Saturday, November 17, 2007
God has left Africa
2:27 PM
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund BurkeHotel Rwanda, Black Hawk Down, Blood Diamond,Tears of the Sun- all these blockbuster movies revolve around a common topic: Conflicts in the great nation of Africa. It so happen that I had nothing better to do and decided to watch t.v, something i rarely do and it so happen that HBO was screening this movie, Tears of the Sun. At one glance, i saw military officers, jungles, black men, radio signals, helicopters and i know straight away, without any doubt, it was yet another U.S. military intervention of the last 15 years smashed into one kick-ass showdown in the woods.It stirred my interest and my eyes glued to the screen.Action, staged with technological bombast, has become the oversize engine of the global movie marketplace. Against the endless rain of heavy-metal thrills, it's not unusual to see a combat picture that imitates the look and sound -- the ominous sensuality -- of famous modern war films without a trace of their complexity or moral power. In Tears of the Sun, a military-rescue thriller set in the jungles of Nigeria which i later found out that i was taken in Hawaii..awww.haha. The entire movie was talking about how this hunky militant was trying to lead a group of African refugees who happen to be the patients of a Doctor Without Borders physician and a priest, in other words, these refugees were Christians. And little that they know that hidden among these group of black men and women, lies the son of the former President of Nigeria. So the rebels are actually after this guy and in the process the film is freighted with somber significance, and pays lip service to the issue of ethnic cleansing by showing us the Nigerian rebels as they maim and kill any civilian who happens to be Christian. It's really sad seeing all the Africans crying to their Lord but we all knew God left Africa, long time ago.The militant, who i did not bother to check his name, was only suppose to save all the whites out of the conflict zone- his instructions were clear : take the whites, leave the blacks. And he did manage to complete his mission, however, as he was flying back to America in a chopper, something down there bite his conscious, the remnants of a massacre of innocents he has left behind in the jungles of Nigeria and then this is when all the action took place. The militant ordered his troop to head back to Nigeria to attempt to save the lives of those who are remaining..and the rest is history.Well, I'm always moved when i see such films. I mean, unless your Heart is made of Fe. There was this scene in the movie where a woman's breast were cut off by the rebels as they do not want her to feed her own baby. The worst part was that, after cutting off her breast, they raped her and left the baby to die. Oh yah, i forgot to mention, they also chopped off the head of the priest who was there with the doctor. The priest was actually on a mission trip.oh my.After watching so many of this gruesome but meaningful movies, it really inspired me to go the extra mile for this people. Living in Singapore has always been like a bed of roses, the stress we get from exams is bullshit, the conflicts that we have with our friends are nothing compared to the pain and agony these Africans are feeling. At least, we know we can sleep peacefully at night, but these people cannot, they can only live a day by a day, some hoping that tomorrow will never come.I always picture myself in the movies, saving lives, facing death, having the courage to see these people suffer, fighting for their lives, playing " hide-and-seek" with the rebels. and I'm damn serious about this. One day, if given the opportunity, I'll go to Africa and do my part for mankind- for my sins. So what are all these promises without action..this coming monday, I'll be going to OBS! hah! of course, the jungles we have in Singapore is very different from those in Africa, but at least, i have some form of experience sleeping on.erm.grass and among trees right.heh.Africa is really in trouble. As I'm typing this entry right now, it is really hard to imagine that there are people dying over there, either they are plague by the forever existing AIDS or they are fleeing for their dear lives,into the deep forested area,away from the rebels or worst till, they might be even digging for diamonds right now. Guys, lets just appreciate life from today onwards,shall we? But thankfully, we have our omnipotent America landing their hands in some of their problems, to some, they might see America as a nuisance but to me, without this accidental leader, yes, i mean accidental, because nobody really made America the leader, it was because of their population size, their established economy and defence mechanism that really make people feel that they are responsible for every single thing that is occurring in this world. Well, i mean, I'm not saying America is not at fault, but come to think of it, is it fair for them? what if one day, the current president, Bush decided to pull out from every rescue mission they are into right now? They decided not to help all the developing countries get out of their poverty cycle. They decided to wash their hands off every matter than concerns us. How will life be like? heh. think about it.Has God really left Africa? Leonardo DiCaprio mentioned this explicitly in Blood Diamonds, and in Tears of the Sun, one of the soldiers also commented this way. So wad exactly is the directors trying to tell us? has God really left Africa? I do not wish to comment, or rather not that explicitly, you decide for yourself.maybe you should try googling and check out what Africa is facing,the countless and mounting problems they have and by then, I'm sure you'll have an answer.
