SELF IDENTIFICATION

Brasil, South America: I born in a big city - Sao Paulo.

That time nature was well preserved, we had lot of tropical forests, so huge insects, reptiles would enter the houses.

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There was a trend of products that helped children to study animals, for example, stickers and chocolates which came with scientific information about different animals. On the top of that, my father was a researcher veterinary and expended time educating me about nature. He would take me to excursions in muddy places or abandoned ruins. As for my mother she was extra careful that we never got sick or dirty and tried to frighten us about any kind of animal – but it didn’t work. Thus I have included nature,- specially animals as part of my world from the very beginning.

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My best time was in the farm of my grandparents - it made me interested in agriculture, building, observe the animals, etc. Today I crave to live in such environment again, interacting with simple villagers, farming ,surrounded by animals and trees.

HEREDITAGE

We, Brazilians have Asian, Negroid and Caucasian races in our blood. In Sao Paulo Italian culture was predominant although there was a lot of mixture in every family.

Only from my father’s side, to my limited knowledge, there were Europeans from different countries, like Italian, Spanish, an Austrian ancestor married a lady Indigenous lady.

It was strange that none talked about African linage, either people is mostly proud about European descendents only. Why people act like that? I know that when there was end of the slavery the African did not have any resources to start a dignified life. Today many are criminals and street people. From childhood I didn’t knew the proud African as we find in their original continent.

I went to know that I had African blood when a doctor associated certain features and characteristics in my body with the Negroid race. I was amazed: Seriously? Can be there be Africans in my family? And he very calmly replied: Certainly!

Then I started observing the physical appearance of my mother side relatives and then I knew that besides Portuguese there was also African descendent and even indigenous. But we lost the history. Even the background of our Europeans (probably poor farmers who left Europe to try a better life). All this seems to be secret, none never mentions about this facts.

I would say that this is a limiting tradition - to stress only in one’s European heredities, instead on the beauty that Brazilian blood carries many races.

Even a great portion of African descendent do not accept their roots too.

It is nice that as children we get used to variety of skin colors and faces in our homes and schools. So there is no much scope for discrimination.

(In the photo I m kissing my brother who was more for African features than me, although we had the same parents.

RELIGION

It happened that when I was 7 my parents divorced and I moved to the South of Brasil, which has a stronger European influence, as well the climate is cool and many of flora look like those from cold European countries. I loved to be in the cold weather but couldn’t make friends easily, as people there are colder also.

We went to live with my grandmother, whom, as the most of population, followed the Catholic religion. One good thing is that she inspired me a lot to do service (always arrange to feed needy people and street animals). She was also quite devotional and it awakened me a reverence for the unknown. But I always had to go to church, and was enrolled in a nun’s school. The dogmas about God excluding animals from the heaven and judging us, and the unhappy nuns suppressing us made me become an atheist when I was 12.

Later I went to live in the villages of Minas Gerais (more to the North of the country). First with my relatives who were from upper class - that just increased my rebellion as I felt to fight against social injustice

Looking for the key to know myself and how to contribute for a better world, I went to travel to the extreme North were I had no relatives. Most are Indigenous and African descendants. My life in Brasil has been such a mix of experiences, with so many different people, that I feel that every place is my home and everyone is part of my family.

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CLASSES

• Mostly Brazilian are simple people, but some try to show off or pretend that they are from the upper class. My parents had lot of financial constraint when we were young, actually this helped me to have a stronger mind and being more authentic in social life, when I compared with my relatives who were raised in a better standard of living.

People from upper class would get more psychic problems like depression, anxiety, etc. Nowadays it seems big part of the population is suffering from psychic imbalances. There was a kind of general fraternity and inner joy in the Brazilian psychology, but last time I visited the country, in 2017, I was pained to see that much of that joy was lost, probably because the many years of economic crises and exploitation in the country.

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• I found that the best aspect in Brasil is the open mind set of people, how they accept each other and easily make friends Probably due to our blood got so mixed we got an extra dosage of creativity.

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• Brasil is also a victim of neo-colonialism. Its wealth go out and only few benefit. We have oil but pay the prices of imported oil. Our famous coffee is not sold at our stores, but enjoyed by rich countries around the world while we consume a coffee of inferior quality.

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• Perhaps there is also some status on being whitish. It seems that unconsciously people feel purer when their skin is lighter. We learn story from different kings and wars from Europe but we do not learn the names of the different African countries, except at the World Cup time. We don’t know anything about their history, but just say Africa for all of those countries. When I was posted in Accra, Ghana, I was wondering where was that... I thought perhaps must be some Arabian country (which I was scared to) so I surrendered to Baba before understanding that it was in Africa. It was an old dream of mine to help the children in Africa and that first post resonated with that almost forgot dream. I was in tears thinking how God trusted me such a big responsibility to work in such a needy place.

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WHERE DO I LIVE CURRENTLY:�Accra, Ghana�

It is a red soil town, tropical climate with humid level really high.

Sanitation is an issue, gutters are most open, basic needs are an issue, government do not invest in improving lives. There is burning of local garbage and foreigner garbage, making Accra one of the most toxic cities in the planet. The masses kind of surrounded to the situation feeling that they are unable to change the corruption in the country. They either try to be part of the corruption to not stay behind – survival of the fittest.

The Ghanaians are quite bold when compared to our French colonized neighbors, they also are physically stronger. It is nice to me, coming from Brasil, to see the real African people, that are quite different from the Africans descendents I have met in Brasil. Inferiority complexes are not an issue to them, although the new generation tends to idolatrize everything which is foreigner and gradually are changing their healthy habits and culture to the harmful Western ones.

Accra is a mix of many tribes, as people from all corners of the country come here to try a better life. There is no much opportunities in the villages. Ghanaians from different tribes live together in peace in Accra.

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TRIBALISM – A dangerous socio-sentiment

As most of African countries, tribalism exists. In Accra it takes form in favoring people from the same tribe, being less moral towards a different tribe; but it does not reaches violence. However, this underground tribalism creates a fertile field that is used by exploiters to take advantage of the people. Going beyond Accra, there is much party conflicts in the country, and sometimes it gets violent. Whenever a leader try to free the country from neo colonialism, they are attacked by the opposition parties (that actually are sponsored by the colonial masters - the so called first world leaders). The lack of UNITY that tribalism creates, makes Africa wealth an easy prey to outsiders.

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CLASSES AND CONFLICTS

There is people very wealth but most of them get their positions from corruption that impregnates all levels of the system. When the British came, Ghanaians didn’t have a script yet. At same time that people got literate, they were treated as superior than others and it created a division in society. Those people wore foreigner clothing and ate foreigner food. However, there were good leaders who made use of their education to fight for the freedom of their people. Kwame Nkrumah was one of the pioneers of Pan Africanism. Once Ghana got the independence, he started encourage other countries to do the same. This strategy helped not only the continent but Ghana itself as they became stronger when uniting with other countries. Unfortunately all moral and great leaders got murdered, often by their own people, who were bribed by the neo-colonizing forces. That is how the lack of nationalism makes the country weak. People betray their mother land in the hope of positions of power and money.

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It is sad to see that common people do not dare to fight for a better country, either they dream to go abroad. There is no unity between people so they easily fight between themselves when the hardship is too much. They have accepted that politicians are business man. They do not value their local wealth and culture. It is rare to find people who has love for the country. I believe that morality, unity and socio-economic awareness ae the solution.

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