Friday, January 8, 2010

Of Flag Changes and Meanings

I am chatting with my niece Cathy. Its new year's day seems like we are
the only people who have no where to go. I am going through the
newspaper looking for a vacancy and she has past me the paper and
somehow sees this advert to change the flag. She complains they want to
change the flag! I don't like it I will have to be memorizing again what
colors the flag has.
I thought flags have meanings to its people colors and logos, mission statements, determine the turn people takes. Do we know
the meaning of the new flag? Or How many people have knowlegde of the
meaning of our flag. Many will just says we have black if for the black
people red is for the blood.(Some would put their own meanings of course
because even white people have red blood) there are native white people
in Malawi who have chosen Malawi as their home.
I looked at the flag and thought about words Kamuzu used to say always
talking to the people of Malawi(Kwacha! Ufulu! Mtendere!) I see the sun
against a black background dawn, alright. Why ufulu? Why Mtendere? How
much blood was shed for us to get the enlightment against the oppression
of the white? How much blood to fight for our freedom from the
oppression? Lest we forget now that we are living in peace. People
prosper with a peaceful mind.
Of what meaning is the new flag to the values of the Malawian People? If
stated, we compare and chose what we want to value. In troubled times
memories like these of Kwacha! Ufulu! Mtendere! even in the age of
enlightment, wisdom and knowledge in the absense of rememberance of what
has brought here falling back the dark ages is very easy. Though times
are different some enlightment have been there and some blood as well.
Will the sunset some day? I do believe there are the same processes of
Kwacha Ufulu and Mtendere that we are going through though the natures
of fight of freedom from which blood is still shed are different.

Kansale kokoma kunsinde kowawa pakati komanso kunsonga. So many people
are willing to start at the beginning of the enlightment. Not many go on
when the fight begins. Not many survive to eat the fruits. The born
frees like me would never know the pain if the message of the precious
freedom faught for is lost. Blood really is kuwawa kwa pakati. Green is
really kukoma kwa ufulu so painfully faught for. But it all begins with
enlightment of the ways by which people in pain having endured for long
could be set free.

Even the age of democracy have had its kansale kokoma kunside, kansale
kowawa pakati, kansale kokomanso kunsinde. I would rather the message of
the flag not daluted.

If a leader leads the people to God, God blesses a nation. Tiyende
pamodzi ndi mtima umodzi. Tiyende pamoza na mtima umo. I like the song.

In Unity: The leader says, we are all Malawians. The preacher says we
are all children of God created by God. An individual you and me say, we
are next door neighbours.