By: Azad Karimi
I associate globalization with the very fast transmission of messages and social discourses. How can you be supportive in the face of tragedies or promoting movements that seek social justice?
Intervie
Argentinian Historical expert Omer Nahum Freixa
By Azad Karimi
The logic of Omer in the text of his answers to my questions in this interview is very thought-provoking and interesting, so I refrain from commenting on it and leave it to the dear readers.
But I would like to briefly address the topic of the day, the recent crisis between Israel and the Hamas-Islamic Jihad coalition in the Gaza Strip. This war has started a few days ago. Whatever the reason, it has now led to war and destruction and the death of human beings...but a question arises for me as a journalist and impartial observer: Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets and rockets at Israeli cities. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are local organizations in the Gaza Strip that do not have the capacity to provide the Corona vaccine to the Palestinian people in the region, but where can they afford to buy thousands of missiles? Who pays them to buy rockets and missles?
Of course, the spokesman of Islamic Jihad thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran for delivering these missiles to this organization.
We, the people of the Middle East, from the Mediterranean to the Pamirs, are accustomed to being born, growing up, living, suffering, and dying in war, tension and crisis ...
The distance between life and death from the moment of birth to the moment of death is only one moment, and this inevitable moment of the nightmare is the years of human life that finally occur, but why in this nightmare should hell be built and burned in it?
If I write more, it becomes a slogan and a manifesto ... so I prefer to invite dear readers to read the text of my interview with Omer. . He is an Argentine Jew. Years ago, a huge explosion took place at the Argentine Jewish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires, killing dozens of innocent people. They fell victim to anti-Semitism. I wish peace for Israel and the Palestinians, but as long as there is a third party (the countries that are exacerbating the tension and crisis), the prospect of this peace is far away.
I wish success and happiness for my dear friend Omer.
Thank you!
Vestland-Norway
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1- Please present yourself (Name, education, Civil status and...)
.Omer Nahum Freixa (1980). I am an Argentinian historian, specializing in the African continent and interested in unveiling the connection between our past and its ties to Africa. Also, I work in Afro-American studies and contemporary conflicts, especially in Africa. In my degree thesis, I studied one of these: Congo (1998-2003). In 2015 I had my master´s thesis defense about the black origins of tango in Argentina and the afro identity in this country. I´m teacher of African and Asiatic history in Universidad de Buenos Aires and of afro-american studies in Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero (Argentina). I´m a researcher in both universities. I have a blog in which I publish all my works (scholar and divulgation), www.omerfreixa.com.ar
I use Facebook and Twitter to inform and analyze African and Afro-American topics.
2-what is your artistic specialize?
. My specialty is Afro-American studies, the African roots in Latin America. I studied the slavery relationship especially in Río de la Plata area and cultural expressions, like tango which is an afro-descendant issue, at least in its origins. We would like to talk about tango negro. More than 500 words have African meanings like Macana, Mucama, quilombo, etc. These are words that we use quite often in our Spanish.
3- When and how did you become interested in this field?
.When I knew I didn't know enough (or almost nothing) about Africa and Asia, as it´s usual in Europe or Latin America. I can hardly remember if I had content on the subject during my high school education, for example.
4- Who was your motivator?
.Curiosity. Racism, I was the victim of anti-Semitism, when I was a child, a form of hate speech. Besides, I was impacted by the trauma of the trans-Atlantic slave trade along centuries and its consequences, a topic that is rarely talked about, discussed, and written. I can understand what is to be discriminated. The way in which certain origins of the Latin American population are made invisible, particularly the African ones, also called my attention.
5- What was your parent’s reaction?
.They always supported my interest and work in the subject.
6- When started you such as a Master Cultural Diversity student?
. I started in 2011. I thought it was a career for me. I'm, like many Argentineans, of mixed roots (jew, Catalunya, dutch). I myself am a product of cultural diversity. I was particularly attracted to the offer of African American studies.
7- Are you thankful and happy because of your work?
.Yes, but usually I have to battle against racist people or activists with a speech in order to reply: “you are not black, you can't talk about us for not been one of our people”. I’m against this kind of message. I think it produces more divisions and conflict. I was delighted this year because of the force of #BlackLivesMattermovement, it gave me a sign of a possible social change. I´d like to believe that maybe it could be the beginning of a good change in years to come. Also, I saw with a good mood the #EndSars movement in Nigeria against police brutality. Social media are useful but you have to be prudent about their use.
8- How you see the view:future of world, cultural activities?
.In the pandemic context, they are tough moments. We live in a world increasingly divided along ethnic, religious, or political lines. The pandemic enhanced everything bad, armed conflicts, social tension, conspiracy theories, and much more.
9-Tell us, do cultural confrontations cause military conflicts and political tensions, or, conversely, do the melancholy desires of some politicians cause cultural confrontations?
.The causes of the crisis are always numerous and intertwined. I think they exceed individual wills.
10-What is the role of cultural identity in creating social identity in human societies?
.Unions between groups and individuals are necessary to transform societies. There are several examples in the history of united wills that have managed to overcome inequities, oppression, and all kinds of injustice...an interesting case, not before 2013, is the one already mentioned #BlackLivesMatter.
11-We hear and read a lot about globalism these days, what can this have to do with the cultural diversity of human societies around the world? How do you think about this?
.I associate globalization with the very fast transmission of messages and social discourses. How can you be supportive in the face of tragedies or promoting movements that seek social justice?
12- Can you become one part of the cultural movement for motivation in youth or new generation in your country and so than?
13- How can you help our world become a better place for living?
Teaching (my principal job), opening minds, fighting against prejudgements.
14- What are the criteria for a good literary and dramatic text?
15- What do you think about the characteristics of a good Comic work?
16- Have you more word to say or suggestion for our readers?
