Tag Archives: Revolutionary Figures

Revolutionary Figures of Sierra Leone

Posted on December 22, 2014 by | Leave a comment

 

It has been a long road for Sierra Leone after the slave trade era. There have been quite a few ambitious people looking to change the dynamics of this small country. Unfortunately, little has been done throughout the years. Shortly after Sierra Leone gained their independence in 1961, chief minister Siaki Stevens is appointed the first president.  While there were some negatives to his term, Stevens did make some contributions to Sierra Leone’s economy. One of his contributions included working on the construction of the Sierra Leone Development Company railway which links the Port of Pepel with the iron ore mines at Marampa. Additionally, he was co-founder of the United Mine Workers Union to represent the interests of workers. This is groundbreaking because Sierra Leone’s history of unpaid workers has affected the country progression in so many ways. Siaki’s initiative paved the way for future leaders to take action in regarding to its people and opening job opportunities. As mentioned before not of all President’s Siaki’s actions in power have been noble. When political tensions became high he met violence with violence leading to the death of many innocent people. Siaki Stevens passed away 10 years after his term in 1988.

We live in a male dominated world and this power is blatant in the small country Sierra Leone. Throughout the years, many male figures have been the backbone (or destruction) of Sierra Leone. Many years before the time of General Siaki Stevens, was another leader of Sierra Leone. His name was Chief Tamba Songu M’Briwa. He came from a good family and was able to obtain an education. Afterwards he went into politics. In his position of power during the beginning of his term he wanted to spread the knowledge of the importance of an education. So he opened a few schools for his people of Sierra Leone.  Unlike many recent political movements, during his term promoted unity and positivity among his Sierra Leonean people. To many, Chief M’Briwa was even considered a hero.

In a country where politics is just complicated, swaying its people many times may be less complicated. Sierra Leoneans are have always been looking for a fresh start, one away from the violence and corruption. Unfortunately, words are just words and many leaders of this impoverished country let wealth and power get to their heads. It is true that a democracy isn’t for everyone, but if Sierra Leone could find a system of balance in government that could potentially change the entire country. With some guidance from past good leaders and taking the good qualities like the ambition of Chief Tamba Songu M’Briwa a lot can be done for this country and its people.

http://www.sierra-leone.org/Heroes/heroes9.html

http://news.sl/drwebsite/exec/view.cgi?archive=1&num=12703&printer=1

http://sierraleonecivilwar.com/

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Power of The Pen

Posted on October 22, 2014 by | 3 comments

Although my country of research is Botswana, I cannot deny the huge overcast that Mighty South Africa has on little Botswana. Many revolutionary events that occurred in South Africa paved the way for freedom from colonization for many African nations located in or sounded by South Africa. That being said, it is only fair to choose a revolutionary activist from South Africa for my blog this week. One of the most important notes that I took from the presentation by Mr. Ronnie Burrage was that there are different approaches to activism. As we all know, the media is a very powerful tool to use to spread a message. An activist from South Africa who skillfully used the media to enlighten the people of South Africa was Percy Qoboza. Percy Qoboza, is revered as one of the most influential South African journalist. He was able to demonstrate the power of the pen through his “outspoken critique of the apartheid regime.” He used his writing as an outlet to bring awareness to oblivious white South Africans who had little knowledge of the brutality black South Africans faced during apartheid.percey

As I researched more about Percy Qoboza I found him to be very brave, strong willed, intellectual, and witty. He became a thorn in the side of the government, with his eloquent proclamations and stirring newspaper articles. He was quoted saying, ”If you sometimes get mad at me, because the sentiments I express keep you awake at night, then I am glad. I do not see why I should bear the brunt of insomnia worrying about what will happen tomorrow. If many of us can keep awake at night, then maybe we will do the sensible thing – talk together about our joint future.” This quote sums up Percy’s mission to wake up white South Africans who continually turned their eye away from the unfair circumstance that the black South Africans were dealing with. From this quote it is evident that Percy was not as radical as the government perceived him. He wanted to live in a country of equality where his people had the same advantages and opportunities as the foreign whites claiming their land.

percy2

Percy did not only write for whites but also for black South Africans who were settling for their current situations. Percy Qoboza admits to previously being an “Uncle Tom,” because of the way South Africa conditioned his mind. He did not realize this until he attended Harvard University in the United States. He states ”When I went down to Harvard Square for a meal I was tempted to look in the window of a place, to see if there were any blacks inside, before going in, The experience forced me to look at myself, and I was surprised to find that I was an Uncle Tom.” He was accustomed to being secluded from whites leading him to carry the fear of interacting with whites.

Percy Qoboza’s time at Harvard, exposed him to a less myopic point of view where apartheid was not a normal way of living. When he finally returned to South Africa he was a man with a new perspective on life and how society must truly be. He states, ”I found myself completely maladjusted, quite unable to accept the things that seemed quite normal before.” He understood that other black South Africans were not aware of the way things could be for them so he decided to do something about it. He became a vocal figure in South African newspapers, educating and enlightening both blacks, and whites while showcasing the power he had with his pen. Percy Qoboza’s drive to change his circumstance with journalism is exactly what Mr. Burrage spoke about. There are things that we as a generation must see and change. We are not conscious of what is truly going on in our society. We must step back and attain a different perceptive to truly grasp what is going on in our society so that we can make a change through our own outlet.

http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/percy-peter-qoboza

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/18/obituaries/percy-qoboza-50-a-black-journalist-from-south-africa.html

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Egyptian Revolution of 1952

Posted on October 19, 2014 by | 1 comment

Naguib and Nasser at the 1954 Anniversary of the Revolution

Egypt is a country that not many people know about. Many people probably assume that the only history that Egypt had was pyramids, pharaohs, and mummies. However, there is much more to it than that. Just in 1952 they actually had a revolution. The two leaders of this revolution were Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. The whole thing started when the people wanted to overthrow King Farouk, but it soon became about more than just overthrowing the king.

Muhammad had a very extent military background so he was very familiar with how the politics in Egypt worked. He joined the Free-Officers Movement and worked his way up until he became the Major-General. Of course all of this was in secrecy. The Free-Officers were young men in the military who formed together to overthrow King Farouk. Naguib was a very important part of the Free-Officers Movement. He was basically the face of the movement in the eyes of the people. He talked to prime ministers, generals, colonels, peasants, and just about everyone else who wanted to overthrow the king. Naguib seemed to be a very persuasive person and could talk anyone into anything. With the help of his good friend Gamal, they managed to overthrow the king quite peacefully. After the overthrowing and exile of the king, Naguib became the first president of Egypt.

Gamal met Naguib when they were in the Free-Officers Movement. Gamal was actually the Colonel of the Movement and as Naguib slowly worked his way up to Major-General, Naguib ad Colonel Gamal became very close friends. They are both considered to have played the biggest part in the Revolution of 1952. Gamal had a very impressive military  background and served in countless wars. After him and his friend overthrew the king, he became the second president of Egypt.

Naguib and Nasser like a lot of friends, had their disagreements, but their disagreements ended their friendship. Right after the Revolution Naguib was sworn to office, but also became the prime minister and chairman of the RCC (Revolutionary Command Council). Nasser formed a government of mostly important army officials. Naguib’s political career was no the most popular. He basically just surrounded himself with his colleagues and stopped caring about “The People” of his country. As you might guess, this move was not very appreciated by most people. The RCC started to realize this and did not like it. They soon started clashing ideas with him and that’s when he had a realization. He seemed to drastically change his mind and suddenly thought that the army should have nothing to do with the government and they should only be there to protect the civilians ruling it. The RCC ad Nasser strongly disagreed with this. Nasser thought that if they pulled the army out of politics, that it would allow for parties like “The Muslim Brotherhood” to regain power. This is where their major conflict started. Nasser publicly accused Naguib of supporting “The  Muslim Brotherhood” and tried to turn everyone on him and eventually it worked. Nasser made everyone think that Naguib supported “The Muslim Brotherhood” and he was forced to resign and Nasser took the presidency, prime minister position, and chairman of the RCC. In 1954 an assassin tried to kill Nasser at a rally, but missed all eight shots, so Nasser calmly stood up and kept speaking and the people slowly started to stop panicking and loved every word he said. Nasser knew what the people wanted and did everything the people wanted. Nasser was a much better president than Naguib and really turned Egypt around.

-Austin Groff

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FLN- Terrorists or Freedom Fighters

Posted on October 17, 2014 by | Leave a comment

zohra drif

Zohra Drif

 

casbah

Modern Picture of Algiers Casbah

 

There were many small cells and groups who began to organize in the early 50s to try and force the French out, eventually they all came together to form one cohesive group.

After nearly a century of French control, Algerians were more than tired of the colonial presence. The socialist political party FLN (Front de Liberation Nationale in French) or the National Liberation Front was formed to try to offer the Muslim population of Algeria hope for future independence from the French who had killed thousands of innocents, and continued to occupy land which was not theirs.

In November of 1954 there was an armed rebellion by Muslim forces. There were some skirmishes between French troops and the FLN, but it failed to gain international attention.  The FLN wanted their voices to be heard, and wanted the world to take notice of their struggle. Media attention would gain traction for their trajectory toward freedom.

In 1956 the FLN decided to begin to direct their efforts towards the capital city of Algiers to gain international attention, and also to combat the thousands of troops being sent to Algeria by the French government in 1956.

By May, around 250,000 troops had been deployed and there were frequent raids in the Casbah of Algiers. The FLN didn’t want to negotiate, and by the next month the French Prime Minister Guy Mollet increased the military presence to 400,000.

The FLN began ordering random killings of French officials,  The french bombed the casbah back in retaliation. Many Muslim residents sought to get revenge and planned to move into the French Quarter in a mob and inflict violence. The French had caught wind of the idea, and it was sure going to be a bloody exchange if followed through.

Yacef Saadi, the military leader of the Algiers FLN, sent his lieutenants to tell the mob to turn around to minimize civilian deaths. The FLN swore they would avenge the people of the Casbah.

The FLN began bombing French police stations and administrative institutions, as well as popular hang outs of French civilians. An infamous incident of such was on September 30th of 1956. A young woman Zohra Drif planted a bomb in “Milk Bar Cafe” killing three and critically wounding many others.

Because there were curfews and blockades around the Casbah, they used Drif to plant the bomb, as she had a lighter complexion and could pass for French when the curfew was in affect.

In 1957 the FLN sought to argue on their behalf to the United Nations that they were a legitimate political party and not a terrorist group who had the support of the Algerian Muslim population.

They planned a strike among shop owners and workers, yet after only eight days the French broke them down with force.

The FLN carried on with random killings. Soon Jacques Massu was appointed as leader of the French forces. He was a fierce military leader, and after the blunder of the French’s war with Vietnam, they wanted to avoid such an outcome in Algeria.

Massu was not opposed to extreme tactics against his FLN enemies. He was able to justify such treatment, as there had been much violence and brutality to French women and children, and their attacks were often at times when the military personnel were unaware and unable to fight back.

They eventually captured Ben M’Hidi, the FLN’s leader, it was a big media gesture. He eventually died in prison. The formal explanation was that he killed himself in his cell, but it is more likely he was tortured to the point of death.

The French would win the Battle of Algiers, but would go on to lose the war. There were around 1,000,000 casualties over the course of the struggle. And while both sides were suffering heavy losses, the Algerians could sustain it theoretically, yet the French could no longer politically justify such a heavy loss of life for a war not concerning their domestic country.

Charles De Gaulle, leader of France, decided to pull out. So the FLN succeeded in driving the French out.

The interesting thing about the FLN, is that they used very controversial means to achieve their freedom. Bombings of public buildings with much loss of innocent life is hard for me to justify. I know their cause was an important one to them, but it is morally disgusting to me. Yet, the French killed many innocents as well, and over time committed genocide. So, I suppose the rebels were merely firing back in accordance with what the French had done and were doing. If viewed through a Machiavellian lens, the end justified the means. A downtrodden people who had been oppressed and recognized as less than people had gained back the territory that was naturally theirs.

Zohra Drif, whom I mentioned earlier, would serve later in the Algerian government. While she and her counterparts may have used terroristic and dirty methods, they had something they wanted to accomplish, and many among the Muslim population saw the FLN as heroes beating the oppressors out of their homeland.

 

Sources:

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/algeria.htm

 

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Algerian_War.html

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