“Raison d’Etre”
We, of DOA/BN together with many others, believe that the time has come for humanity to call upon the treasury of still existing, but rapidly disappearing, cultures today in order to respond to the challenges of the 21st century. Unfortunately, the cultural riches of the Natives, Africans and their descendants are, in reality, the objects of distortions and destruction; their splendour before colonization and their enormous contributions to the current cultural riches of humanity are seemingly being erased from contemporary memory. In order to restrain the total loss of this ancient memory, conscious efforts by many are needed, but the genocide of the Native peoples as well as the commerce and enslavement of the Africans on a worldwide scale for over 3 centuries has left a subconscious traumatic scar in all the ensuing generations of each continent of peoples that were involved. This trauma and the accompanying amnesia has struck the Native American peoples, the Africans, the Europeans and their respective descendants.
For the future health and well-being of humanity, it is vital that this inter-cultural trauma be treated very carefully, not to simply make superficial cosmetic reparations, but rather a deep and profound, therefore potentially painful healing process take place. In order for this process to occur, the horrific truths should be consciously recalled in detail to the collective memory and living experience from which it has been suppressed. To contribute to this treatment the Cultural Foundation “N a Sonje” has been created. It is in humble admission that this can only represent a piece of dust in the universe of pain that has been suffocating so many souls over too many centuries in the history of our world. Nevertheless, it is offered in quiet and yet expectant hope.
Haiti’s particular position in the history and evolution of the slave trade, where slavery has been described as the most ferocious, and where the tortured majority drew upon spiritual forces transported from Africa to win a whole country’s freedom and political independence makes it the ideal place for this recognition and reparation to begin. Haiti was deliberately demonised for its audacity in taking this liberty thus destroying the most profitable business in the world at that time and continues to spurn the negative propaganda through her people’s long-suffering of the past 200 years to this day. Not only for Haiti is this hope born, but for every nation and people who have endured this criminal history.
Mother Haiti holds out the bosom of her tears to those unafraid to be bathed in them and then wrapped in her tender solace for a cleansed tomorrow. For this reason she has accepted to call “N a Sonje” to her.
We, of DOA/BN together with many others, believe that the time has come for humanity to call upon the treasury of still existing, but rapidly disappearing, cultures today in order to respond to the challenges of the 21st century. Unfortunately, the cultural riches of the Natives, Africans and their descendants are, in reality, the objects of distortions and destruction; their splendour before colonization and their enormous contributions to the current cultural riches of humanity are seemingly being erased from contemporary memory. In order to restrain the total loss of this ancient memory, conscious efforts by many are needed, but the genocide of the Native peoples as well as the commerce and enslavement of the Africans on a worldwide scale for over 3 centuries has left a subconscious traumatic scar in all the ensuing generations of each continent of peoples that were involved. This trauma and the accompanying amnesia has struck the Native American peoples, the Africans, the Europeans and their respective descendants.
For the future health and well-being of humanity, it is vital that this inter-cultural trauma be treated very carefully, not to simply make superficial cosmetic reparations, but rather a deep and profound, therefore potentially painful healing process take place. In order for this process to occur, the horrific truths should be consciously recalled in detail to the collective memory and living experience from which it has been suppressed. To contribute to this treatment the Cultural Foundation “N a Sonje” has been created. It is in humble admission that this can only represent a piece of dust in the universe of pain that has been suffocating so many souls over too many centuries in the history of our world. Nevertheless, it is offered in quiet and yet expectant hope.
Haiti’s particular position in the history and evolution of the slave trade, where slavery has been described as the most ferocious, and where the tortured majority drew upon spiritual forces transported from Africa to win a whole country’s freedom and political independence makes it the ideal place for this recognition and reparation to begin. Haiti was deliberately demonised for its audacity in taking this liberty thus destroying the most profitable business in the world at that time and continues to spurn the negative propaganda through her people’s long-suffering of the past 200 years to this day. Not only for Haiti is this hope born, but for every nation and people who have endured this criminal history.
Mother Haiti holds out the bosom of her tears to those unafraid to be bathed in them and then wrapped in her tender solace for a cleansed tomorrow. For this reason she has accepted to call “N a Sonje” to her.
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