Black Folks Can’t Swim, Nor Win Olympics Swimming Medals?
Black Folks dominate many forms of sports, but how many decades of watching Africa needs to even significantly enter the world of Swimming competitions? Indeed the primary motive of my writing is not medals or the millions of dollars for few rising Africans , but how to raise the health of millions of Africans, save thousands of African lives we consistently lose due to lack of meaningful culture of swimming pools and swimming lessons. I have repeatedly accused blacks of having intolerable fear and over valuing of earthly life, which often leads to lesser life and more pain. The best of us should help our people conquer fear of waters and beyond, even if it means financial luring and more fractional facts of poking than the fractional facts many use to justify fear of water? The earth is largely water, Africa is surrounded by water, my birth country (the Gambia) is divided by water, river Gambia. So learning to accept water is naturally smarter than resort travelling on waters with fear. There was a movie called, ‘white men can’t jump’, which helped whites jump higher, so we need movies, songs, articles, etc around ‘black folks can’t swim’ to help establish culture of swimming, especially for health. A percentage of the proceeds and crowd funding ‘swimming pools for the Gambia and Africa’ can lead to thousands of Olympics standard swimming pools across Africa. The Gambia does not have even one Olympic standard swimming pool and perhaps other African countries like Bissau and which others? We some how own a fifty million dollars conference center and other questionable assets. What percentage of African governments, African billionaires, world billionaires, African world Soccer stars and others can we convince on transforming African swimming culture. Yes, the first human swimmer was likely black for fish, but did s/he became white or xyz and run from Africa for Olympic opportunities?
As said , funding is not a problem if rightly sought. Even loans to establish it will work. By strategically having preventive health centers , with swimming pools , in every Gambian district (county) as example, we can create stars and pay enough to motivate money worshipping Africans enter in droves. Since it is based on standard and Timing, you can smartly contrast with world’s best and give hope for more training. Michael Phelps is regarded as world’s best, he did 200 M butterfly in 1:54.92, so if ten Gambian teenagers do it in 2:5 seconds, then we can contract Phelps or xyz as coach or promise them a beautiful African girl? There are different styles of swimming styles and we can certainly find one or few we can beat America and tell them, Africa is finally awakening. Then if the reward is right, all the cowardly mothers who forbid children swimming will pay our monthly dues and may hire trainers. If your child does not make millions, s/He will get healthier, found a new love or hobby to stay away from drugs. God forbids if another boat sinks, s/He will likely survive or even help someone survive.
I preferred being a witness for President Adama Barrow, but he has sadly made me a witness against him, so far. Few months into his presidency, I wrote him about the need to build at least one preventive health center with swimming pool and others, so that business folks or government will learn and replicate it. He ignored me and dozens of Gambian lives drowned during his presidency. He may still be blind in how he is partially responsible for such deaths. A great parent understands reality to teach children how to swim, A great President also facilitates essential knowledge on citizens, including swimming. You should say about ten percent knew swimming when I took office, how can I raise it to at least fifty percent within five years and use words and policies that will raise it to 99% within fifty years. This essentially means every middle or senior secondary school should have a swimming pool and a garden. Your dumb advisers may tell you maintaining swimming pools are expensive, but there are many ways to have that next to zero in warm Africa.
So which African president will be smarter than Barrow and try to work with me in raising health of citizens, reduce patients in traditional hospitals, raise life expectancy, possibly have historic first African country with Olympics swimming medals, reduce drown ratio, etc? If politicians want me to bribe or beg, then which rich person can understand we can make money through such centers and still be helping people?
Our ministry of Sports, health, Tourism, are few to directly benefit and should try to seek such funding for the realisation. Beside government to government, institutions and companies, rich folks and crowd funding are doors worthy of seeking.
The irony is most African kids are fearless and eager to learn swimming, but their fearful parents feed them fear and fractional facts to eventually fear water. So by refusing to teach them swimming, a fraction of those kids go in more dangerous waters than swimming pools and that takes dozens of lives in even small Gambia, plus thousands across Africa. When boat disaster happens in Africa, the ratio that dies clearly shows an intolerable number of Africans refuse to teach or learn swimming. Once you get older it is much harder to learn due to fear and changes in body shape . Teaching helps than abstain and gamble when disaster happens.
Since African politicians and rich folks can be arrogant, indifferent, or down right dumb to see potentials, I urge our artists to use art and call for culture of Olympics swimming pools in and beyond the Gambia. I have already wrote a quick song with music video tips that will provoke debate. If need be, we can try even a movie. Let’s utilise every beneficial arsenal the Lord gives and once few African countries take a meaningful example, others may follow. We can free the African child with facts and jokes. The Gambian d[oers of]evils whisper fractional facts like, ‘sea has no branches’. Dummy! It was not meant to be or branches will hurt you. Anyway, our swimming pools will have branches called robes and guards. Or get a White, Arab, or Chinese girl say, ‘hey blacks, the branches of waters is in your mind, you just have to learn swimming and try to conquer fear’. I suspect blacks ate too much of the apple of fear, greed, and arrogance in heaven; came to a dangerous place called earth and avoiding harmless waters unless when going to Europe for money? The bad colonising westerners refused to build us swimming pools, just alcohol factories?. The bad African who sought independence took loans for roads, cars, arms, and other things lot less than the health we can gain through swimming? So you cannot keep comparing yourself with useless past African leaders, but instead try to be caring one who values every citizen as your child. If you want your children to learn swimming, then think about how can I help every Gambian or xyz to know swimming . When you are blessed with caring citizens like me, do not dismiss us or expect we should beg you to do your job. Appreciate us and try to work with us or may others do and God to take you out and bring a more caring leader. We demand a better Africa, not just Gambia. We have the opportunity to raise the health of millions or hundreds of billions of Africans, save thousands of African lives, and start dozens of African historic world swimming medals. May God bless us with Showlove Trinity : Let’s learn, let’s work , let’s have fun.
By Jarga Kebba Gigo
An Activist and Transformer
Song:
Black men can’t swim, nor win Olympic medals.
Blame it on the black women.
Or blame it on their leaders.
Or blame it on the world leaders.
Or blame it on the journalists.
Look at swimming champions of the world, no blacks and why Or why why.
Look at their nice weathers, perfect for swimming, year round swimming, year round swimming, opportunities, yet the seasonal win them. But until when will they rise to compete?
Black men can’t swim, nor win Olympic medals,
Blame it on their women,
Or Blame it on their leaders,
Or blame it on their journalists.
A problem of fear and lack of investment ?
When parents forbid children essential knowledge , out of fear. You will have to erase their fears or bait them through greed. If we offer millions in swimming like football or basketball, you will soon see many blacks try and try, but the real benefit is in health and joy than drugs.
So which governments or Rich folks will invest to save lives, who will invest to raise health, who will invest to reduce cures, who will invest to reduce drug abuse , or who will invest to raise quality of life and life expectancy? Will the Lord of realization realize?
A billion dollar per country on preventive health centers, or millions of dollars for swimming pools, or just one million dollar as super example, and who will replicate or buy franchises?
Black men can’t swim, nor win Olympic medals,
Blame it on their women,
Or blame it on their leaders,
Or blame it on their journalists.
In a world of largely waters, how can you run from waters, overcome fear and learn swimming for your own good. When their boats sink, what percentage die in Africa versus where people learn to swim. And for the sake of the children, let’s invest time and money, we will gain more than money, or where are we spending millions in Africa?
Note: This is a rough song I can adjust for the right artist(s). A smart video with different races, pictures and videos of Olympics, sea disasters, etc can be an edutainment to stir up minds and possibly actions.
Our journalists must step up the game with education of the public, better covering, and tougher questions. For example, many Africans do not know how beneficial water exercise sometimes help people than land exercise. When professional athletes have health issues in the west, many turn to water exercise to heal quicker. Beside the public, how many of our physical education teachers know enough of such or even swimming? Beside our marines, governments are not demanding or training even police officers on swimming.
When children drown, I often see poor covering and almost blaming the kids. These where the times to remind leaders teaching is the solution, not just warnings. Also ask where were the lifeguards? In the Gambia, only peak tourist season we have guards, almost signalling tourists lives matter than Gambian lives. I was once in trouble in popular beach/ocean in the Gambia, around the vice president’s residence and there was no life guard to help me for over thirty minutes. I was luckily having life jacket, but countless Gambians came, including a police officer, and not one was a swimmer or brave enough to try to rescue me. One Jewish American white man came to my rescue after over thirty minutes. This is an interesting movie scene, but shameful if it was on video and a tourist who may have drowned. Ask the Tourism minister and others why low season and Gambian lives are not guarded? Ask the interior minister and president why police officers are not trained to swim and when will they consider it as requirement?
When boats capsize, this is another time to remind teaching is the solution, not just life jackets. We spent lot of money on Chinese or western life jackets, but how much government and Gambians spend on learning to swim? It is suppose to be multiple layers of security, learn to swim and have life jackets for long distance possible disasters or other issues.
If a new minister of sports or xyz is hired, ask specific plans and remind them ignored great suggestions. Pass a well documented archive for each ministry or department. What do they know about water sports and when do they plan to introduce what beyond the urban area? We give excuses on our small size, but that small size also have advantages. Having a preventive health center with swimming pool in every district is not super expensive and money can be made. Are you ready to give land for such and invite national and international business folks with solid business plans, plus even guarantees or subsidies where once fail? If I wanted to build fifty traditional/conventional health centers, government or locals will give land, but how about preventive health centers in clear contracts? If Fifa sponsors only football a bit, write to the Olympic body on how Africa needs help to enter the swimming world than the winter Olympics? We have the weather for year round training , so if those who train only summer time until they reach certain level to access indoor warm pools, but have psychological cold pressures beat us, then what good are our advantages?
People with arthritis are sadly going to about fifteen minutes of physio therapy, but many of those can use very healthy water exercises, and be more productive citizens, plus reduce pressure on traditional health workers.
Some of our health officials, including our health minister may wrongly think preventive health centers are for private business folks, but you should at least urge and remember to set examples. Like private schools compete with public schools, having few government preventive health centers making money in villages will open the eyes of business folks and help you lot more than excuse upon excuses. The role of government is very broad, especially on sharing knowledge and urging businesses and citizens on how to self help. Giving enough options matter, do not point to limited options or worse countries.
