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Faith Is All I Have

Faith Is All I have

By N Oji Mzilikazi

I have faith
It buckles at times
Tested, sometimes I come up short
Yet faith is all I have.

I have faith
Wombs contented to weep
Hearts that are cold, tired
Desirous of wanting to sleep
Are going to seize hold
Become bold.

I have faith
That the core of goodness in man
Though beaten to the ground
Will rise, take a stand, decry wrong
Protect the weak from the throng
Knowing life is the price of the song.

I have faith
When darkness is present
Things seems hopeless
Light and love are going to find their way.

I have faith
It buckles at times
Tested, sometimes I come up short
Yet faith is all I have.

Copyright © 2014 byN Oji Mzilikazi,All Rights Reserved

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Update: Respecting The (Abusive) Power of Israel

By N Oji Mzilikazi

26 July 2014 updated August 18, 2014

The adage, “If you play with fire, you could get burn,” is totally apropos to the Israeli Gaza offensive.

Hamas intimately know that aggression against Israel is going to be met with swift and deadly retribution. Yet, unless it is tact to morally shame Israel in the eyes of the world, knowing that the military heavy-handedness by Israel Defence Force(IDF), always results in high numbers of Palestinian civilian deaths including children, and millions in damage to property, Hamas persists in the futile act of firing rockets into Israel, given Israel’s early-warning and Iron Dome defense systems.

Hamas has yet to understand that terrorists acts and/or waging war against Israel is lose-lose proposition.

Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, the 23-day bombardment of Gaza in 2008-2009, resulted in over 1,400 Palestinians killed, over 300 of them children, over 5,300 injured, over 1,600 of them children and approximately 20, 000 homes completely or partially destroyed, and 36 UN schools damaged.

More importantly, Hamas has yet to understand that Israel can never be morally shamed. The cliché, “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East,” along with the invocation of the Holocaust and charges of anti-Semitism as cards of trump ensure that Israeli “excesses” and wrongs are excused, and muted to no criticism of Israel come from her “friends.”

Thus we see many powerful governments holding the “Israel can do no wrong” position, and their ministers, politicians, and prominent persons in their society acting as de facto Israeli agents…

 

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100 Years of the UNIA, Marcus Garvey Be Praised!

100 Years of the UNIA, Marcus Garvey Be Praised!

By N Oji Mzilikazi

17 August 2015

The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) was founded in August 1914 by the Right Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey to uplift, unify, and empower the race.

Last Friday, the Montreal chapter of the UNIA (founded in1920) celebrated the UNIA’s centennial as well as Marcus Garvey’s birthday.

The joyous and spirited affair reinforced values, rejuvenated spirits, and strengthened resolve – at least mines. And so I promise to work harder, do better, and be the best that I can be.

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EMANCIPATION DAY 2014

EMANCIPATION DAY 2014

By N Oji Mzilikazi

August 1, 2014

Do you remember the days of slavery?
History can recall, history can recall
History can recall the days of slavery
Oh slavery days! Oh slavery days!
While I remember, please remember

— Slavery Days

— Burning Spear

Today is Emancipation Day. Today we observe the Abolition of Colonial Slavery Act that abolished slavery “throughout the British colonies on, from and after the First of August, 1834.”

Today, we — who remember the Atlantic Slave Trade and Middle East Slave Trade that took the lives of over 32 million African men, women and children.

Today is Emancipation Day. Today we renew our commitment to educational and economic empowerment, and the eradication of self-sabotage, self-hatred, and underperformance that continue to plague people of African descent.

Today is Emancipation Day. Today, we remember the still present scars, and more importantly, the victories and achievements on this long, slow walk to racial elevation and personal freedom.

Happy Emancipation!

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Reflections On Carifiesta 2014

REFLECTIONS ON CARIFIESTA 2014

By N Oji Mzilikazi

Originally published in the Montreal Community Contact Volume 24, Number 14 July 10, 2014

The 39th staging of the Carifiesta Parade on July 5th was one of the best in years.

While my heart welled with pride for the thousands of community members that were participants — revellers as well as on-lookers — I couldn’t help but weigh the power of their presence, the financial and voting power they collectively constitute in their hands against community laissez faire attitudes, divisiveness, paralysis, and other shortcomings.

I couldn’t but weigh the potential power in our numbers against the continuous underfunding of Carifiesta by City Hall, the absence of funding from the Quebec government and the Montreal Tourist Board, and that Carifiesta is without a corporate sponsor…