Not that long ago, the British used to gloat that, “The sun shall never set on the British Empire.” The Powerful British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II, advised then, “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.”
Hmmm. Unfortunately, The Power of the Empire didn’t even last 50 years after Churchill’s death as we painfully watch the sun setting on Great Britain, now shrinking it into Little Britain via BREXIT!
But that was how almighty Great Britain was. Being a citizen of a former British colony, The Gambia, I know something about the might and reach of the English. I was born three years after we gained Independence from Britain. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN we sang, for the longest time in most of our formal ceremonies. In school, we learned Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, my favorite author Charlotte Bronte and many others. We were loyal English subjects in literature. Until John Grisham lured us into his legal thrillers. Here in America, folks say I have some British twang, which always surprises me. I had never been to England until I was over 30yrs old, but I guess all that was coming from the aura and greatness of The Empire!
For more than a hundred years, Britain was the largest and most powerful empire globally. As recently as 1920s, it controlled over 480 million people worldwide, politically, culturally and economically through colonization.
From America to Asia, the Caribbean, Africa and India, the British hegemony held sway for over a span of centuries. For the African colonies especially, we were just games and commodities for the British and other European powers. Men like Henry Morton Stanley from Wales showed how people can be unbelievably cruel to their fellow human beings. Stanley was a hero in England, an explorer and journalist who was sent to fetch Dr. Livingston in Africa. He had a friend in the most racist of all of humanity King Leopold II who ruled Congo with brutish might and cold-blooded urge for mass murder. (Please read King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa [1998], a best-selling popular history book by Adam Hochschild that explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 and 1908.)
Even scholars agree that “Stanley has one of the biggest kill rates of all the great African explorers in terms of the number of people who died during his journeys and you cant gloss over the fact”. www.telegraph.co.uk/...
Before Africa, their rule had been overthrown in probably their greatest colonial project. America with the leadership of George Washington could not fathom the arrogance of the British Empire and lords. The British even tried to force America to buy tea and get taxed on top of that. Boston was so enraged that it dumped all the tea stock into the river and beat up the only one curious American who stole a pack and put in his pocket. So was the might of the British Empire. To cut it short, George Washington and his peers ganged up together with businessmen, lawyers, and scholars and declare Independence from the Empire. Thirteen American colonies lay down their lives for liberty.
Not so easy for Africans who were dealing with the merciless American slave holders and also the British who butchered, traded up until late 1900s. Britain invaded as it pleased, laid down terms for how the world should work. The stronger nations as Germany and France never bought into their shenanigans. Each did all they could to extricate themselves from bossy Britain.
I love England. I love the English countryside. The greenery, the uptightness of some locals, OMG their tea and cheddar cheese! The tea is really GOOD! And the queen still got pizzazz. The simplicity, death and legacy of princess Diana though made the monarchy come down onto Earth to a good degree or else. And, in spite of my quarrels with their past role in Africa, I value the positive role they have been playing in today’s world.
I also owe the British some personal gratitude. I was arrested and tried for sedition, in The Gambia for writing articles against the gangster regime of Yahya Jammeh. The British Ambassador at the time was so worried I was going to get killed that he asked a family member to keep his number in case his worst fears had come to pass. What an irony! Thank you MASSER! The former colonial master coming to my aid against supposedly my own government. God Save the Queen, indeed! The crazy President of The Gambia pulled us out of the Commonwealth on his fact-free claim that 400 years of British rule was enough. To think of it, he has maimed, killed and tortured far too many citizens. And over 300,000 of us are effectively made into refugees around the world. He is much worse than the British colonial rulers.
But now, there may be no Greater Britain making up for its past by carrying on playing a positive role around the world. Fifty-two percent of the British want to go it alone by voting to leave the EUROPEAN UNION. What a sad state of affairs. Not surprisingly, those who voted to remain are in 24-49 age bracket. Those who are 50 years olds and above and still fantasize and mourn the past Greatness of the British empire voted LEAVE.
For the Leave voters BREXIT, it was okay when Britain used to impose its rule on other nations around the world to keep the United Kingdom great and the Monarchy thriving. But when it comes to decent coexistence and cooperation with fellow European states, they cannot abide that. It has to be their game or no game at all.
Anti-immigration despots, a bombastic British blond in the name of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are preparing a “dream team bid to take control of the leadership of the Conservative Party in the wake of the most dramatic week in modern British political history.” However, Britain will soon come to realize that they, too, gain from liaisons, associations and cooperation with the world’s people in politics and through trade and movement of people.
The referendum for Brexit is shocking news for Europe but Germany and France should just say Farewell and Good Bye to Great Britain. England should be reminded that it greatness came in large part from dominating other people. We all know that the LEAVE VOTE is not about the markets, the currency, the standard of education, or jobs. It is about IMMIGRATION. You would think that the English would take a long and hard look and embrace immigration, knowing fully well how they benefitted from their forced immigration on nations for centuries. Instead, they are complaining about citizens of their former colonies for daring to show up on their shores or earn 7pounds/hr. jobs at their hotels and night security posts.
Britain could not contain the resentment it has for world citizens as manifested in this shocking vote to leave the EU. Respect to Prime Minister David Cameron for resigning. In his own words, “I cannot be the Commander to steer the ship” to destination isolationism. The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, a strong progressive girl, sent a warning that Scotland is not part of the hate campaign and that they may have their own second referendum for independence from the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union.
The LEAVERS will soon realize that The British Empire now only exists in their heads. That was long gone. They are definitely and ironically leaving with what is left of Great Britain. Germany and the rest of the founders of the European Union have to scramble to regulate markets and allay fears of their citizens that everything is going to be all right.
Unfortunately, NO COUNTRY on earth can stop immigration or the movement of people. Since the start of time and through the eras of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad to colonial explorers and looters, immigration has always been a fact of life. It is said in Africa that if you cannot go to school then travel, and open your eyes to the beauty and lessons of the wider world. Jesus was a refugee. The Roman General Pontius Pilate eventually got him and nailed him on the cross. Many early Muslim converts among Prophet Muhammad’s followers ran to Ethiopia as refugees. A Christian King granted them asylum from the sadistic tribes of Mecca. Such gracious opportunities allowed Prophet Mohammad and his followers to regroup and face the infidels squarely in countless battles to free Mecca and spread Islam. In one of the hadiths he emphasized that the Kingdom of Abyssinia is indeed a nation of justice and peace. It saddens me as a Muslim that our religion is marred and tarred by misguided, intolerant, sadistic murderers blowing people and themselves up in the name of Islam. Looking back historically and culturally, I am not shocked.
But I digress. Britain had been the most adventurous power since the Roman Empire. The officials of the Crown and Union Jack colonized over a quarter of the world’s population at one time. Since that chapter of their history is closed, the nationalists and racists and xenophobes incited enough Brits to withdraw sulking to their narrow corner from the wider world. Thus, with the referendum to leave the EU, the UK voted itself from being Great Britain to Little Britain. How sad.
I am a refugee in the USA. My country is ruled by an iron-fist madman, serial killer and tyrant . His name is Yahya Jammeh. He recently murdered in custody a protester was campaigning for electoral reforms. And he is currently detaining the leadership along with a number of women in dungeon-like prisons. The women were whipped and raped. I am stranded in the USA in the meantime learning the best from its culture and citizens.
Another anti-immigration blond despot in the name of Donald Trump we all know will abuse Brexit to its fullest, poking at the emotions of racist Americans this coming elections. Unless Hillary sharpens her sword, secures solid support from Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the Democrats may wake up to a rude awakening come November. They will be flabbergasted just like the outgoing British Prime Minister David Cameron. Mediocrity is the new world order and it seems to always take off-guard elites and people with common sense.
fatoujm@gmail.com