Three Lessons from Mandela's Life

Following the death of Nelson Mandela, there has been much outpouring of accolades on the former South African president. Mandela has been praised as a hero and a reconciler who saved a nation. But Mandela was more than just a global symbol of peace and forgiveness. He was a more complex figure. He was a community leader, freedom fighter, pro-democracy activist, social intellectual, politician and statesman. As a scholar of human rights and peace, three aspects of Mandela‘s life and legacies stand out: his vision of forgiveness and reconciliation; his example of dialogue and confidence building; and his supple humanism.

Forgiveness and reconciliation
With the establishment of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Mandela offered the world a new paradigm for dealing with historical injustices. His optimistic approach to transitional justice through forgiveness and reconciliation reinforced the restorative justice model as an alternative to the retributive justice model.

When he first muted the idea for Truth and Reconciliation soon after his release from prison in 1990, many thought the old man had lost his mind. Critical voices, even within his own party – The African National Congress, wanted accountability for the crimes of apartheid and thought that a Truth Commission might undermine this. Mandela had to vigorously sell his vision of forgiveness and reconciliation.

The circle of violence, anger and hate, he urged his comrades, had to be broken. The African philosophy of Ubutu – the notion that my humanity is contingent on your humanity - was mobilized effectively to legitimize a transitional justice agenda that sought not only accountability for historical wrongs but also collective healing and national reconciliation.

Following the model of the South African TRC, over 20 countries around the world have now adopted the Truth and Reconciliation framework to deal with historical crimes and injustices – among them Brazil, Columbia, Chile, Peru, Poland, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, East Timor and Ukraine. Canada has also been a beneficiary of Mandela’s vision. In 2008, the Indian Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established following the settlement arising from the abuses in the Residential School system.

Three Lessons from Mandela's Life

12/21/2013 11:21:00 AM africa, politics, reflections, Tributes, world

Adieu Madiba

Nelson Mandela. Leader, statesman, humanist, revolutionary and personal inspiration.

Adieu Madiba

12/05/2013 06:03:00 PM politics, reflections, Tributes

A Harvest of Books

It's been a particularly productive year for me and my colleagues at McMaster. Seven books published with some of the most reputable academic presses on a vast range of subjects - advertising and commercial culture in Nazi Germany; suicide in New Zealand; representations of the First World War in Britain, three books exploring human rights, christian identities and energy/conservation in Canada, and of course African encounters with Imperial Justice. So, we have seven more reasons to celebrate this December. We'll be toasting to a year of hard, productive and rewarding work.

A Harvest of Books

11/20/2013 01:58:00 AM education, history, human rights

Everyone has a Story

Part of McMaster University's "Spotlight on the Arts" Festival 2013

Here is my story:

Every once in a while, I get asked the question “Where are you from?”

In my mischievous moments I respond: “I’m from planet earth – I am a true earthling, born and bred.” Then, there is often the follow up, “… I mean, where are you from originally?”

But you see, I really do think of myself as an earthling – a global citizen. My “show and tell” object today is a globe-shaped bookend that normally sits on my office bookshelf. It is a reminder to me that we all share a common humanity and “home” can be anywhere in the world.

Although I am originally from West Africa, Nigeria, I have lived and worked in 3 continents. Before I settled in Canada, I worked in Nigeria, South Africa, the UK, Denmark, Sweden and the United States. In all these countries I have come to realize how similar people and cultures are, even in our global diversity.

As a “coloured” person, the country where I felt most visibly different was Denmark where I worked in the late 1990s. As anyone who’s been to that part of the world knows, all Scandinavians appear to be tall, blue-eyed and blonde. Yet, the rural countryside of Frederikshavn in northern Denmark was a place where I felt very much at “home.”

I saw much in Danish folk culture and tradition that reminded me of my own African heritage – the food, music and dances, family traditions, folk tales and of course, the booze.  My favourite was Gammel Dansk (literally, "Old Danish") a liquor made from bitter herbs and roots. Gammel Dansk reminded me so much of akpeteshi (root gin), a common drink in West Africa and Chibuku beer of rural South Africa.

But what I fell most in love with in Denmark was the spirit of Hygge (pronounced hügge). There is no equivalent English word for Hygge; the closest is “coziness” but even this is inadequate. Hygge is a fundamental aspect of Danish culture. It means relaxing with good friends or loved ones, often while enjoying good food and drink in a friendly candle-lit atmosphere. Enjoying Hygge with my Danish friends reminded me of the moon light story telling sessions of the African villages where family and friends would gather to share food and stories around a bonfire.

Although Denmark was the country where I looked most different from those around me, in all my travels it was also the one place that reminded me most about my African childhood. The lesson for me is that human beings and societies have more in common than we accept or recognize. Strangers are often friends that we have not yet met; and distant foreign lands can be homes that we have not yet visited.

So, when someone asks me now, “Where are you from?” I answer, “From the planet earth...” When they add, “… where from originally?”, I respond with a straight face, “Frederikshavn, Denmark.”

What is your story?....

Everyone has a Story

9/24/2013 12:26:00 AM reflections, world

Gandhi Peace Festival

The annual Gandhi Peace Festival is here again. Its is a celebration of peace, tolerance and inclusiveness. All men and women of goodwill are welcome.

Gandhi Peace Festival

9/19/2013 09:00:00 PM arts and culture, education, war and peace

Quote of the Week

If you are any good at all, you know you can be better

- Lindsay Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac

Quote of the Week

8/27/2013 02:43:00 PM reflections

Imperial Justice: Africans in Empire's Court

After 5 years in the making "Imperial Justice" is finally out with Oxford University Press (UK). This book is not simply about imperial justice and the adjudication of Empire, it is about dealing with difference. How do individuals and societies construct, maintain and negotiate difference? How do we deal with those who look, think and act different from us? My hope is that the book will find an audience beyond academic readers.

I am encouraged by the comments of one early reader:

"I am really enjoying the book. It is not only fascinating but well written!  You've done a wonderful job of organizing piles of detailed information into a coherent structure that still has all the human drama that leads the reader through. I don't often describe scholarly books as 'page turners' but this one is." - Ruth Pincoe, Editorial Consultant

http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199664849.do#.UgrjZZKshcY

Imperial Justice: Africans in Empire's Court

8/13/2013 10:27:00 PM history, human rights, reflections

On Trayvon Martin

"There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts." 
- Mahatma Gandhi 

On Trayvon Martin

7/15/2013 11:45:00 PM human rights, Tributes, world

Egypt: The Ballot must be Sacrosanct

The military intervention in Egypt and the ousting of the democratically elected Islamist regime has been hailed by some as a victory of a popular revolution. Amidst the euphoria, however, we must ponder the larger implication of this trend for the future of liberal democracy in the Middle East.

It is true that the Islamist regime of Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood promoted an exclusive Islamic agenda at the expense of a more secular and liberal agenda. It alienated many constituencies within Egyptian society.

However, the unilateral ousting of the regime by the military sets a dangerous precedence that may return to hunt the country. Democracy cannot be agreeable only when the “good guys” win. The ballot must be sacrosanct. Impeach the president; recall the parliamentarians through constitutional means rather than the barrel of the gun.

The so-called “doctrine of necessity” which some have invoked to justify the military coup is a slippery slope. Anyone can invoke it. Today it is the “good guys” but tomorrow it may be the “bad guys.”

As one commentator put it, the greatest danger is that the military coup will be interpreted by many political Islamists as sending a blunt message: it doesn't pay to choose the ballot over the bullet. More may now turn to the bullet with grave consequences for the fragile political order. Democracy is a messy business but to endue and thrive it must be founded on principles not the politics of convenience.

Egypt: The Ballot must be Sacrosanct

7/05/2013 01:35:00 AM africa, politics, world

No one is born hating...

No one is born hating...

7/02/2013 11:51:00 PM reflections, Tributes