Zambian problems + Passports!!!

Long time no see! Well, Well, I guess I allowed my self to get overwhelmed by all that was going on around me. I know you got that one right - what with Obama taking over the reins! Even more, yours truly has been breathless trying to keep up with all the changes and executive orders the said Obama has had to put in place. My oh my - talk about having one's work cut out for him! No one can ever blame Bush of having left Obama nothing to do. There, dear reader, if you have been sratching your head trying to find something positively positive to say about president Bush, I just came to your rescue! At no fee. He made sure Obama will have enough to do.



But something else has been disturbing my peace lately. In fact, I did come to realise that one 'Manena' - always ahead of the pack that lady - has already raised concerns over the same. But being one never to leave a job half done, I will go ahead and make my contribution. It is this thing of having to obtain new zambian passports. The process is incredibly cumbersome, as has been pointed out by some already. I mean, the damn thing takes forever! Could someone out there help me understand why we all have to change passports midstream? Take my case for example, I am in possession of a Zambian passport that is supposed to expire in 2011. My question is, 'why do I have to pay for another passport before the current one has run its full course?' Why am I not allowed to change to the new passport upon the renewal of my current passport? It is, if you ask me, daylight robbery! It is stealing, pure and simple.



But Zambia being what it is, the government can get away with anything. God bless our souls - we are so obedient and respectifull of our leaders. Looking back now, I kind of understand how it was possible years ago for a small group of English guys to come and convince us they were going to take charge of our national affairs for 'our good!' And we shouldn't dare to call this attitude humility - it is what Aristotle would call 'small-souledness!' Kindness and humility are virtues that should never be confused with 'being soft!' You see, the soft person never acts but lets things happen to him! The soft person, afraid of the pain of carrying his cloak, allows it to trail behind him. I will return to this discussion some other day but for now it is sufficient that we point out the apparent national softness we seem to have as Zambians.



Enough for now. I hope you have yourself a wonderful week. Tanti Auguri!!

How times change

Last night we witnessed history happen! How the world needed this reminder - the simple truth that history does happen. The all-too-often taken for granted truth that things do change. Granted, Barack Obama is a great guy; he has succeeded where others have failed. But we should never forget that this moment is not just about an individual making history; it is a reminder that all of us have that basic genius of greatness; that all we need to do great things at times is to meet someone who tells us 'it's alright to dream big, it's alright to think big, it's alright to dreams dreams never dreamt before.'

So we thank God that one day we will be able to tell this story as its 'proud-participants!'