Faces of Africa— Rastafarians: coming home to Africa 07/10/2016

a lot of people want to be in expertise but some people want to take the steps to be in Africa this is just from Islam or the step to the promised land you should give up a continent for Island because that's our vision that is a desk unit the tea really should live forever coronation being shot Imani Ethiopia these are the Naya bengi a second within the people who call themselves Rastafarians today's the day they celebrate the crowning of Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930 their name Rastafarians or Rastafari comes from Haile Selassie's name before his coronation Rasta father while their members include some Ethiopian nationals most of their ranks are formed by people from around the world who have come here come home to Africa between the 15th and the 19th centuries Africans were taken against their will to the Americas to work as slaves picking cotton cutting sugarcane in the 1860s Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the United States ending the practice in the Western Hemisphere soon descendants of slaves were returning home to Africa mostly to West Africa where they started their countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone Marcus Garvey a Jamaican was descended from slaves brought to work the Caribbean sugar plantations he started the United Negro Improvement Association in the early 1900's preaching black self empowerment he had a million followers in the u.s. Marcus Garvey predicted a black king would be crowned and would unite Africans on their own continent that prediction appeared to come true when Haile Selassie became Emperor of Ethiopia he quickly established himself as a champion of peace independence and African Unity in the 1930s a group of Jamaicans descendants of former slaves inspired by Marcus Garvey believing Haile Selassie was a black King formed a spiritual movement or a religion and called themselves Rastafarians they took Haile Selassie's birth name last afar and soon gained a following in other countries eventually spreading from Jamaica around the world by the 1960s many believed Haile Selassie was the second coming of Jesus Christ they were drawn home by the Ethiopian Emperor returning to Africa to fulfill a religious conviction and unite Africa they are said to be over a million Rastafarians worldwide with the numbers increasing in East and West Africa especially these are the facts about Rastafarians that aren't always very well known but most people only know perceived vices in their cultural traits smoking marijuana and especially reggae music this has led to misperceptions of Rastas as people who are preoccupied by party not caring for their parents or the community around them despite the misperceptions the Rastafarians are proud of their unique culture and fill it fits in with their African pride they are happy to talk about their hair this one special one has a core of what they wear and the colors that everyone recognizes as rustic rustic ours you like the red the red is for the blood of the people and the green is for the the pastures and the yellow is for the nice gold actually for the sunshine as well and so that's the red green and gold red gold and green actually they also happen to be the colours of the Ethiopian flag as to their hair many wear long braided hair and beards commonly called dreadlocks the dreadlocks you don't have to be dreadlocks to be a morass to remember that one if if you know Morgan Harry cheese they have a music that says you don't have to read it to be raster yeah I can't sing I know that but yeah they are it's not a dreadlock thing it's a function of one's heart this is also our Africa inherit this is how we we are from yesteryear this is how we are from the beginning of time you know our original kings you know and even queens you know had the blessings of the beard and the locks as far as the king and then the Empress which is the queen she would have a lock flowing you know this is this is an African heritage meet sister Judah from the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago I made lovely hearts she came to Ethiopia for her family's sake 14 family members cross the Atlantic Ocean with her over a decade ago some didn't stay sister Judah did she has a shop and plans to open a restaurant soon she feels sure money is the right place to be especially for her seven children and two grandchildren I'm not genuinely gunshots firing Sasha money all the what you hear people saying about such a man I'm not hearing one gunshot I'm living here peacefully you understand me so I give God thanks and prayers every day for being here her home Island can be rough and she hears from friends and relatives who are impressed by her brave move Leah our money is a great opportunity because not virgin ancestry needs over there like when they speak to us who of course I wish I was there we're trying to read you're trying to you know get money to come because it's getting it is getting desperate out there it's it is not going to get better the Bible must fulfill Julian Campbell is a Jamaican who has found in the Ethiopian soil a place to rest ready goemon computing the souls like miracle you know screen all the time it's just different and it's beautiful look at these mangoes when you see those red leaves and the mangoes that mean it's springing all the cheese you can see spring leaves always spring in spring in spring when you work you can see result right away you know and that's good Julian can hardly keep track of all that is growing on his farm a far cry from his rooftop garden in New York he grew up among the reggae greats of Jamaica eventually moving to New York while he was a road manager for the famed musician Peter Tosh Tosh was one of the original Wailers the band that launched Bob Marley to fame it's a lot of fun because those days I have never a road manager or nothing I am Peter personal associate some people take the music to the point of Bob Marley to that standard tool I mean internationally but there's still nobody like Bob you know Barbara and Peter only they're just different reggae music sprang up in Jamaica in the 1960s it started as a mix of the Rastafarian nya Bingley drums and the popular Jamaican styles of ska and Rocksteady reggae music has become the Rastas most recognized worldwide export Bob Marley is the most well known reggae artist globally despite being dead for three decades the popularity of his music has grown over the years in part due to the words to his songs many of his most famous Tunes feature speeches and writings of Haile Selassie this includes the Emperor's famous speech to the League of Nations where he said where he preached against racism towards Africans he feels this music helps him celebrate his religion rustic and music really fits together because the music is his heartbeat reggae is the heartbeat boom boom that is Rusted German you know when we go when we chant nyeh being praises to just give like a church that's where wrecker begins its begins with those two beat boom boom boom boom boom pop heartbeat boom boom boom and that is a beginning of reggae so good rest Annette sweet reggae reggae and restless yeah it's a part it's how we give praises you know how we pray Julian is helping to coach a budding reggae artist rassee you a fellow Jamaican came to Africa for religious reasons before finding a place in the musical community here while he would love to have the kind of following Bob Marley gain he is at the beginning of his career spending time as a DJ in clubs in Addis Ababa he is working on an album called mountaintop Ethiopia meal of the best in a - and a common malady is no video Kia did one so can you work manifests music naturally is a way of life music commands love commands peace naturally I think words sound and power kind of came to me is a very religious Rastafarian and very well studied he feels his choice to become a Rastafarian was a divine inspiration it's like that vibration is something inside if you want to say some clicked or something happened you know but it was just that love that came about his move to Ethiopia was also for a religious reason Russ like many Rastafarians believes that the former Emperor Haile Selassie was the second coming of Jesus Christ when you find that real richness of love you really find His Majesty this staunch leader I mean head of state all the above King of Kings you know you found him doing things that's so much similar to our Father in the Bible yes is Christmas Ross would like to see Africans adopt Haile Selassie's values to create new priorities for the continent if we move together and on the right path if we choose peace over war if we saw disarmament fixing poverty shelter in the shelter less you know these was all his Majesty's principles while much of the Rastafarians love and respect of Haile Selassie comes from his speeches and writings his 1966 visit to Jamaica was a religious milestone for the group too much was welcomed ever given to any visiting or local celebrity his Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie the first emperor of ethiopia arrived the crowd erupted into a frenzy of rejoicing as they broke through the lines of soldiers and police and 100,000 Jamaicans greeted him at the airport and the Emperor was overwhelmed by this meeting we saw him more interacting even with his sons and daughters as we were stated from this side of the world that African heritage and he literally came and gave us that comfort after his kind treatment in Jamaica the Emperor offered Rastafarians land in Ethiopia if they would come back home to Africa the land he donated was in Shasha money while the town has changed in the nearly four decades since the first trustafarians came to settle here it has only grown to about fifty thousand residents one of them is Wendy Brian or sister Wendy as she is known to fellow rastas born in Jamaica she moved to Manchester England as a team joining other Jamaicans who emigrated after World War two she first came to Africa to discover her roots my first trip to Africa was actually to Ghana and I wanted to know about my history and to know you know know a little bit about Africa because been a young teenager at the time especially at school I always learned about the slave trade and you know there was nothing it will never tell me anything positive about Africa and for me I wanted to learn about my own history I didn't want anybody else to tell me about my history Wendy's path to Africa was largely influenced by the father of her five children Trevor George Mackenzie a Rastafarian leader in Manchester and a popular musician he had long dreamed of relocating to Africa his own mortality would prevent his dream from being realized but before he died he visited Ethiopia with Wendy I came here about two or three times before once I came with my partner as well and we spent about six weeks years and then I came with my children the education and spiritual growth of her children have been the top concerns of both Wendy and Trevor George you know take Africa it's our home you know coming home some people just want to be here you know I mean I'm toast it's also prophecies I swear I what they say about in the West you know get away from the West as well you know I mean her daughter Tali has made the adjustment but isn't always sure she wants to stay like mom all right this is not for me Africa is not for me she misses her dad my dad from when he was young on my mom as well from when she was 15 wanted to move to Africa and if okay my dad's not here to live his dream and since I'm his favorite daughter I don't think we should tell anyone this but yeah I think it would be best for me to come here and do what he wanted me to be Wendy was a DJ in Manchester and her popularity and social nature puts her at the center of many of Rastafarian activities reggae music has attracted Africans to the Rastafarian movement across the world from Djibouti to taco Zimbabwe to the rest of the world many eventually end up in SAS Amani session one is like a little little Miami or something coming now with the integrated society you know a lot of people are here foreigners in jessamine yeah from French Italian yeah everybody's here in Sicily and to make islands all the islands Trinidad you know all of them are here in session Poulet gene forest sister gene - everyone here came to Ethiopia because her life has always been about helping people she is a registered nurse this is from a slant or the step to the promised land a better place to work in better place better environment more broadly and why I repatriated to Ethiopia to continue that line of my religion so what does it say gene has been here about a year and is looking to use her nursing skills to help if you Pia coming into Africa near the Africa had a lot of problems whether through war whether through and poverty whether through farming I knew there was that here so I knew that something I could give back out of myself so that was another angler which I came here for she feels that the Rastafarians have been making very positive contributions here and would like to see more come here in future because of the positiveness and the brother/sisterhood because of that and we know that the West is full of his imps if you're rich you can go far if you black that back and that kind of isms Russell fermions has no boundaries like that so yes it can help anyone go forward Africa to develop more to recognize itself also with the diocese for recognizing that there is somewhere they can come home to live other Rastafarians echo genes words eager to help build up Africa we come to bill obsession money within own leaders come here just to sit until we come develop a bit of schools we have nurses coming in checking people teeths check and children t it's open for free giving close books we've done a lot of things at restaurant their contributions to the community are appreciated by local Ethiopians I have lived about three years here I can communicate with them in business as well as in a family chairman is another Jamaican musician who spent time in the US for professional reasons in the last three years he started hearing Africa calling him as he could see in the media progress being made here Africa growing Africa we comes from Africa we are from Africa but you know what I only see Africa on the TV are I only read about Africa in the magazine or newspaper so as a man looking like the people from Africa it always in me I want to go to that place because if that place is the place around from then I am belongs treasure is working on his third album he is also a designer sporting his own creations but music is his gift and the gift he wants to give to Africa my love my love I see life in people and I see people realize I've seen people in life and I've seen life I sing about life I think about spirituality I think about the fullness I sing about a virtuous woman I sing about the righteous man so it's all about righteousness and upliftment of humanity he is hoping that his music will touch the people all over the continent although he is choosing to make his home here in Ethiopia you know Africa is a huge province so then you have to choose a place in Africa where you would like to go yes I love Kenya I love Uganda I love South Africa I love where stuff I love it all but you gotta choose and you see I realize in life the choice is very important and my choice was Ethiopia perhaps a future song of his we'll celebrate Africa's rising so now it's the time for Africa so in the sense of growing and building yes I come in the mids of it so the reality is a it's no time to sit around you have to have things to do you have to make sure you be a part of what's going on because it's called the Renaissance should I say the development of Africa it's been almost a century and rastas are still coming home fulfilling the mission of a young religion building Africa sending a message to the rest of the world with their music promoting peace love and their love of their home Africa that's what Bob Marley had said you you cannot give up you should give up a continent for Ireland you know I'm saying because this is the untapped frontier we have work to do here and as I said give my life for to ETOP Africa you know honestly we need developing we need togetherness we need rise in our love we need economic strength we need everything you know to have this Africa family

Channel: CCTV English

Views: 1,588,814

Rating: 4.6697021 out of 5

Keywords: China, China news, news, CCTV News, 中华人民共和国, 中国, 中国中央电视台, China Central Television, Chinese Central Television, 央视, CNTV, African news, Business, economy, Chinese economy, Faces of Africa, Rastafarians, Africa

Id: X2-h7ooGgAg

Length: 29min 28sec (1768 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 10 2016