90
Hello there...You know I had been meaning to write to you about the Biko
news when I first heard it on the BBC a few weeks ago. Interestingly, I
read that the family has hired new lawyers to fight the amnesty laws that
would "forgive" the crime. Heard that they had taken the government to
court a year or so ago and lost. It will be interesting to see what
happens. It seems impossible that they would reverse their decisions on
amnesty, [since this would throw similar cases] into limbo.
Something else has been on my mind as of late. KWANZA, you know
the African American holiday celebration...it has dawned on me that they
are using Kiswahili words as a literal foundation and it doesn't [seem]
to make sense seeing as how Kiswahili is an East African coastal regional
language. Most of the African American people in America would have to
trace their "roots" back to West Africa and therefore would or should use
a West African language. Maybe it is because it is thought that
Kiswahili was more popular in the Western world and that people would be
more likely to know it, but it is also a language formed by a little
Bantu, a little Arabic (the Arabs also had a slave trade of their own, and
some borrowed words from English as well as German from the old colonial
days (kinda of a colonial language in a way). I'm not disturbed, but
just thinking a little.
...My friend here from the USA is going to South Africa next month for a month
or so. I wish I were able to just take off like that (time and money-wise),
but it just doesn't look possible. I am however looking forward to Easter
when I go to Moshi (at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro) with my roommate for two
weeks. Then at the end of the year I think I will spend a couple of weeks
back on Zanzibar on the remote village/beach area of Jambiani.
...My West Africa History class is ok, [though it is] being taught by a
professor whom I don't think is very stimulating. I think I will be doing
a paper in there on the slave trade, maybe some reparations, maybe something
else. East African history... seemed to lose [steam] after a while, but
next week [it] is being taken over by a new teacher. My South African
History class is now my most stimulating class. We talk about
the support system of apartheid and all. Outside of class I am trying to
rest, read, relax, have fun with friends, go to people's relative's homes
to eat wonderful home cooked food and [drink] Safari Lagers and whatnot.
Well talk to you later and see you soon... --John
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First Online Edition: 22 July 1997
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 09:43:41 +0300 (GMT+0300)
From: John Hobgood
To: "Dr. K"
Subject: Steve Biko and Kwanza
Last Revised: 17 May 2024