“I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.” The first president of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, uttered these now immortal words. The sentiment still rings loud and clear today so many years later. aAfrica is a continent of 1.4 billion people from 54 countries speaking thousands of tribal languages, a handful of regional languages and the forced linguistic unification of the dominant colonial languages. So, this is Africa…and these are Africans, that’s it, right? No, Africa is so much more and extends far beyond the continental land mass and nearby accompanying islands. Diaspora is defined as the spread of any people from their original homeland, scattered about and spreading their culture as they go. The African diaspora touches every part of the globe and numbers over 300 million people living outside of continental Africa. Some identify strongly as Africans and others have very little knowledge of Africa or their identity within this great continental and anthropological family. The Caribbean is a place that has shown time and again that its African roots and identity are alive and well. Countries like Jamaica, Haiti, Barbados and Cuba still share similar traditions, beliefs, rituals, superstitions, music, food, language and culture as certain places in Africa. The Jamaican born, pan-African orator and leader, Marcus Garvey and his influential “Back to Africa” movement exemplified the spirit of Ubuntu and how we truly are one people despite being separated by hundreds of years and thousands of miles - the bonds of Africans globally remains strong. Today in 2022, a huge shift is happening. The global diaspora is getting closer to Africa and Africa is getting closer to them. In 2019, Ghana held what they coined “The Year of Return.” This year long event commemorated 400 years since the first slave ship left the shores of West Africa bringing enslaved people to the Americas. The goal of the campaign was to make the diaspora aware that Africa is their home and she wants them to come back. During that year, over a million diaspora of African descent returned to Africa to visit, invest and reconnect – Ghana specifically – but also surrounding countries like Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Senegal and others. Knowing the importance of tourism for economic growth and cultural awareness, Ghana made sure to have many cultural, historic and entertainment elements available for diaspora to experience. The country generated over $1 billion during that year as a direct result of the campaign. Furthermore, several diaspora decided to settle in Ghana and other African countries, feeling the warmth of home, the comfort of long lost family all around them and the peace of mind of being in a place that allows them just be themselves…finally! Today, this feeling continues in pockets of connectedness all over the continent and the diaspora. For example, Liberia is celebrating its bicentennial this year under the theme, “Liberia: The Land of Return – Celebrating 200 Years of Freedom and Pan-African Leadership.” The historic campaign invites diaspora to return (some for the first time) to that country and experience Africa. Another recent example of continental Africa and diaspora cooperation is a historic direct flight that happened a few years ago between Lagos, Nigeria and Kingston, Jamaica that took just 12 hours. This was to show that we are closer together than we previously thought. Regular weekly flights have been called for from the highest pulpits such as in 2021 at the inaugural Africa / CARICOM Summit by Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley. Also interesting to mention is the participation and collaboration of African and Caribbean countries during the landmark 6-month event of the Dubai Expo, which just wrapped up last month. Rwanda had one of the most engaging and memorable pavilions (showcasing their unique tourism and investment offerings) along with other stand out pavilions such as Jamaica and Barbados, who brought a colourful flair to the already festive atmosphere of Expo. Here in Rwanda, we have seen very encouraging signs of a strong Pan African ideal and deep desire to make Rwanda home. There is a thriving and growing group of black American and Caribbean diaspora that have chosen Rwanda for a number of reasons and have decided to visit, relocate and do business here. Some are even considering changing citizenship to embrace Africa more fully. This year, Rwanda will host possibly the most significant and influential global diplomatic event to be held on African soil in recent history. CHOGM 2022, or the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, will be held the week of June 20th in Kigali, Rwanda. Rwanda is the newest Commonwealth country and the only one to not have been colonized by the UK. Also, one of the smaller countries in the Commonwealth, Rwanda is making a name for herself in a way not seen by an African country in a very long time. Led by the visionary stewardship of President Paul Kagame, Rwanda has made an impressive rebound from tragedy to triumph and the Rwandan sun continues to rise. President Kagame has always been a man on a mission but he has remarkably increased his efforts ahead of the landmark CHOGM 2022 meeting in Kigali by visiting several Commonwealth countries in Africa and the Caribbean (namely Zambia, Jamaica and Barbados), spreading goodwill, strengthening ties and negotiating mutually beneficial bi-lateral relationships. The fruits of his labour will soon become apparent when all Commonwealth heads of government descend on Kigali, Rwanda this June – including the 19 African and 13 Caribbean countries. Indeed, we are one Africa and our unity is our strength. I hope Rwanda’s example of looking within and including the greater, global Africa (the Caribbean, African Americans, Afro-Brazilians, etc.) will be the spark for great cooperation amongst us all, TURI KUMWE. The author is a Jamaican-American diaspora currently living in Rwanda. He is the CEO of AFRIKANEKT.
