01:10 - March 14, 2009
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originally written by me in August 2008:
This week has been the reunion of Africville.
I can admit that still if I live to be 100, I will not know nearly enough about Africville.
I know less than a fraction of what's to be known.
but think of this.
Think of yourself living in this situation:
The city dump near where you live.
In a town with no running water, sewage disposal, paved roads, garbage removal, electricity, street lights, police services and even a cemetery, amongst other things
The infectious disease hospital dumping medical waste in your backyard where your children might just jump in it and catch all manner of illnesses.
think of the city you live in wanting to bulldoze your homes because they are seen as "slums" and "eyesores".
Think of paying taxes despite the fact that the city provides NO SERVICES to you but still wants their piece of the pie.
Despite all of that, you live in a loving community with families who love each other and a general store with a post office in the same town.
Filled with people who help each other out and are good moral people still thriving as best as can be done despite the fact that the odds are against this.
The school, the church, the busy town.
Think of your city government in a span of years coming into your town and all of a sudden the end of you living there starts with waking up to see your church in shambles because some person bulldozed it while you were asleep.
Children women and men all ripped from their safe homes by the people that were supposed to help them out.
Think of your independent town being dependent for the first time because the government wanting to take that land for their own purposes.
I don't know about you, but when I think about these events, and I truly take the fraction of what I know for the first time and see how this makes people emotional and it really is too much for me.
The people that were displaced were loving, hard working people who didn't do a thing to deserve it.
They had a physical community going, despite the crap (both literal and figurative) that the government threw at them.
That community still lives on, and the descendants live strong.
I wonder how knowing that dumping raw sewage and such that OUR GOVERNMENT could even think of not paying out to the children of Africville.
People who were born there are either dead because of or dying of cancer.
I think its a piss poor thing to take from people who gave to Halifax, and STILL give to Halifax in many ways.
I wasn't born there as I am 25 years old.
My parents or grandparents are not from there either.
I am not an African nova Scotian or of African descent.
So, why the heck should I be so angry and disjointed when I hear about what happened?
Because I can't just look at an atrocity no matter how long ago and say, "that's ok".
Even worse so, there was no apology by the government.
How in the hell is that right or even allowable?
The government made things right with the natives and the Japanese citizens for what they did to them,but not to Africville residents.
the Nazis were tried for war crimes, but what kind of thing has been done for people of Africville?
From what I've heard, it hurts me.
I think Africville should be given back to the people who rightfully own it.
The city stole it from them, and that's theft.
If someone stole your house, you'd be pissed off, but the city did just that.
The Chebucto road widening project is going on, and people will be having to leave their homes behind because the government told them so.
in the coast, it said this about it:
"By the end of June they'll start knocking down eight old-growth trees," said Kevin Moynihan, secretary of the Chebucto Road Neighbourhood Association, in quiet defeat last week. "And the street will be widened."
"We're incensed," said Carolyn King, a neighbour and acquaintance of Moynihan's. "No councillor who voted for road widening could park their car for that price. Obviously I'm not going to accept it." She said that the notice of easement is the latest attempt by HRM to lowball the Chebucto residents,after having forced many of them to sell their properties.
"My neighbour was originally offered $7,000 for her whole front yard," she said. "They said it was fair, the most you could expect. Now they've offered her $33,500."
this was around June 12th, 2008.
The city still hasn't learned from it's moving people to forward progress.
At least in the here and now, people can protest and demonstrate.
The government does what it wants.
The government thinks that it can turn it's people into drones that do as they're told under the "government knows best act".
There should be a motto "lowballing; Halifax is good at it".
I have to say this;
If we are to survive as a people, and I mean ALL humans. Whether you be black, white, asian, greek, turkish and the list goes on. The thing is, we all have the same circulatory systems and are prone to bleeding iron based blood which if we lose too much or if our internal organs are damaged beyond repair WE DIE.
If someone hurts us emotionally we cry.
If someone loves us, we try to love them back.
How can people hate each other so much that there's no consideration or tolerance or even acceptance?
I look at all the atrocities committed in the world that I know of and it hurts me.
I look at the ones I don't know of and it hurts me even more.
If we lived the example of love and compassion, racism and beaurocracy would be replaced with love and community. By community I mean everybody just hanging out and being not judgemental because of skin pigmentation, a genetic variant depending on geographical evolution of the same species.
That's right, we're all the same species, but some people forget that.
Humans need to band together before we destroy each other in a nuclear winter.
Because if we don't that will happen.
I wonder how people can deal with things such as autism and schizophrenia when racism is STILL RAMPANT in today's society.
There might not be as open racism as yesterday, but the "politically correct" version with the pretty words is still alive and well.
Hate groups still are alive in the united states of america and some in canada as well.
As people who cares what happens, there should be people who stand up.
I am writing this to express my feelings about this and why I believe that something should be done.
The city can't get away with what they're doing if anybody gives a shit about their community.
You might not be from Africville, but they might come for your street when it's in the way of a wider road, an expressway or another bridge.
They are after all, discussing the need for a third bridge, so it might be your neighborhood they bulldoze next to get it.
In closing, I need to remind you of two quotes.
First "If we fail to learn from history we are doomed to repeat it"
and secondly, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".
I don't see myself as anyone that knew or would know anything about it if not for friends that told me. I am a human that is sick and tired of watching people being treated for the first glance, instead of getting to know them as humans, and as individuals with unique personalities.
Sincerely,
Gavril Peloponnakos
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Ps:Awareness stamps out ignorance, so let's spread the awareness together.
