Remembering Kristallnacht, or "The Night of Broken Glass"
In life an incident may confront individuals, families, tribes or even nations that subsequently may trigger catastrophic events with far reaching consequences even for the unborn generations. Most of the time there are deep seated smouldering hatred which sudden comes to the surface to ignite passions after the start of the conflict by the initial relatively innocuous incident.
In Ghana one may site the example of the “guinea fowl incident” which was said to have ignited the Konkomba-Nanumba war some years ago. I believe that that was not the first time two adults fought over a guinea fowl. The fact that this particular fight lead to the conflict that resulted in the death of dozens of precious lives is an indication that there was deep seated animosity between the tribes represented by the two individuals who fought over the guinea fowl.
The Kristallnacht or the night of broken glass is a sad example of a relatively small conflict igniting the worst atrocity against a particular race in history.
The Night of Broken Glass is the notorious name for the up to then worst persecution against the German Jews that took place throughout the German Reich on 9-10 November 1938. This year marks the 70th anniversary of that tragedy.
Many Jews were murdered, thousands of Jewish shops were vandalized or looted, and yet thousands of windows were broken – thus the name ‘Night of Broken Glass’.
Ironically, in traditional Judaism the sound of breaking glass is more commonly associated the finalization of the Jewish wedding ceremony. This sound is greeted with joyous shouts of mazel tov by family and friends as the happy couple proceed to their reception.
Officially, the persecution was an expression of the German people’s revenge for the murder of a German diplomat at the hands of a young Jew, but in reality the events were centrally directed offensive against the Jewish population.
Course of events
GHANA ‘S ECONOMY, THE CTED APPROACH
PREAMBLE
It is common knowledge that the economy of Ghana cannot improve without a fundamental change in its structure and the introduction of new strategies. On the 15th of September, 2002 a group of eminent Ghanaian citizens launched an organization CTED- Center for Technology Driven Economic Development. Actually the full name was Knowledge-based Technology-Driven Economic Development, but was shortened to simply to the acronym.
The team of six is made up of the following:-
1. Mr. Robert Woode (Chairman), Ghana’s first agricultural Engineer, founder and Managing Director of FATECO LTD. – a company that specializes in the design and manufacture of miscellaneous machinery and equipment for industry and agriculture.
2. Professor K. Frimpong-Boateng (Secretary), – A Cardiothoracic Surgeon of international repute, President of the Ghana Heart Foundation, Director of the National Cardiothoracic Center and former CEO of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
3. Col. K. A. Jackson (Treasurer), – a Scientific Inventor and a Specialist in turbines for power generation.
4. Dr. Pastor Mensah Otabil (member), – a renowned pastor and teacher of international repute and Chancellor of Central University College, member.
5. Dr. Kofi Amanor Owusu Ansah (member) a Scientist and former Director or Industrial Research Institute of the CSIR. He was a member of the Council of State.
6. Onua Amoah (member) – an Industrial Scientist, Chemist and M. D. of Anuanom Industries (now deceased).
CTED asserts that the strategy for the transition to a knowledge-based Technology driven economic development depends primarily on the nation’s economic data base.
Since agriculture is the greatest contributor to GDP it will be prudent to start from here.
1. Data base on agricultural production must be collated.
2. This must be followed by an INPUT/OUTPUT MATRIX.
THE IMAGE OF GOD- THE MISSING LINK
"‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
There are individuals who call themselves atheists who try as hard as possible to drive God away from His own creation but I believe that God in His omnipotence by the power of his word alone created the world Ex Nihilo, from nothing. God created the heavens, the waters and the land with all the magnificent creatures and saw that His creation was good.
At the crown of His creation God mad man in His image. The Bible does not tell us precisely what this image is. However, one essential meaning of the statement that humanity was created 'in the image of God' is that humans are in some way and in some degree like God. The concept of the image of God affirms the dignity and worth of humanity, and elevates humans of all races and colour to the highest status conceivable.
This concept of the 'image' also in a way gives a slight hint of the limitation of the status of humankind, in that the image is not itself the thing it represents and that the copy must in some respects be unlike its original. Despite this limitation it is worth searching in what respect humanity is like God.
Of all God’s creation, man stands out as extraordinary. Animals and other forms of life are described as living creatures. Man on the other hand is a living being. God also makes a noteworthy distinction between man and animals by creating man in the image of God.
The Black and White Keys of the Piano
“I don’t care what you know; show me what you can do. Many of my people who get educated don’t work, but take to drink. They see white people drink, so they think they must drink too. They imitate the weakness of the white people, but not their greatness. They won’t imitate a white man working hard. . . . If you play only the white notes on a piano you get only sharps; if only the black keys you get flats; but if you play the two together you get harmony and beautiful music”
The above quotation as reported by the Umteteli wa Bantu newspaper of South Africa on April 23, 1921 is a portion of a talk Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegir Aggrey gave when he visited South Africa in 1921 as a member of the Phelps-Stokes Commission.
One specific aim of the Phelps-Stokes Commission’s visit to South Africa was to help bring about better and harmonious racial relations between Africans and Europeans, as well as to examine the conditions and opportunities of education among Africans.
Throughout his life Dr. Aggrey worked tirelessly to foster mutual understanding and co-operation between the white and black races in working out the destiny of Africa. He was the quintessential apostle of the gospel of inter-racial goodwill and harmony. Dr. Aggrey was described as the only man who could interpret Africa to Europe and Europe to Africa. As an African he knew his people very well. His education, intelligence and achievements in the New World also gave him insight into the workings of the Caucasian system. He was a bridge between the races and his words were both weighty and credible.
Dr. Aggrey’s famous quotation about the black and white keys of the piano is world famous and is often applied to enhance peaceful co-existence and harmony of black and white peoples.
A HEART FOR ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE
The State of Israel, as the country is officially known is a tiny country, with only six million inhabitants. It is surrounded by 22 Arab countries, with 300 million people. Their combined land area is greater than that of all of Europe. Israel covers an area of 20,330 sq km; which is less that 10% of the size of my beloved country Ghana. The 2007 population estimates give the population of Israel as 6.4 million. This figure includes 264,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, 20,000 in the Golan Heights and 190,000 in East Jerusalem. From 2006 estimates Israel has a GDP of US$142.1 billion and GDP per capita of $20,139.
I have a heart for Israel and the Jews in general. This is not to say that I am going to donate my heart to a Jewish patient who needs heart transplant. I want to make a personal statement in support of the survival of the State of Israel and the Jews in general. I am very much aware that Israel or the Jews do not need my statement or anything that I can do or say to survive. In actual fact history has shown that they do not need the help of any person or nation to survive. History is also witness to the fact that all the empires that threatened and in fact started the process of “extermination’ of the Jews did not succeed. Their survival is based on their covenant with God.
The great Assyrian Empire persecuted the Jews and so did the great neo-Babylonian Empire. The great Phoenician Empire as well as the great Roman Empire persecuted the Jews. The “Third Reich” of Nazi Germany persecuted the Jews. And the powerful Soviet Union persecuted the Jews. All of these empires have been destroyed. And yet, the Jews are still a nation. In writing this piece I had research material from a lot of sources. Many of the facts presented in this paper were attained from various websites such as Waveworld.com, Wikipedia, Encyclopedia, Israel's Tourism Ministry and other major sources.
FOR EVERY THING THERE IS A SEASON
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” The above quotation is taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 verses I to 8
Indeed for everything there is a season. For the rains there is the rainy season; as a boy growing up in a village in the forest belt of the Ashanti Region the rainy season brought joy not only to me but to others my age and I guess older ones as well. When it rained during the day I stood underneath the edge of the corrugated roofing sheet enjoying the water dripping from above. It was also fun wading through the pools of water that collected at various depressions on the street and alleys of the village. Apart from the fun of enjoying the rain water at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, the joy of sleeping at night with the rain drops of various sizes falling on the time tested roof at different angles resulting in more than melodious lullaby pieces from a well rehearsed orchestra which sent tired boys like me into a deep sleep, a sleep which only the crow of a stubborn cock (a CPP one) could disturb.
The joy of the rains lasted more than the night because the next morning there was no need to fetch water from the “people’s well” which was located a kilometre or so from the centre of the village, off the path the led to my grandmother’s cassava and ginger farm.
