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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1981)
Page 2 Portland Observer, October 15, 1981 Swaziland celebrates jubilee by N. t-ungai K um hula Both ends against the middle In a sum m ary o f the P ortland Development C o m m issio n ’ s d ra ft docum ent, the N ortheast area is described as “ an area that has historically been plagued by a set o f specific conditions asso ciated w ith high u n e m p lo ym e n t, a high crim e rate, and c o n ce n tra tio n o f substandard hous in g .” It is said that, . these social issues in fluence investment decisions and w ill require co ordinated C ity e ffo rt to overcom e past percep tions and achieve a m ore positive business c li mate.” The conditions described are not just “ social issues.” They are the result o f econom ic issues and racial issues over which the Northeast com m u n ity has little c o n tro l. These co n d itio n s are not just “ perceptions” to be overcome; they are as real as the bleak hope fo r the fu tu re fe lt by poor and unemployed residents and small busi nesses trying to survive and grow. We realize that m any m onths have gone in to preparation o f P D C ’ s Northeast econom ic de- ve lo p m e n t p ro p o sa l. U n fo rtu n a te ly , the a p proach and basic construction being offered re sembles a stale b ric k -a n d -m o rta r sandw ich at each end o f NE U nion, stuffed high at the center w ith struggling small businesses m arinated w ith poor residents and spread thick w ith slick m ar keting brochures. The core neighborhoods centered in this de velo p m e n t sandw ich w ill not achieve greater q u a lity o f life unless P D C ’ s proposal increases in v is io n and c o m m itm e n t to m id d le U n io n A venue and K in g , Boise and E lio t n e ig h b o r hoods. M ore can be done in these previously in tended c ity targets fo r econom ic developm ent and investment commitments. To dem onstrate real com m itm ent to a co o r dinated C ity e ffo rt and to respond to problems of unem ploym ent and training, business attrac tion, small and m in o rity business assistance, and su bstand ard hou sing , P D C must address the core area. Tell the world Jack Faust’s television show, Tow n H all, fea tured p o lic e /c o m m u n ity relations last Sunday. The Police Bureau was there in fu ll force— w ith C h ie f R on S till and even O ffic e r P a n tle y o f possum fame. Some fo ru m -typ e program m oderators have little regard fo r their participants— cutting them o f f after a few words o r leaving them hanging— so many citizens have refused to appear on these programs. Faust is fa ir and even-handed, g ivin g every one a chance to finish his thought. This program is a good o p p o rtu n ity fo r members o f the m i n o rity com m unity to express their ideas and ex plain what is happening. M in o rity input should not be lim ited to those areas o f direct concern like c iv il rights and m i n o rity programs, but should be expressed on all topics o f public discussion. IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU COT THAT STUFF FINISHED. NOU/ U/HFR£'S IMY ELECTRIC BUTTER KNIFE 1ND SOLAR WATER PICK? /PORT Ä H WATER BUREAU and esretuTi ve tc < x an J service ? Heads o f State fro m twenty-three c o u n trie s o r th e ir rep re sen ta tives poured in to Mbabane on September 4 o f th is year as the tin y m o u n ta in kingdom o f Sw aziland observed the 6 0 ,h year o f the u nb ro ken reign o f King Sobhuza II. He is the w o rld ’ s longest re ig n in g m o n a rc h and the o nly one who has wielded real p o liti cal power th ro u g h o u t his “ career.” T he n o w -8 2 -y e a r-o ld sage has the pow er to a p p o in t and d ism iss the prim e m inister or any o f the cabinet m inisters; a p re ro ga tive he has fre q ue ntly exercised in the pas, several vo latile years. It was a gala a ffa ir, a festive res p ite fro m the e veryda y rig o u rs o f Swazi life , b u t, underneath the fes tiv itie s , the problem s lay sm oulder ing. A t the to p o f the list is the in crea sin g ly spre ad ing cancer called c o r r u p tio n . It is w id e ly a c k n o w ledged th a t th e K in g h im s e lf is above re p ro a c h in th is regard bu, several o l his h ig h -ra n k in g govern m ent o f f ic ia ls are k n o w n to have been embezzling government o r ta k ing bribes fro m fo re ig n companies investing in Swaziland. The new prim e m inister, Maband- la D h la m in i, came to power in 1979 pledging to root out c o rru p tio n and th ie ve ry. He a pp ointed a C o m m is sion o f In q u ir y to lo o k in to the charge and Tor a w hile it looked as i f the c u lp r its w o u ld be b ro u g h t to book. How ever, the suspected p o li tician s q u ic k ly h it back te llin g the K in g th a t sh ou ld they be in d ic te d , his ow n fa m ily was lik e ly to be in volved too. The King stepped in and abolished the C om m ission. Case one: fo rm e r d e p u ty p rim e m inister Zonke K h um a lo , appeared as a witness in a large embezzlement case. He was w arned th a t his ow n im m u n ity fro m persecu tion w o u ld be w ith d ra w n i f his te s tim o n y p ro v e d to be less th a n t r u t h f u l. H ow ever, when he was asked what had happened to some $100,000 that had gone missing, his unabashed re sponse was, “ Mice ate i t . " This wus tantam ount to adm itting it was s to le n . Z o n k c ’ s im m u n ity was w ithdraw n but so far he has not yet been prosecuted. Case tw o: The w ife o f the M in is ter o f Justice stands tria l accused o f stealing medical supplies at the c lin ic where she w orks as a nurse. This tune the Prim e M in is te r personally interven es to m ake sure the case goes fo rw a rd . As yet th e re is no judgm ent but the reform ers did see that as a m in or victo ry. Case three: We are getting m ore sinister now : Jerem iah D ube, f o r merly the head o f the police m urder squad is scheduled Io stand tria l this m on th along w ith a M babane (the c a p ita l) b u sine ssw om an b o th a c cused o f r itu a l m u rd e rs in w h ich parts o f the victim s’ bodies were cut o f f to be used as “ m u t i, " a potent fo rm o f ’ ’ m e d ic in e ” used in v o o d o o . Several p o litic ia n s are sus pected o f engaging in th is practice even though both the K ing and the Prim e M in iste r have condem ned it in the strongest terms. As the struggle fo r South A fric a intensities, Swaziland fin d s herself caught in the m iddle. As a member o f the O A U which strongly supports the liberation o f South A fric a both via the d ip lo m a tic channels and the n ow -tried and-true arm ed struggle route. Swaziland has no o p tio n but to su pp ort the p o s itio n o f the A f rican N a tio n a l Congress (the A N C which is the movement ca rryin g on the struggle) On the o the r hand, being o n ly a tin y c o u n try (ro u g h ly the size o i M a ry la n d ) and e n circle d on three sides by South A fric a , this support has had Io be m uted fo r fear o f re prisals fro m the a p a rth e id regim e. So far l ittle S w aziland has played the role o f a fence-sitter rather ad m ira b ly but th a t is b e co m in g in creasingly d iffic u lt now. I he next several years, therefore, promise to be very lively for this tiny mountain hamlet, Everybody w on ders what is going to happen when the old monarch finally takes o ff to go |oin his many ancestors. Letters to the Editor Racism brings high costs Z’o the e dito r: I'm writing this letter concerning the story I read in The O re g o n ia n about a Brother named ( Italics II King, who was in P ortland, and talked about the problems with race in \inerica Reading this storv will make ix'ople think why race is a lac lor in this country, from seeing his ideas. Whiles who were listening to him tell hurl and mad. W hites don’t like to hear a Black man talk about the pain Blacks must face here in America You must understand whv Blacks have identified with racism Whites always have an adverse effect lot Blacks It seems Mr. King was max mg his points, and the truth is, his lory reveals the evil the whiles have had lo t Blacks, and today whites teel no d iffe re n t about race rela tions. Well, vou might hear whites say, “ I don’ t hate Blacks as long as thev’ ie staying in their place.” Hl.it ks can be accepted, only it you are not a problem to the system. Otherwise, you are put in prisons, and are killed. M , . King said the ghetto condi tions aie perpetuated by decent law abiding white citizens. Whiles deny, ami lll.it k- in t.'i loieet. that while in stitutio n s created the ghetto. whiles maintain it, and whiles con trol it II seems whiles have a nega live image about Blacks being hi the ghetto. While control over agendas bung resenimeui from Blacks, with high unemployment. welfare crime, and negative effects that control Black people’s lives, with Blacks suffering lio in lasisin, whiles must pav lor more prisons, police, welfare, and loi this reason the whiles fear them. Mi King makes it cleat. HI.n k have lo Id whiles know then let luu- . a iboui i . icisiii lieie in Xincii Marcus Jack sun Nigerian students suffer from slander To the e d ito r: Be concerned! Be informed!! Know the facts!!! Subscribe Today! R eceive your Observer by m ail Only $10 per year. the U nited Stales could defraud the the same lim e , I question the over- U nited State’ s fin an cia l in s titu tio n s gcne ra li/ia lio n o l such damaging in- It is .i popular saying that, "w h e n w ith “ a high degree o f sophisti h u m .iiio n . M ost o f us are har- w c a iv jjg h t nobody remembers, but c a tio n . M ost o l o u r N ig e ria n f i bm gcis o f “ good values, tra d itio n s when we are w ro n g -q o b o d y f o r nancial in s titu tio n s are not as lech- and re so urcefulne ss.” Hence. N i g e ts ." I hus, the A in c n b u ^ p u b lic n n lo g iz c d as the U .S . We have no gerians arc still good people. has been led to believe that bCaausc idea o l c re d it c a rd , o r any o f ihe 4 m h ily Etekpe ’ ’ few naturalized U .S. citizens, fo r c o m p lic itie s c la im e d by C y n th ia E d ito r in C hief m e rly o f N ig e ria ” have been i n la n k {T h e C o lu m b ia n ) and T om Nigerian Students v o lv e d in w hat The C o lu m b ia n H a llm a n , Jr. {S unday O regonian). Quarterly Magazine ( 9 /2 7 /8 I ) and The Sunday O regoni Therefore, it seems to me ihat ihcse an (1 0 /1 4 /8 1 ) called the “ N igerian crim inals must have got some as K in g ,” a ll the 200 N igerians in the • «•(«•*1 a t » •***«•■(«• «Jan« SIMM sistance from personnel in the fin a n "V .... P o rtla n d area arc " b a d a n d /o r so- cial comm unities. j p h is lic a ic d c r im in a ls .” N ig e ria n s T o put it m o re s u c c in c tly , C. , are good people b o th at hom e and la n k stated that Ihcse c rim in a ls re , here in the U n ite d S lates. W h ile I ceived some “ tra in in g in the Niger l c o n d e m n the act o f “ is s u in g bad ian Em bassy in W a s h in g to n , I checks o r th a t act o f b re a k in g the D .( This is a gross misrepresen • la w , " I dism iss every in te n t o f the ta tion . She should realize that such • mass m edia in the U .S. a tte m p tin g noxious exaggeration is c ry p tic and ’ lo la b e l N ig e ria n s as the “ w o rs t far exceeds ju s tifia b le lim its ( c rim in a ls ___ ” •» ».i. N o student can travel lo the U.S. «*91 « IM » M , I protest against such dangerous U « IM « I M « a lli unless h c /s h c has c o n v in c e d the •• •••II« IMIIM I over-generalization, which is calcu- U.S. Embassy O ffic e in Nigeria that Iir i M im «»m I lated to tarnish the image o f N igcr- rikMA«4 k *4 h e /sh e has been d u ly a d m itte d . l tans. As a jo u rn a lis t, it is well w orth Ih us, C ynthia T a n k ’ s assertion that 1 noting that opinionated writings and/ a lte r th e y e n te r the c o u n try o r sta te m e n ts are o fte n m o re in fro m N igeriä, they usually e n ro ll in teresting to the pub lic than straight c o lle g e . . . ” is d u b io u s and u n accounts. Hence, P enlcl-ow ner and called-for. President o f Chcx Systems and C rit A g a in , I d o n ot a d m ire crim e s ’ ;.’¿../J •. .•n,-,! . ... * " ' • tenden were very c o lo rfu l, fo rc e fu l such as “ w r itin g bad checks and and a m u s in g in p re s e n tin g th e ir abusing the usage o f credit c a rd s ." ........ * f “ •*» » “ *W4 , views th a t, “ N igerians are sta rtin g It is a c r im in a l act in N ig e ria , as • ......... » » U li , U 4M 2 to use C o m m o n A m e ric a n names well. Since they are naturalized U.S, --------------- lik e S m ith lo open c h e c k in g ac citizen s, they sh ou ld be dealt w ith . ------ c o u n ts .” T h e y are n o l c o rre c t in according to (he prescribed laws. A t ¿ ¿ X ix x r — - th e ir observations. R ather, the o r i g in o f o u r N ig e ria n o r A fr ic a n W estern names is traced to C h ris ..... .. tia n ity . W h e n once a N ig e ria n o r A fric a n is “ converted to the C hris tia n fa ith ,” he/she is baptized and A Fire or tornado, sickness or given a C h ristia n name. Those “ so- injury, mantial troubles or any called C h ris tia n nam es’ ’ are W est number of other problems can IT COULD HAPPEN e rn nam es. T h u s , we bear names happen to anyone. By giving to TO YOU such as J o h n , Jo ne s, W illia m s , United Way, you're making S m ith , M u rp h y and (he lik e . These sure that help will be there if are factors that those w ho ponder to you need it. m o rb id c u r io s ity a b o u t vice and crim e do not reckon. It is su rp rising to us as to how a Nigerian who is only a few weeks in mm Name _ Address City __ Zip Make checks payable to: P o rtla n d Observer P.O. Box 3137 Portland. Oregon 97206 Portland Observer T f ) ♦ . É Bruce Broussard Editor/Publisher » 11 The P o rtla n d O bserver (U S P S 959-680) it published every Thursday by Exit Publishing Company, Inc., 2201 North Killings worth. Portland. Oregon 97217, Post OHics Box 3137, Portland Oregon 97208 Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon. Subscriptions *10 00 per year in Tri-County ares Postm aster Send address changes to the Portland Observer. P.O. Box 3137, Portland, Oregon 97208. 283-2486 National Advertising Representative A m algam ated Publishers, Inc. N a w York ... > n 6 * r 'StS MIMMI Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association I MEMBER W e W W per Association - Founóad tM B Salem, ( Itegoii
