Augier urges Rastafari to accept Jamaica as home

[evanovitch]

On Tuesday evening, Sir Roy Augier suggested to the largely Rastafarian gathering at the Undercroft, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, a relationship with Africa which would see an acceptance of Jamaica as their home.

Augier was guest speaker at the opening ceremony at the inaugural Rastafari Studies Conference, which runs from August 17-20 at the UWI's Mona campus.

<span style="font-weight: bold">From his unique perspective as the surviving co-author of The Rastafari Movement in Kingston, Jamaica, which he wrote with M.G. Smith and Rex Nettleford,</span> Augier gently addressed the large audience, asking for the spirit of reasoning several times before making his conclusive point. He analysed the major difference between the majority and minority reports on Mission to Africa, both of which are contained in the new publication, Rastafari: The Reports, which Augier co-edits with Veronica Salter.

That difference had major implications for repatriation, a defining issue for many Rastafari.

<span style="font-weight: bold">No repatriation</span>

There were cheers when Augier said that repatriation through getting the wherewithal from abroad will never happen.

&quot;<span style="font-weight: bold">When Mortimer (Planno) came back from the mission, he knew that repatriation could not happen in that way</span>. Coming to that knowledge, he was fulfilling what Arthur Lewis (former UWI principal) had intended. He wanted the brethren to have that first-hand knowledge,&quot; Augier said.

&quot;No matter what Garvey had dreamt of, what you dream of, these countries could not and have not made any provision, despite the technical mission, to fund any person,&quot; Augier said. &quot;<span style="font-weight: bold">There is work here. Why not turn Jamaica into a homeland</span>?&quot;

At that point, there was an uproar of protest from some Rastafarians in the audience, which continued even as Augier said, &quot;Let's try reasoning.&quot;

Other Rastafarians in the audience tried to quiet the dissenters, at first to no avail. Augier held his ground, saying &quot;The noise will not make me stop.&quot;

The noise soon subsided and Augier continued that the future lies with understanding Africa, its history and present culture.

&quot;You brethren have a mission in that respect,&quot; he advised.

Africa liberated

He was gentle but unrelenting as he continued that those who have grasped the true nature of their relationship with Africa &quot;have liberated themselves from you. Their economic condition is several times greater than you.&quot;

He said the source of that economic success is culture, especially music.

&quot;If you want a source of economic independence you have to deal with culture. You have to deal with Babylon,&quot; Augier stated.

The protests had long subsided and there was a standing ovation for Augier as he ended.

<span style="font-weight: bold">The Rastafari Studies Conference is organised around the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Rastafari Movement in Jamaica, and the opening ceremony was held on Marcus Garvey's 123rd birthday.</span>

[evanovitch]

Re: Augier urges Rastafari to accept Jamaica as homeland

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

The Rastafari Studies Conference, a four-day exposé on the progress of the Rastafarian movement, opened Tuesday at the University of the West Indies' Mona campus in St Andrew.

It entails workshops, seminars and discussions on the impact Rastafarians have made 50 years after a groundbreaking report on the sect was released.

That study was conducted by M.G. Smith, Rex Nettleford and Roy Augier, who gave the keynote address at Tuesday's launch.

&quot;That report began a process where society started looking at Rastafari in a different light,&quot; said Professor Barry Chevannes, chairman of the conference's organising committee. &quot;That's what the whole period of the '60s and '70s were about, how people developed a different understanding of Rastafari.&quot;

Academics participating

Augier and Chevannes are among the academics participating at the conference which has attracted more than 150 delegates from Africa, Central America, Europe and the United States.

Poet/social activist Yasus Afari, Ennis Edmond, a US-based Jamaican who has written extensively on Rastafari, and Antiguan activist Frank I, are also scheduled participants.

Some of the discussions will be based on areas on which Rastafarians have made an impact, such as lifestyle, music and politics.

Since the movement emerged in the slums of west Kingston in the 1930s, Rastafarians faced rabid discrimination in Jamaica. There were reports of numerous attacks against 'beard men' or 'blackheart men', as they were known, during the 1940s and 1950s, which prompted Rastafarian leaders, like Mortimo Planno, to request a comprehensive study on the sect by UWI.

In 1961, Planno was part of a team that went on a government-funded, fact-finding tour of Africa. A technical mission, which included Nettleford, went to the continent later that year.

Sustained discrimination

The Smith, Nettleford and Augier report became the book, Report on the Rastafari Movement in Kingston, Jamaica. Though the UWI report was seen as a positive step in building dialogue between mainstream society and Rastafarians, there was still sustained discrimination against Rastas.

On Holy Thursday, 1963, eight persons (six civilians, including three Rastas, and two police officers) were killed during an incident between security forces and Rastafarians in Coral Gardens, St James, an incident which resulted in islandwide assault against persons wearing locks.

Three years later, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, who many Rastas considered God incarnate, arrived in Jamaica for a two-day visit. His stay sparked widespread interest among middle-class youth and paved the way for a Rasta explosion a decade later.

[jah_yout]

Re: Augier urges Rastafari to accept Jamaica as home

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">&quot;No matter what Garvey had dreamt of, what you dream of, these countries could not and have not made any provision, despite the technical mission, to fund any person,&quot; Augier said. &quot;There is work here. <span style="font-weight: bold">Why not turn Jamaica into a homeland?&quot;</span>

At that point, there was an uproar of protest from some Rastafarians in the audience, which continued even as Augier said, &quot;Let's try reasoning.&quot;

Other Rastafarians in the audience tried to quiet the dissenters, at first to no avail. Augier held his ground, saying &quot;The noise will not make me stop.&quot;

The noise soon subsided and Augier continued that the future lies with understanding Africa, its history and present culture.
</div></div>



well i think augier is making it out to be more than it is...although his point of view does serve a purpose...the ideas are not mutually exclusive...
the way i see it marcus garvey &amp; selassie I already set the foundation...only a few ones believe the distortion of the message which paints repatriation as a mass exodus to africa...that was never the intent of the pillars...
jamaica is an african diaspora which i and i paid for in blood sweat and tears so it is a homeland no questions asked...
but repatriation is all about mentally first, as with all other things...
it is repatriating back to africa in terms of recognizing one's connection to the past &amp; how it affects the present &amp; the future...
the pillars told us that a strong africa is necessary for the survival of africa &amp; african diaspora as a people...when the bonds are solidified enough then mutual cooperation and strength will ensure that links between africa &amp; the diaspora will be mutually fruitful...
just as europe &amp; the european diaspora (america, canada, australia, etc.) maintain strong bonds no doubt enhanced by brotherhood &amp; a common root...

rastafari will never give up africa as the homeland...
regardless of the fact that jamaica is our homeland as well



***nice articles ..give thanx