially black people.
Which proves war gives you more enemies not less enemies.

I am not even going to pretend l know how to fix the the current problems the United States has with ISIS and other terrorist organizations in the Middle East, but I do know three ways not to get us anymore.

1. Stop f#cking with other countries politics, it always comes back to hurt us in the end, from Iran to ISIS. We seem to create our own Boogie-Man! So President Obama, my fellow American, from the midwest ( you Chicago and me Detroit ) with an African father ( your father from Kenya and mine is from Ghana) ,please don’t take out Assad, I know he is a piece of Garbage, but most of our allies are too, plus taking him out will leave a hole for terrorists to fill, Iraq, Libya and even post Soviet war Afghanistan has proven that.

2. If we do have to attack another country, it’s because they attacked us or our allies first, like a Pearl Harbor or 9-11 situation. Not because we want to take their natural resources!

3. If we’re forced to go to war and defend ourselves, we must make sure we don’t bomb an entire city block to kill only four f#cking terrorists, which in the end will make us even more enemies, which kind of defeats the purpose of going to war in the first place. The same technology Edward Snowden revealed the United States has and still is using on us American citizens illegally, the United States must use that technology to pinpoint our enemies, and kill them with causing as little civilian casualties as possible.

THE FACES OF WAR:

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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION USE LINK :

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4102855

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION USE LINK :

http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/civilians/afghan

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION USE LINK :

http://newsone.com/3049930/un-committee-racial-discrimination/

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION USE LINK :

http://time.com/3900753/isis-iraq-syria-army-united-states-military/

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION USE LINK :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Somalia_(2006–09)

For additional information use link :

http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2011/02/report_a_surge_in_hate_groups_across_america.html